We are starting the second half of what has been another relatively stable week in MLB bullpens.
The major news among closers happened at the end of last week when the Astros returned Brad Lidge into the closer's role. The Astros handling of the situation seems a bit sketchy. It was true enough that Dan Wheeler was struggling and he continues to do so, getting into a shoving match with Chris Sampson last night after blowing the starter's 3-2 lead in the 8th. It is also true that Brad Lidge had pitched well before the move, allowing, just one earned run in his previous 19.2 IP.
But Lidge, after blowing his first save opp until April on Monday now sits 0- for -3 in the most important stat, converted saves. That blown save once again exposed what has been Brad's biggest problem. "He's been throwing the ball so well," manager Phil Garner said. "He just tried to make a superhuman, unbelievable nasty slider and he doesn't have to do that. He just has to throw a nice one." Instead of relying on his considerable stuff, Brad gets a little too fine and thinks a little too much about what is on his shoulders during a save situation.
Brad was 1-1 with a 1.10 ERA in May over 14 appearances and 16.1 IP allowing just 6 hits and 4 walks (0.61 WHIP) while striking out 22 (12.1/9). That is a closer's resume to be sure, and he has allowed one run this month in 6 IP on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. The three walks show up a walk rate (3.9/9 this season and 3.8/9 career) that can be problematic at times.
Dan Wheeler on the other hand was 6- for -6 in save opps in May with a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 IP over 11 appearances. He allowed 6 hits and 3 walks (0.81) while striking out 15. That 11.5/9 K rate is well about his 8.0/9 career rate but in line with Dan's 10.4/9 rate this season as he has gone 11-3 in save opps.
Two of those three blown saves have come in June where Dan has 15.95 ERA in 7.1 IP over 8 appearances. He has allowed 15 hits, and 3 walks (2.46 WHIP) while striking out 9 (11.0/9 K rate). The opportunity was clearly there for Garner to make the move even if doing so furthered his reputation of being proactive about fixing things that are not exactly broken. So now that we have opportunity, do we have motive?
One should be clear. The Astros need to make a determination about Brad Lidge once, and for all. With Brad pitching as well as he has of late, the Astros are trying to capitalize on that success in the hopes that Brad finally takes root as a closer. The timing indicates part of their thinking is that if Lidge has some success as a closer, it will happen just as contenders start looking for bullpen help prior to the trade deadline. They are trying to create a situation in which they have the option to stick with Lidge if they feel confident in his capabilities or trade him on a high note. If trading hime were their only motivation they would allow him to continue to flourish in the set up role and continue to create trade value for himself. The fact they would risk his strong run of late to the possibility of watching Brad unravel under the pressure of closing indicates that either they do not understand trading psychology or they are still hopeful Brad can become an established closer in Houston.
Houston has in fact established that Dan Wheeler is capable of handling the job if the right deal comes along for Lidge and they are attempting to leverage that knowledge. Still, the prevailing sentiment in Houston, inside and outside of the organization, is that Lidge will not flourish in the shadow of his history of struggles in Houston, some of which stretch back to Albert Pujols playoff homerun.
The answer to this puzzle can not be found in the stat lines here at Insiderbaseball.com. The key lies between Brad Lidge's ears and eventually between the ears of some MLB GM who is desperate enough to look at Lidge as salvation for his battered bullpen this summer (read: "Start spreading the news. I'm leaving today ...."). All we can do as fantasy owners is make the claim and/or play Lidge to collect the saves as we watch and wait for the data to collect.
Elsewhere, one of the lone bright spots in this recent stress-inducing stretch for the Red Sox was Jonathan Papelbon's inning of work on Tuesday night. In closing out the Rockies, Papelbon showed stuff very reminiscent of his 2006 performance. He hit 97 mph regularly and more importantly, his fastball showed that great late explosion that has been his trademark since becoming the Red Sox closer. He says that he has not taken the mound this year feeling less than 100% due to Terry Francona's sound handling of his usage. That has included Hideki Okajima getting an occasional save opp to save wear and tear on Papelbon. That will continue as long as the Red Sox hold a ... well ... "comfortable"is getting less and less operative as a descriptor ... as long as the Red Sox hold a decent lead over the Yankees in the division...
Huston Street will see Dr. Anthony Galea in Toronto to have him give an opinion of Street's ulnar nerve issues. Dr. Galea has reportedly been very successful treating tennis players for that particular injury and Street hopes his recovery pace can be accelerated a bit ... And in case you missed it, Henry Owen was returned to the 15-day DL on Wednesday with additional and/or continuing inflammation in his right shoulder. He could be out until the All-Star break ...
