Archive for Ernesto Frieri

Episode 84
Jason Collette and Eno Sarris kick off the 2014 recording season by beginning the fantasy team previews. The show will tackle two teams per episode, with two shows a week throughout the next three months. First up – the Oakland A’s & the L.A. Angels

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Approximately one hour of joyous analysis.

Current NFBC ADP numbers referenced in the show

-With fans and fantasy owners on the edge of their seats, Red Sox skipper signaled for “new” closer Koji Uehara to close out the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth frame at Fenway today. The 38-year-old veteran needed just 16 pitches while facing the minimum to induce two strikeouts and a ground out en route to his second save since being named Andrew Bailey’s replacement last week and his third overall save on the season. The Japanese right-hander has now made eight consecutive appearances without surrendering an earned run and has lowered his twenty-thirteen ERA and WHIP to 1.97 and 0.81 respectively. Additionally, Uehara’s K% spiked to 37.4% after fanning two Toronto batters in today’s contest. Going forward, I’d consider Uehara a borderline top-ten closing option.

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Ernesto Frieri notched his third save in as many days this afternoon in a 3-2 Angels victory over the White Sox. The Angels’ ninth-inning man faced one over the minimum, surrendering a one-out single to Dayan Viciedo, en route to his seventh save on the year. In his last three trips to the hill, Frieri is 3-for-3 in save opportunities with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.54 WHIP and a 7.0 K/BB. Additionally, the right-hander is a perfect 4-for-4 in May and has lowered his ERA from 2.19 to 1.59.

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It’s hard to say that there’s a lot of drama in Angels camp this spring. There’s little doubt about the starting nine, and even the five rotation spots seem pretty secure unless injury issues flare up, most likely with Joe Blanton or Tommy Hanson.

So while Mike Scioscia can focus mainly on getting his team ready for the season without having to make a lot of roster choices — unless they’re the surprise landing spot for Kyle Lohse — the one area that does seem to have some uncertainty is in the bullpen, particularly the ninth inning. The original plan was that Ryan Madson would come to town to be the team’s closer, despite missing all of 2012 before ever throwing a pitch for Cincinnati. Despite the injury, there was merit to the idea; Madson was an effective if under-appreciated arm for years in Philadelphia before putting up 32 saves in 2011 when Brad Lidge finally melted down. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether it’s a worthwhile strategy or not (and I stand by the fact that it isn’t), numerous fantasy owners tend to ignore closers on draft day. Their decision is either to punt saves outright or to just not invest any auction dollars or draft picks on closers and fish off the waiver wire all year for saves. And why is that? Because when it comes to job security, the number of closers who actually have it is quite small. Not to mention, the rash of injuries we tend to see from year to year. And, of course, their side of the debate gets a little boost here in February as we see three situations involving closers already coming to light. Read the rest of this entry »

• Just a few hours after last night’s Bullpen Report was published, the Rangers touched up Angels’ closer Ernesto Frieri for four runs (three earned) on three hits and a walk to be charged with his first blown save of the season. As an Angel, Frieri held opponents scoreless in 26.1 consecutive innings up until July 15th, but hasn’t been his dominant self as of late. The struggles seem to stem from the 1.8 K/BB (2.77 K/BB on the year) and the three long balls he’s surrendered in the last seven outings as his ERA with the Angels climbed from 0.00 to 1.95 over that short time. Despite the recent bumps in the road, Frieri is still the reliever to own in Anaheim, especially with Scott Downs hitting the DL.
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• Robin Ventura officially named Addison Reed the closer of the Chicago White Sox today. The youngster from San Diego State patiently waited for the nod as the skipper initially named Hector Santiago the ninth-inning man when the team broke camp. When the Santiago ship sailed, Ventura surprisingly awarded the closer’s role to Chris Sale. Sale’s transition from starter to closer lasted just one blown save until Ventura stated he would be returning to a closer-by-committee situation. Since, Reed has converted his last four save opportunities to earn the manager’s endorsement. Now, Addison Reed owners just want to see his current 11.48 strikeout rate spike towards 2011’s 14.73 K/9.

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