Is a 135.00 ERA bad?

Had Kerry Wood in my lineup Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals.

He entered the top of the ninth with the Indians ahead 4-3.

I'm feeling good.

Then this happened:

M Aviles tripled to deep right.
D DeJesus reached on infield single to pitcher.
B Butler doubled to deep right, M Aviles scored, D DeJesus to third. GAME TIED 4-4.
J Guillen struck out looking.
A Callaspo intentionally walked.
M Maier walked, D DeJesus scored, B Butler to third, A Callaspo to second. ROYALS 5, INDIANS 4.
Y Betancourt doubled to deep center, B Butler, A Callaspo and M Maier scored. ROYALS 8, INDIANS 4.
J Wright relieved K Wood.

That's four hits, five runs, 1 out, one blown save, one loss and a 135.00 ERA for the night.

Not 1.35 ... 135.00.

Is Wood in danger of losing his job so quickly after coming off the DL? It's possible. But remember, this is essentially Wood's spring training, and while he probably won't morph into an elite closer, he could round into form and at least be serviceable.

I'm probably picking up set-up man Chris Perez though, just in case.

Perez-for-DeRosa could have long-term implications

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Chris Perez was traded to the Cleveland Indians over the weekend for infielder Mark DeRosa.

DeRosa's obviously the headliner for fantasy purposes: he's a versatile player and productive hitter that we can plug into a variety of positional slots. The move to St. Louis shouldn't affect his value much at all, unless you're in an AL- or NL-only league. So why should we care about this trade so much?

Here's the deal: Perez is a big, hard-throwing right-hander who's been pegged as a future big league closer for some time now. The 23-year-old didn't quite do enough this year to beat out Ryan Franklin and Jason Motte and win the favor of Cards manager Tony La Russa for the team's closer duties. But the move to Cleveland opens a whole new world of possibility for him. In case you haven't noticed, the Tribe's free-agent signing of Kerry Wood hasn't exactly been an overwhelming success. Wood's 5.47 ERA and 1.56 WHIP are pretty atrocious. He hasn't had that many save opportunities with the Indians struggling so mightily in 2009, but Wood has also managed to blow four of 13 chances.

Wood's still got another year on his deal with Cleveland, and the team doesn't have many other reliable options in its bullpen, which means the job will probably still belong to him at least through this season, barring a complete meltdown or an injury. But expect Perez to get some serious on-the-job training as Wood's set-up man this season. I predict he'll take over ninth-inning duties by the middle of next year - which means he should stay on fantasy players' radar. He's the Indians' closer of the future.

You need to know this

For those of you who haven't drafted yet (and even those who have):

Chris Perez has been sent to the minors, meaning Jason Motte is now the frontrunner to earn the bulk of the saves in St. Louis. Ryan Franklin is still lurking, and I think Perez will ultimately end up handling ninth-inning duties, but for now Motte's the man, and a must-add.

Lance Berkman has a sore shoulder and has been diagnosed with biceps tendinitis. Doesn't seem to be a huge deal though, as he hopes to return to the Astros' lineup this week. I wouldn't panic.

B.J. Ryan hasn't looked too hot this spring, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is concerned, and there's some discussion about Scott Downs and Ryan sharing closer duties. Handcuff alert! Drop Ryan down a peg in your closer rankings.


Brett Gardner has won the Yankees' starting CF job over Melky Cabrera. Why should you care? Because Gardner swiped 37 bags last year in 94 games in Triple-A and 13 more in 42 games in the bigs. Are you familiar with the term "cheap steals?"

The Cubs' closer (for now): Kevin Gregg. He's officially beaten out Carlos Marmol for the job entering the season. Gregg may not be the greatest, but he's coming off seasons of 29 and 32 saves - nothing to sniff at, and the Cubbies should win a bunch of ballgames. Marmol's got some value as a setup guy and might eventually win the job, but for now it's Gregg's to lose.

The crazy world of closers

Closers can drive you crazy. No position in fantasy is more polarizing or volatile from year to year.

The fact that only one man on one team in any given game can possibly earn a save makes that category scarce and hard to predict. A comparison of last year's top 10 closers and this year's saves leaders illustrates the point.

Scanning last year's list, we see a few familiar names. Jose Valverde, 2007's major league saves leaders (47) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, could match that total this year with his new team, the Houston Astros. Francisco Rodriguez, tied for fifth last year with 40 saves, is threatening Bobby Thigpen's record of 57 this year. And Francisco Cordero, Trevor Hoffman and Bobby Jenks probably won't return to the 40-save plateau but have been solid nonetheless.

But that doesn't even account for half the list.

What happened to Joe Borowski, second in the league last year with 45 saves? He managed only six this year (with an unsightly 7.56 ERA) for the Cleveland Indians while wasting away on the DL and ultimately getting released.

What about J.J. Putz? He too has spent more time on the DL than the field for the Seattle Mariners, not even recording a quarter of last year's 40 saves and posting an ERA almost three full runs higher.

What of Takashi Saito? He was off to another fine start (17 saves) before suffering an elbow injury. Now at 38, his future as the Los Angeles Dodgers' closer is in jeopardy with young gun Jonathan Broxton taking his place.

How about Todd Jones? His dreadful ratios (4.97 ERA, 1.63 WHIP) weren't that much of a shock, but with the Detroit Tigers' struggles this year, his 18 saves aren't even half of last year's total (38). Now he's on his second DL stint of the year and might not return.

And finally, where's Chad Cordero? After 37 saves in '07 with the Washington Nationals, he went 0-for-2008 and is out for the year with a torn labrum.

Those aren't the only horror stories: Veteran Billy Wagner might not appear in a New York Mets uniform again this year; Huston Street's stock is plummeting with the Oakland A's; Eric Gagne's tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers has been a disaster; injuries spoiled Rafael Soriano's season for the Atlanta Braves; the Texas Rangers' C.J. Wilson went down in flames; and a creaky Jason Isringhausen recently told some St. Louis Cardinals personnel he's "done."

Sure, the biggest names haven't disappointed - Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon have been stupendous, to no one's surprise. But consider these other surprise standouts:

Brad Lidge looked finished in Houston but has been outstanding for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Few people heard of George Sherrill before this year, but he'll finish with more than 30 saves for the Baltimore Orioles, despite his recent shoulder problem.

The Kansas City Royals' Joakim Soria and the San Francisco Giants' Brian Wilson are both top-10 closers. So much for guys on bad teams not getting save opportunities.

Former retiree Troy Percival is closing in on 30 saves with the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, and if not for his various injuries he'd have 40 already.

Chris Perez has emerged as a stopper in his rookie season - the Cardinals' third ninth-inning option this year.

B.J. Ryan continues to get the job done for the Toronto Blue Jays, just 15 months after Tommy John surgery.

Someone named Brad Ziegler has been almost untouchable and has unseated Street in Oakland.

The lesson is this: saves can be found everywhere, and your best-laid plans for your bullpen at the start of the season will probably go awry. Keep that in mind as you're speculating on the waiver wire for saves and debating whether to keep a closer for next year.

Save situations, July 28: Tigers, Pirates, Cardinals

Looks like Todd Jones' time is up as the Tigers' closer, at least for the time being. Fernando Rodney has supplanted him after Jim Leyland had seen enough of Jones' awfulness this year. Fantasy owners might have been willing to put up with the 4.99 ERA and 1.59 WHIP if there was at least a promise of coming close to 40 saves like the past three seasons, but now it's safe to put Jones on your bench or even cut him. His 18 saves and measley 13 strikeouts were barely worth the trouble.

Rodney certainly has the stuff to succeed in this role, but injuries have been a problem, so his grip on the job will be tenuous at best. Still, he's got to be picked up immediately, with Joel Zumaya's value also rising if Rodney should falter or get hurt again.

g The Pirates' trade of Damaso Marte means his fantasy value in most leagues is shot. Marte (right), who had taken over for the injured Matt Capps in Pittsburgh, will strictly be a left-handed specialist now that he's with the Yankees. That leaves another void in the Pirates' bullpen, and it's unclear where they might turn next. John Grabow didn't exactly inspire much confidence Sunday by allowing two home runs, Tyler Yates has been shaky for the past few weeks (seven earned runs in his past 10 2/3 innings), and Denny Bautista is pretty much the epitome of an average middle reliever. In other words, stay away from Pirates relievers unless you're absolutely desperate for saves.

g In St. Louis, the news isn't quite as bad, but it's still a mess. Closer Ryan Franklin has been bad his past three times out (two blown saves and two losses), but luckily for him, Jason Isringhausen hasn't exactly made a case for taking back his old job, either. It looks like the Cards will ride it out with Franklin for the time being, which means he still has value, although I'd probably relegate him to my bench until he snaps out of his funk. Rookie Chris Perez showed lots of promise in his brief call-up, but after the league adjusted to him he was sent back down to the minors for some more seasoning. He's the guy to really keep an eye on, although he probably won't be making much more of a fantasy contribution until 2009.

Photos by The Associated Press

The Class of 2008

It's hard to believe Joba Chamberlain is technically a rookie. Seems like we've been debating the New York Yankee's future (starter or reliever?), his antics on the mound (youthful exuberance or bad sportsmanship?) and his place in pinstriped lore (great Yankee or greatest Yankee?) for years.

Despite the plethora of back-page headlines and sports talk radio rants devoted to him, it's easy to forget the guy hasn't yet pitched 50 big league innings and has only begun reaching his potential. Still, the mastery he's already shown as a setup man (2.28 ERA, 12 holds, more than a strikeout an inning) has been valuable in the fantasy game, and his stock only rises as the Yanks continue converting him into a starter.

Chamberlain's just one of many in the Class of 2008 who are already helping fantasy teams or who will be in the near future:

HERE TO STAY

Evan Longoria already looks like a polished pro and is a cornerstone of the surprising Tampa Bay Rays at third base. When he figures out how to hit lefties (.154 average) and cuts down on his strikeouts (44 Ks vs. 19 walks) he'll enter David Wright territory.

Joey Votto has the Cincinnati Reds' first base job all to himself now that Scott Hatteberg is out of the picture. And rightfully so - double-digit homers and an average around .300 are more than adequate from a corner infielder.

Reds center fielder Jay Bruce may have an even higher ceiling than Votto in the long run, as he showed in his debut last week (3-for-3, two RBIs, stolen base, two runs scored). There's a reason he's baseball's top prospect.

If you didn't know who Geovany Soto was at the start of the year, you do now that the Chicago Cubs rookie leads all major league catchers in RBIs.

Jacoby Ellsbury is well on his way to a 40-steal campaign, but the Boston Red Sox outfielder is holding his own at the plate, which justifies a starting fantasy spot.

MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Chris Perez has been virtually unhittable since his call-up two weeks ago and has yet to allow a run. It's only a matter of time before the righty is closing out games, so keeper leaguers and Ryan Franklin/Jason Isringhausen owners take note.

Clayton Kershaw just turned 20 years old, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have already put him in their rotation, at least for the time being. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound lefty will experience some hiccups, but his reputation as a strikeout artist can't be overlooked.

Speaking of hiccups, Johnny Cueto's had a few lately for the Reds after setting the league on fire his first few starts. Relegate him to your bench for now, but don't give up on his long-term potential.

Injuries opened a spot for lefty Aaron Laffey in the Cleveland Indians' rotation, but effective pitching (1.59 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) is keeping him there.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have used righty Max Scherzer as both a starter and a reliever. Either way, he's getting batters out (29 Ks in 25 2/3 innings, 2.10 ERA).

Jair Jurrjens fills the Atlanta Braves' quota of Curacao natives now that Andruw Jones is gone, but he's also given them a more-than-capable (5-3, 2.86 ERA) starting pitcher.

Former Red Sox farmhand David Murphy is one of several Texas Rangers mashing the cover off the ball (.291, 21 RBIs in May).

COMING SOON

Rays lefty David Price, the top overall pick in last year's draft, recently outpitched Pedro Martinez when the New York Mets star was making a rehab start in a Single-A game. The polished Price could be on the fast track to a big league call-up by the end of the year.

Switch-hitting third baseman/outfielder Chase Headley is tearing up Triple-A pitching and could make a cameo any day now for the sinking San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers, plagued by injuries and a lack of offense, could soon turn to third base prospect Andy LaRoche (career .900 OPS in the minors) for some help

Photos by The Associated Press

Save situations, May 12: Izzy, Gagne demoted

Times are tough. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Foreclosures are on the rise. The economy is slumping, and job security is a big concern for Americans everywhere.

Jason Isringhausen and Eric Gagne feel your pain.

Well, OK, maybe that's an overstatement. Those guys are still collecting multi-million-dollar paychecks while the rest of us are scrounging up loose change from the couch cushions just to fill up our gas tanks. But Izzy and Gags are understanding the uneasiness some of us feel about our job futures. Both of those guys were demoted from their team's closer role on successive days over the weekend after piling up the blown saves this year.

Gagne's "temporary" demotion certainly isn't surprising for anyone who's followed The Goggled One since last year. He almost single-handedly sabotaged the Red Sox's playoff push at the end of last year in a trade deadline deal gone horribly wrong, then imploded as the Brewers' closer this year (three blown saves in his past six chances) after somehow wrangling $10 million from Milwaukee this offseason.

Gagne's glory days as the NL's premier closer (152 saves from 2002-04 with the Dodgers) are clearly behind him, as injuries and now a case of a battered confidence have derailed him. The door was left open for Gagne to return to the closer's spot eventually this season after he works out his issues and earns back manager Ned Yost's trust. In the meantime, the Brew Crew will use an all-hands-on-deck approach in the ninth, with Guillermo Mota, David Riske and Salomon Torres, among others, all getting save chances as Yost sees fit.

If I'm a Gagne owner in a league where saves are scarce and I've put up with this nonsense all along just to fill that category, I'm holding onto him on the off chance he does figure things out. Otherwise, I'm dumping him and looking elsewhere. And if you're scrounging for saves and looking at this situation, Mota (2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 19 Ks, 11 BBs in 16 IP, five holds) is probably the favorite to get most of the ninth-inning chances, although Riske and Torres also have some prior closing experience.

Now, onto Isringhausen. It's a similar case of lost confidence after an MLB-high five blown saves this year, and Tony LaRussa's suggestion of a temporary break isn't really a shock. But I do think Izzy is more likely to regain his job, and sooner. After all, he's got a much better track record in recent years than Gagne, even though he's been "pitching like a second-grader" (his words) of late. He's got a lot of miles on his arm but this doesn't seem to be an injury issue at this point. Looks like you'll have to hold onto him, too, if you're looking to boost your save totals, but obviously this rough patch is a concern.

In the meantime, the Cards appear to be going down the "closer-by-committee" road too, although Ryan Franklin, who's having a nice year (1.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) worked the ninth and earned the save the day of Izzy's removal. Also, looking further down the road, 24-year-old Chris Perez, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander and one of the majors' top reliever prospects, is waiting in the wings in Triple-A. LaRussa initially considered putting Isringhausen on the DL and bringing up Perez before ruling against that. Keep tabs on him, as he could someday soon be Izzy's ninth-inning heir.