Archive for Frank Francisco

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 »

• Mets reliever Frank Francisco will likely miss the remainder of the 2012 season after experiencing a setback from elbow tendinitis this past weekend. Manager Terry Collins indicated that since Francisco hasn’t pitched in nine days, he’d need to get some side work in before getting back into live action, but with just eight games remaining, “he’s not sure when that would take place.” The Mets closer saved 23-of-26 games with a 5.53 ERA (4.10 xFIP) and a 2.24 K/BB – his lowest since 2007 when he sported a 1.77 K/BB.
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With the season winding down, I thought now is as good a time as any to ‘fess up and have a little it of accountability.  I usually do a full article at the end of the season that includes all of my picks and pans for the season, which will come at the conclusion of the season, but this year we all did a piece in a series called 10 Bold Predictions.  It was “go big or go home” for many of us and we wanted to be as bold and as brazen as possible while still maintaining certain bounds of sensibility.  In looking back at mine, perhaps I was a bit overzealous… Read the rest of this entry »

• After quittin’ time on Wednesday, Aroldis Chapman saved his 23rd consecutive game — tying a franchise record held by John Franco (1988) and Rob Dibble (1991) — to up his successful save tally to 31 on the year. Chapman continues to make his case for Cy Young consideration, as he now holds a 1.31 ERA and a 16.26 K/9 (7.47 K/BB) while holding opposing batters to a .138 average.
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• Dale Thayer looks to be the closer to own in San Diego for the foreseeable future. Padres’ manager Bud Black indicated today that “Street’s injury is going to be past the 15 days.” At this time there doesn’t appear to be an exact timetable for Street’s return, although Corey Brock suggests it “won’t likely come before September.” Thayer has earned six saves in eight chances this season and sports a 3.51 ERA (4.12 xFIP) with a 3.33 K/BB. He’s available in 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
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• 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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• Frank Francisco made his first rehab appearance tonight for the Double-A Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League. The outing wasn’t pretty for Francisco, who only lasted two-thirds of an inning while surrendering two earned runs on three hits and a walk. Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson said Francisco should pitch again for Binghamton on Thursday or Friday.
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• Matt Capps served up a two-run blast in the ninth frame of a non-save situation to Martin Maldanado of the Milwaukee Brewers last Friday, and hasn’t pitched since. The long ball was the fourth allowed by Capps this season — giving the Brew Crew a 5-3 victory over the Twinkies — and dealt the veteran righty his fourth loss of 2012. Since the loss, Capps has been sidelined with shoulder inflammation but is expected to return to action this Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, manager Ron Gardenhire suggested Glen Perkins and Jared Burton could each see an opportunity to close out games based on matchups. Despite the aforementioned loss, Capps has been pretty reliable for the Twins in save situations, nailing down 14-of-15 chances with a 5.00 K/BB.
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When was the last time you saw a single position in fantasy take such a beating before the season even gets underway?  First there was the sudden change to Brett Myers in Houston.  Then Joakim Soria and Ryan Madson headed for the DL, each in need of Tommy John surgery.  Then Drew Storen had elbow issues and Frank Francisco needed his knee drained.  It’s been a disaster, right?

Well, now it gets worse as Andrew Bailey heads to the shelf for three to four months with thumb surgery and Kyle Farnsworth lands on the DL with elbow soreness.  The waiver wire has been a hotbed of action for the last few weeks and it’s getting even hotter with these next two guys…

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So we’ve decided to turn this 10 Bold Predictions thing into a friendly competition amongst the RotoGraphs writers. Here are mine… Read the rest of this entry »