Archive for bud norris

For someone who had managed to pile up 28 saves, Bud Norris never seemed to have a firm grasp on the Cardinals’ closer role. Now he has lost his grip on the job entirely.

On Sunday, Mike Shildt named Carlos Martinez as the team’s new closer, and Norris is being moved to a lower-leverage role, albeit one that will still involve the later innings. Martinez had already been called upon to close out Wednesday’s 7-6 win over the Nationals, as Norris was unavailable, and then he recorded his first save as the team’s official closer on Sunday. His 1-2-3 ninth inning finished off a 5-2 win over the Tigers.
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Heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Nationals, we had already been given an indication that if the Cardinals needed a closer, they were not likely to go with Bud Norris. Mike Shildt told reporters that he was probably going to avoid using his incumbent closer on the night after he had given up Bryce Harper’s game-tying home run, which came the day after he yielded back-to-back 10th inning homers to Eugenio Suarez and Brandon Dixon. In fact, neither Norris nor Carlos Martinez were available for Tuesday night’s game against the Nationals, so Shildt set out to use Jordan Hicks as his closer, should he need one.
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The final day of games before this year’s All-Star break was a busy one for bullpens…and for fantasy owners looking to make a surge in the saves category in the second half.

St. Louis was one site where there was intrigue, as brand-new interim manager Mike Shildt had a save situation to handle in his very first game as the Cardinals’ skipper. It seemed he would have had Bud Norris at his disposal, as his appearance in the final inning of the Cardinals’ 8-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday was his first in a week. That’s why it was especially curious that Shildt went with Jordan Hicks for the save on Sunday. For his part, Hicks continued his recent struggles, allowing a run on two hits, but it was enough for a 6-4 Cardinals win and the rookie’s second save of the season. It was Hicks’ fourth straight appearance in which he had allowed at least one run.
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Arizona did not deploy Brad Boxberger until the 11th inning for a save opportunity, but Boxberger failed to convert it for the second straight outing. Boxberger allowed an unearned run to score but it’s the three walks which raises eyebrows, not the end result. Leadoff walks never end well for closers and Boxberger started the inning with one to Gregory Polanco. Then he handed out a free pass to Josh Bell along with an intentional walk to Austin Meadows after a sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Had Jake Lamb made a better throw to home, perhaps it’s a moot point, but Boxberger’s walked five over his last six innings giving up three home runs and six earned runs in these appearances. As a result, Boxberger’s walk percentage has risen to 12.1 percent and his WHIP to an uncomfortable 1.37 through 26.1 innings.

It’s important to note, Boxberger’s only thrown 27.2 innings total across all levels in 2016 and 37 innings last year due to injuries. Fatigue could be a factor as the All-Star break looms. Arizona will let him continue in the role not wishing to increase arbitration to Archie Bradley, but in the midst of a pennant chase in the wide open National League West may eventually force their hand. Bradley’s only yielded one earned run in 10.1 innings in June despite his 4:4 K:BB in them. Yoshihisa Hirano‘s on a 21 game (18.1 inning) scoreless streak but mostly works in the seventh inning as a setup pitcher. Andrew Chafin’s also pitching well tossing 23 scoreless outings of his last 25 giving up only two earned runs his last 17.1 innings (1.04 ERA). Whether or not the Diamondbacks make a change remains to be seen, but Boxberger’s officially under watch as innings accrue. If the walks and home runs persist, he could be on the outside looking in for save chances in July. Read the rest of this entry »

If you took the weekend off from baseball to enjoy the beautiful spring weather (or for any other reason), you can rest assured that the Angels’ closer situation remains as confusing as ever.

Based on recent usage patterns, it looks like Jim Johnson may be the Angels’ closer, or at the very least, at the head of their closer committee. When the Angels grabbed a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th inning in Saturday’s game against the Mariners, Johnson was brought in for the save. Perhaps even more to the point, Mike Scioscia had already used Cam Bedrosian in the sixth inning and Justin Anderson in the eighth inning — both in situations where the Angels held a two-run lead — so it appeared the manager was saving Johnson for the save. The night before, Scioscia had Anderson set up for an apparent save, having him get the final out of the seventh inning and all three outs in the eighth inning. Even though the Angels expanded their lead to five runs in the ninth inning, Johnson came in to pitch a scoreless bottom of the frame.
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When the Cardinals seemingly have one of the majors’ more stable closer situations, you know it’s been a strange night of baseball.

On Tuesday, prior to the Cardinals’ series opener against the White Sox, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak clarified what many suspected — that Bud Norris was back to being the team’s closer, and that Greg Holland would not “be used in the ninth inning at this time.” Given the way the Cardinals’ bullpen situation has played out so far in 2018, it would not have been surprising if Norris then went out and promptly blew a save against the White Sox. Instead, he was called upon to pitch the top of the ninth inning with a one-run deficit, and he tossed a perfect frame that turned into his first win of the season.
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This past week has been one steady drumbeat towards the inevitable anointing of Greg Holland as the Cardinals’ closer. He had pitched the ninth inning with a large lead or a tie in three games since Sunday, and he aced all three tests. On Friday night, Holland put those rehearsals behind him and pitched in an actual save situation against the Pirates.

It did not go well. He began by allowing a first-pitch double to Corey Dickerson, and four pitches later, a Francisco Cervelli single put runners on the corners. Then Colin Moran’s well-struck grounder got past Jose Martinez, allowing Dickerson to score. Clinging to a two-run lead, Holland fed Jordy Mercer a full-count slider that he drove off the center field wall for a game-tying double. Holland’s night ended without him retiring a single batter.
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Life is full of guarantees… death, taxes, and Fernando Rodney finding himself on the closer hot seat. Its only April baseball and yet here we are again. Rodney fialed close it down Friday night with just a one-run lead. He would cough this one up in a fairly strange sequence of events.

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Six of Sunday’s 15 scheduled games were postponed, robbing us of a potential opportunity to see if Arodys Vizcaino could get on track for the Braves or whether Joakim Soria or Nate Jones gets the next save opportunity for the White Sox.

Despite the limited schedule, we got yet another chapter in the Brewers’ bullpen saga. Craig Counsell brought Matt Albers into a 2-2 tie with the Mets in the bottom of the ninth inning, and he got within one out of delivering his team into extra innings. Instead of prolonging the game, Albers allowed Wilmer Flores‘ walk-off solo homer. Despite having pitched only once over the previous four days, Jacob Barnes was nowhere to be found in the seventh and eighth innings, as Counsell chose to set Albers up with Jeremy Jeffress and Dan Jennings. Barnes has apparently pitched his way out of the Brewers’ closer mix.
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While there was no shortage of saves Friday night, there weren’t any performances that threatened to shake up any team’s bullpen order. That was not the case on Thursday, when Edwin Diaz received his first save opportunity since being removed from the closer’s role, just nine days earlier. He successfully preserved the Mariners’ 4-2 lead over the Nationals, allowing just a single in his inning of work. Even so, manager Scott Servais told MyNorthwest.com he was not ready to make Diaz the official closer just yet, saying he “just happened to be the guy at the end today.”

It’s understandable that Servais may want to see a little more consistency from Diaz, given the he threw nine of 18 pitches for strikes and walked two batters in the inning he pitched against the Nationals on Wednesday. Still, it’s hard to imagine that someone with Diaz’s swing-and-miss stuff won’t reclaim the job. Read the rest of this entry »