Archive for John Axford

Through the first half of last season, the A’s ranked 2nd in baseball in starting pitcher’s ERA. They were also tied for 1st in HR allowed per 9 and second in the AL in GB%. Offensively, the A’s were 5th in the AL in runs scored, entering the All-Star break with a +44 run differential. And a -9 win differential. So what happened?

Well, they were terrible defensively. They ranked 29th in Defensive Runs Above Average and UZR and led the AL in unearned runs. With catcher Stephen Vogt rating as 2015’s 8th worst pitch framer, it’s a wonder the rotation fared as well as it did. And the bullpen? Is a -0.1 WAR something you might be interested in? Me neither.  

Out of contention by the trade deadline, Billy Beane traded Scott Kazmir, Ryan Cook, Tyler Clippard, and Eric O’Flaherty. Then in the offseason, he exiled Jesse Chavez to Canada, Evan Scribner to the Mariners, Drew Pomeranz to the Padres, and lost Dan Otero on waivers and Edward Mujica to free agency. Caught all that? 9 pitchers, most of whom started 2015 in the East Bay, gone.

But you know the good news? The A’s never tear it down completely. In rebuilding his pitching staff, Beane assembled an intriguing posse of youngsters and Methuselastic veterans you might not recognize if you were sitting next to one on BART. Your league mates definitely won’t either.

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Episode 90

The latest episode of The Sleeper and the Bust is now live! Jason Collette joins Eno Sarris to preview the San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians.

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.

Thanks to Ian Miller aka Teen Archer, for the new intro music

Approximately 77 min of joyous analysis.

FSTA draft results mentioned several times in the show

• Things were going well in the last month for John Axford, who had saved 15 consecutive games dating back to August 21st, until tonight when Todd Frazier smacked a two-out homerun in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Reds even at 1-1 with the Brewers. Frazier’s long ball was the beginning of the end for Axford and the Crew on Thursday — a subsequent Jay Bruce single and a Dioner Navarro triple resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Reds. The Brewers walked off the field with their heads down knowing their playoff chances may have snuck past them tonight, and no one feels worse than the Brewers’ closer. Axford has now blown nine of his 42 save chances on the year to go with a 4.88 ERA (1.46 WHIP).
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• Jason Motte took to the bump tonight for the third night in-a-row — and fifth straight game for the Cardinals, dating back to September 15th. Motte surrendered an infield single to Matt Dominguez, but struck out the Astros in the ninth en route to his 38th save in 45 chances this year. The former 19th round pick sports a 2.94 ERA (0.95 WHIP) on the year, with a 5.64 K/BB — and his 38th save is tops in the National League.
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• John Axford won an 11-pitch duel with Rob Brantly by inducing a fly ball to left field for the third out in the ninth-inning and the 8-5 victory for the Crew over the Marlins. The save was Axford’s seventh consecutive successful conversion and 25th in 33 chances this season.
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• Former closers around the league busted down their manager’s door this week demanding they be returned to ninth-inning duties. Well, maybe that was just the John Axford approach — but hey, it worked. On Tuesday, Ron Roenicke signaled for the “mustached one” out of the pen with two down in the ninth. Axford strolled to the bump and induced a Welington Castillo ground out to earn his 19th save of the season. Milwaukee’s manager called on Axford again on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 victory over the Cubs, and he did just that. The right-hander struck out the side while allowing just one single en route to his 20th save on the year. Axford is available in 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
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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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• Just as I was about to press the “publish now” button on the Bullpen Report from last evening, John Axford decided to blow his second save of the season. The mustached one entered with a two-run lead, but surrendered a hit and two walks, resulting in two earned while whiffing just one to send the game into extras. Although this was only Axford’s second blown opportunity of the season, the Brewers’ closer has allowed six earned runs in his last four outings with five walks to just three punch outs. Looking further, Axford has actually increased his K/9 since 2011 — 10.51 to 12.93 batters per nine — but has allowed about double the free passes as he did last season (3.05 to 6.08 BB/9). Additionally, Axford has been a bit unlucky on average on balls in play (.361 versus .301 career) and is stranding less runners (62.2 LOB%) than his career (76.3%), which leads me to believe his 4.94 ERA is due for some improvement. Assuming there are no injury concerns, Axford needs to limit walks and reduce line drives if he wants to be the effective closer who recently held a 49-game consecutive save streak that ended May 11th. Should Axford continue to struggle, former closer Francisco Rodriguez is waiting in the first chair for the Brew Crew.

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• Ryan Cook earned his first handshake of the year Tuesday night as the Athletics defeated the Rockies, 8-5. Cook came on in the ninth and surrendered a hit, a free pass and whiffed two en route to the save. The righty has allowed just two earned runs in 27 appearances, good enough for a 0.67 ERA (2.83 FIP). Despite a 5.33 BB/9, Cook maintains a spectacular 0.89 WHIP thanks to a 0.91 BAA. Although these ratios may be unsustainable due to a .191 BABIP and 91.7 LOB%, Mike Axisa suggests Cook may not regress as far as some may assume since he’s a fly ball pitcher in a huge ballpark. Grab Cook where you can, as he seems to be the current head of skipper Bob Melvin’s closer-by-committee.
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As we sit and wait for all the big-named free agents to find themselves new homes, it’s time to start thinking about strategy for next year.  There are numerous of ways to go about drafting your team and you’re going to hear plenty of do’s and don’ts from a variety of people.  So allow me to chime in here first and tell you why punting saves should not be in your plans when developing a proper draft strategy.  Some people see no harm in it and tell you to just bulk up elsewhere.  I disagree.  It’s an automatic concession of points to your competition and immediately puts you at a disadvantage.

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