Vet relievers find homes; Fuentes to Angels’ rescue again

July 17th, 2009, 7:29 am · 3 Comments · posted by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Well, Matt Herges and B.J. Ryan didn’t stay on the market for long. bullpen-phone

The Colorado Rockies, who Herges helped to reach a World Series, re-signed the right-hander to a minor-league deal.

The Chicago Cubs signed former Toronto Blue Jays closer Ryan to a minor-league deal. Ryan being left-handed is the main reason for the Cubs’ attraction, and they plan to bring him up soon.

And the Angels? Their momentum was not blunted by the All-Star break, as they won their fourth in a row Thursday night. Ervin Santana pitched eight strong innings.

But Brian Fuentes was needed to save a game the Angels entered the ninth leading, 6-1.

While the All-Star closer was again up the task, how many more of these situations — the rest of the bullpen pitching him into a save situation — are going to happen, before Fuentes is made unavailable for a truly close game?

Darren Oliver is a reliable option, but what if he, too, gets overworked?

Both Ryan and Herges could have been had on the relative cheap, their 2009 (and, in Ryan’s case, 2010) salaries paid by the Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians, respectively.

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Angels 2009 projections

Player	Projection
Mike Napoli	.246/.351/.481
Jeff Mathis	.222/.288/.364
Kendry Morales	.274/.317/.430
Howie Kendrick	.304/.335/.440
Erick Aybar	.268/.309/.369
Chone Figgins	.278/.354/.367
Brandon Wood	.237/.295/.424
Maicer Izturis	.273/.343/.383
Juan Rivera	.273/.321/.453
Bobby Abreu	.282/.376/.440
Torii Hunter	.273/.331/.462
Vladimir Guerrero	.306/.369/.513
Gary Matthews, Jr	.260/.331/.402
Ervin Santana	3.87 ERA
John Lackey	3.82 ERA
Kelvim Escobar	3.93 ERA
Jered Weaver	3.94 ERA
Joe Saunders	4.24 ERA
Dustin Moseley	5.34 ERA
Brian Fuentes	3.33 ERA
Scot Shields	3.67 ERA
Jose Arredondo	3.75 ERA
Darren Oliver	4.01 ERA
Justin Speier	4.23 ERA
Kevin Jepsen	5.05 ERA

(These projections are an average of six common statistical forecasting systems. They are based on the players' previous performances, ages and, in some cases, physical characteristics.)

Brian C. says:

July 17, 2009 at 8:46 am

If what Fuentes says about Bud Selig dictating who was going to pitch and when in the All Star game is true then how can anyone truly believe that better teams are winning throughout the years? We all know Selig is a dolt and has no idea what he’s been doing since he took over but when you have the head man of MLB or any other sport dictating who plays and when to put them in then that smells of corruption.

Post Reply

Earl Bloom, staff writer says:

July 17, 2009 at 9:25 am

Maybe Bud is just paying the AL back for letting the Brewers move to the NL. …

I don’t dispute what Brian Fuentes is saying, it is extremely plausible. And it fuels something I have always wanted: A one-inning limit for all pitchers, except for extra innings.

Jake Logan says:

July 17, 2009 at 10:32 am

Earl, I still don’t see how someone else’s lousy reliever is better than our lousy relievers. Herges (maybe) might have been worth a look, Ryan no way. 85 mph is not gonna cut it in the big leagues. And Earl please don’t bring up Jamie Moyer again he’s terrible. He has a 5.58 ERA, In 100 innings he’s given up 117 hits and 26 BBs, not to mention 21 HRs. If he was doing that for the Angels, you’d be screaming at Reagins to get rid of him. Face it, nobody is gonna give us an 8th inning stud, because if they have one, their keeping him. That’s what made Shields so special. Hang on tight because the rest of the season is gonna be exactly like last night, a roller-coaster ride in the 7th & especially 8th innings.

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