Baseball's Best Bullpens in 2010
By JON KUIPERIJ
Baseball's ever-escalating contracts are forcing managers to be more mindful of their starting pitchers’ pitch counts, meaning bullpens now have more and more of a say in determining the outcomes of games. Knowing which squads can count on their relief corps is a vital part of the handicapping process.
Below are baseball's top five bullpens through the first six weeks of the season.
Detroit Tigers (2.22 ERA)
Jim Leyland might not need to suck down as many Marlboros to calm his frazzled nerves if his bullpen continues to mow down the opposition.
The Tigers easily own the best bullpen ERA in baseball, with all their regulars boasting ERAs lower than 3.50. Offseason acquisition Jose Valverde has been pure nasty in the closer role, allowing just one run in 14.2 innings and picking up nine saves.
Ryan Perry, billed as the franchise's future closer, has been rock solid as a setup guy. Fu-Te Ni and Joel Zumaya are both averaging better than a strikeout per inning. Phil Coke and Eddie Bonine have each picked up three wins in relief.
New York Mets (2.60)
Remember when the Mets bullpen used to be as reliable as a pregnancy test from the Dollar Store? Not anymore.
New York's relievers are holding opponents to a .215 average. Francisco Rodriguez only has five saves so far, but K-Rod is living up to his nickname, fanning 19 batters in 15.2 innings while allowing only two runs.
Rookie Ryota Igarashi has survived some control problems to post a 1.35 ERA in seven appearances. Fernando Nieve, Pedro Feliciano, Jenrry Mejia, Raul Valdes and Hisanori Takahashi are all off to excellent starts as well.
Colorado Rockies (2.69)
Coors Field isn't exactly known to be a pitchers haven, but the thin air of Denver hasn't stopped the Rockies bullpen from thriving this season.
Colorado ranks third in bullpen ERA, even after Manny Corpas allowed four runs in the ninth inning to the Phillies on Monday. Unheralded hurlers Randy Flores, Joe Beimel and Matt Daley have combined to allow only four runs in 35 innings.
Long relievers Matt Belisle and Corpas have also been good, each with ERAs under 3.20. The weakest link in the Rockies bullpen may actually be closer Franklin Morales, who is 0-3 with two blown saves.
Minnesota Twins (2.72)
Who needs Joe Nathan? Despite losing its all-star closer to injury in the preseason, the Twins bullpen hasn't skipped a beat. Jon Rauch has been excellent in his new ninth-inning role, racking up eight saves with an ERA just over 2.00.
Ron Mahay, Brian Duensing and Matt Guerrier have yielded only five earned runs in 37-plus innings. The bullpen's performance has keyed the Twins' hot start to the season, considering nine of Minny's 21 victories have come by margins of two runs or less.
San Diego Padres (2.75)
San Diego relievers are the hardest group to get a base hit against, holding opponents to a .195 batting average.
Heath Bell is 8-for-10 in save opportunities while allowing just two earned runs in 14 innings of work. Luke Gregerson hasn't given up a run in more than 15 innings.
But the big early-season story has been Tim Stauffer, who has a 0.39 ERA through 10 appearances (one spot start in place of Kevin Correia). Unfortunately for the Padres, Stauffer recently underwent an emergency appendectomy and could miss up to six weeks.