Bullpen banter: Seattle's arms keeping club afloat
By Lee Kostroski
Thriving – Seattle Mariners
Despite the majors worst offense (3.73 runs per game), the Mariners are still hovering around .500. The clubs live arms have made up for their weak hitting brothers – particularly its relievers.
Seattle, which is flying a bit under the radar, has the second best ERA in all of baseball at 3.68. Their bullpen is even better with a 3.28 ERA, good for third in the majors. The non-starting pitching staff has played a large part in the club’s 15 one-run victories.
Starters Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez have pitched effectively and gone deep into games helping out their bullpen brothers.
Seattle began the year with Dave Morrow as their closer but he couldn’t get the job done with three losses and an ERA approaching 6.00. Journeyman Dave Aardsma, who is playing on his fifth team in six years, has filled in better than anyone expected. Aardsma has posted 11 saves in 12 attempts with an ERA of only 1.78.
Miguel Batista has allowed too many base runners this year, but he has kept a majority of those from crossing the plate. His versatility is also invaluable as he can start, close or pitch anywhere in between. Mark Lowe has a record of 0-4 but possesses respectable numbers in his 29 appearances. Rookie Shawn White has been a reliable right-handed specialist with an ERA of 2.01.
Seattle, entering Wednesday’s play, has won 10 of its last 17 games despite playing all but six of those on the road. The M’s are hanging around in the American League West only 5.5 games back of Texas.
Struggling – Detroit Tigers
The Tigers bullpen was one of the chief culprits in the club’s past two underachieving campaigns. The unit appeared to be on the path of redemption thanks to a hot start in 2009, but it fell back into its habits in the month of June.
The Tigers have a record of just 6-9 over their last 15 games and their bullpen has been horrendous during that stretch. The relievers have pitched in 13 of the last 15 contests, allowing runs in 10 of those games. Over those 15 games, the bullpen has pitched 49 innings and allowed 79 base runners and 30 runs. That terrible streak has pushed this group’s ERA up to 4.68, which is the eighth worst mark in MLB.
The Tiger hitters have also cooled with a batting average of .217 over the last 10 which hasn’t helped, however the bullpen has been the main reason for this rough patch.
Last year’s standout, Armando Galarraga is fighting to pitch past the fifth inning in most of his starts and Dontrelle Willis hasn’t returned to the form he showed in Florida. The bullpen regularly pitches extensively whenever these two hurlers take the hill.
A quick glance at closer Fernando Rodney’s save numbers might suggest he has been lights out. That is not the case. He’s 12 for 12 in save opportunities, but his 4.50 ERA sets alarm bells off for bettors.
Zach Miner has been shuffled between the bullpen and starting rotation without much success. He has allowed 67 opponents to reach base in 41 innings pitched. Veteran lefty, and former starter, Nate Robertson has been a disaster out of the bullpen with an ERA of nearly 8.00. He has allowed nearly two base runners to reach every inning he has pitched this season.
As a whole, the Detroit bullpen has only two regulars (seven appearances or more) that have an ERA of less than 4.22. They better get that straightened out soon or you won’t see them on top of the AL Central for much longer.
Other Bullpen Tidbits
Washington Nationals – Just when we thought former closer Joel Hanrahan was starting to come around - he was removed of his role. It hasn’t gotten any better for the Nats with Ron Villone and Mike MacDougal combining to blow another save opportunities on Tuesday night. That was Washington’s 16th blown save equalling its overall win total.
Toronto Blue Jays- Toronto’s bullpen was revived with the recent performance of closer Scott Downs. He had saved eight of nine chances with an ERA below 2.00. Now it looks like the Jays will have to move ahead without Downs, who was injured on Tuesday night and will most likely head to the disabled list.