June already…

• So… David Robertson probably killed this week’s ERA/WHIP categories for a few head-to-head teams today. The New York righty blew his second save of 2014 in impressive fashion, giving up five runs. Five runs to the Twins, the fourth-most inept offense in the American League. After giving up a leadoff homer, Robertson struck out a pair but they were mixed in among three walks (one intentional) and a double. After his yanking Matt Daley and Matt Thornton promptly allowed all his inherited runners to trot around the bases, sending the Yankees to a loss against former farmhand Phil Hughes.

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• Ronald Belisario took the BS tonight. It wasn’t a complete meltdown, as the two hits in the inning were not tremendously well-struck and the walk that shows up in the box score was intentional. But results are results and he did not convert the save. Over the last few weeks, Belisario still has the best peripherals in this pen (2.70 xFIP) but  now owns the worst ERA (5.40). Manager Robin Ventura has previously said he’ll stick with Belisario, but this string of outings where he’s being BABIPed may cost him a shot at locking down the ninth inning gig.

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• Buck Showalter tells you it’s a committee in Baltimore, but it sure looks a lot like Zach Britton is the guy he is leaning towards at the moment. The Baltimore lefty nailed down the second save of his career with a 1-2-3 inning on Sunday. Britton’s 3.03 xFIP is not quite as sparkly as his ERA (0.70) but his SIERA splits the difference (2.03). Why the discrepancy? SIERA takes into account his batted ball profile and the southpaw is inducing grounders at a ridiculous 80% rate. Is that sustainable? Probably not, but if he can keep the ball on the ground, he’ll help make up for the fact that he has a below-average (for a late-inning reliever, at least) strikeout rate.

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• Well, we didn’t think Matt Lindstrom was going to keep the White Sox closer role for long. Of course, we didn’t expect his reign to end with a torn ankle sheath, either. Lindstrom will undergo surgery on Friday to repair what I can only assume is a “Curt Schilling injury” and will subsequently be sidelined for three months. In other words, he’s not irrelevant for fantasy purposes in 2014.

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• Trevor Rosenthal had a no good, very bad day. After notching saves the last three days, the Cardinals closer wasn’t able to make it four, giving up a pair of hits and a pair of walks (one intentional) before Carlos Martinez relieved him as threw a wild pitch to let the Braves snag the lead. Rosenthal had a few hiccups earlier in the week but had appeared to be back on the wagon heading into Sunday’s tilt. Unfortunately, all the pitches caught up to him and he undid some of the nice rates he had picked up over the past few outings.

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• If you’re a fan of triple digits flashing up on the radar gun, you were obviously a happy guy today. One day after being activated from the disabled list, Aroldis Chapman made his 2014 debut, striking out the side (around a walk) to nail down his first save of the season. His arm looked no worse for the wear, as he averaged 101 mph with his fastball (touching 102.9). Wow. One thing we didn’t see today was a ball put in play. One potential issue that all pitchers who take liners off the body have to deal with is their reaction to balls hit back up the box. We’ll have to wait at least another outing to see how the Cuban lefty handles it, but if he brings the heat like he did today, having hitters square up pitches to rip back up the middle might be a rare occurrence.

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The Ax Man leaveth. John Axford has (at least for now) been removed from Cleveland’s ninth inning role. So everyone rush to the wire to pick up… wait, is “committee” owned in my league? Axford and his 5.45 xFIP have been touched on a couple times over the past week and little has changed in the peripherals department.

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• Giddy up, Jim Johnson owners. We’ve been imploring people to pick up the worm-burning righty if he’s been dropped in leagues, and the window to snag him has likely come to a close. One night after getting BABIPed around, the formerly deposed closer was called up on again, this time to polish off a 2-0 win versus the Mariners. He didn’t disappoint, retiring the side in order. Johnson’s 3.90 SIERA (coming into today) remains nothing to write home about, but he has gotten much better results since being removed from the closer role. Oakland also has a vested interest in the big money man finishing games as it could spike his trade value (should something happen and they go that route) while also keeping Ryan Cook from garnering too many saves (thereby driving up his arbitration cost). We can’t go green with this bullpen just yet, but assuming Johnson can look decent during his next few outings, he’ll be back on good standing fairly quickly.

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• John Axford did not pitch well today. Because of this, the Indians did not win a baseball game. While Twitter may imply otherwise, the mustachioed man hadn’t been scored upon in about three weeks, so the implosions aren’t a regular occurrence. Yet. Unfortunately, Axford has seen a steep decline in his punchout rate over the last three years. It corresponds to a fairly noticeable decrease in velocity, which seems to be at its worst this season. These facts, combined with his notoriously iffy control, have pushed his SIERA to 4.48. That would represent the highest mark of The Ax Man’s career and continues a four-year trend of worsening performance. Not cool, John. While his AL-leading nine saves likely give him some additional job security, Read the rest of this entry »

• It started raining late in the Yankees/Mariners game. It seemed fitting since it appeared Fernando Rodney started to melt to open the inning. Ol’ Crooked Hat was called upon in a non-save situation and notched an easy punchout before giving up three straight hits. Suddenly the tying run appeared at the plate in what was a four-run game. Luckily for the Mariners, Rodney was able to punch out what appeared to be an old man imitating Derek Jeter and got a highly generous strike three call on a full-count pitch to Carlos Beltran to send everyone home. Seattle’s big money man has struck out nearly one-third of all comers in 2014, keeping his ERA predictors down below 3.50. There are a few chinks in the armor which bear watching, however. Rodney’s fastball velocity is down over a mile per hour from last year. Additionally, his SIERA has been boosted by an absurdly high line drive rate so far — batters are whiffing a lot, but they are also making some loud outs. Time to panic? Not particularly, but it would be nice for Rodney to turn a few trends the other direction for the Mariners to make sure they get their money’s worth.

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