Accardo Gets the Save

Jeremy Accardo got the save for the Blue Jays today. He is definitely the guy to own in the Blue Jays 'pen for now. He should do a pretty good job if he can keep up these peripherals. Drop Jason Frasor if you haven't yet, and if it was apparent B.J. Ryan should be dropped as well.

J.P. Riccardi, Lying, and Lawsuits

I had a reader email today about a recent event that I'm sure has stimulated the minds of many baseball fans and Fantasy Baseball owners. J.P. Riccardi admitted a couple of days ago to lying about an injury to B.J. Ryan. During Spring Training he said that it was Ryan's back that was bothering him, while it reality is was actually a shoulder injury that he has since had to get Tommy John surgery on. The reader's email regarding this situation is below:



"Derek, I had a silly thought over the weekend, but figured I would bounce it off of you.

J.P. Riccardi, the Toronto G.M. admitted to lying about B.J Ryan's health this summer - who is now out for the year.

Today, Fantasy Baseball is a multi-million dollar industry (if not more). Being that B.J. Ryan was a top tier closer last year, many people who invested a lot of money into their leagues picked him, believing him to be healthy, only yo find out a month into the season that the GM lied - and now they are left to pick up the pieces of their teams closer situation.

What do you think of the idea of some type of lawsuit against Riccardi? Even if its not for a ton of money, but a statement type of lawsuit - that you cant go around lying about these things - b/c people lose money over it?

What do you think?"



I won't give my opinion yet, because I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks. If you have an opinion on this matter or any insight to provide, please post it in the comments section. Thanks!

B.J. Ryan Done for the Year

B.J. Ryan had Tommy John surgery today, officially ending his season. Jason Frasor has not been as effective as the Jays had hoped or I had expected. He currently has 8.10 K/9, but the 6.08 BB/9 are discouraging. The 42.1% GB percentage, while not terrible, is the lowest of his career. If he can find his control he would be a good bet to keep the role, but as long as he is walking that many batters there's a chance he will implode and lose the job.

If he does lose the job at some point it seems Jeremy Accardo would be next in line, so in deeper leagues stashing him might be a decent move.
Accardo's line: 7.98 K/9 | 3.07 BB/9 | 51.4% GB
That would make him a serviceable closer, although he has never had a GB rating that high before, so we could see it drop in the near future. His BB/9 rating is also worse than it was last year, so there is room for improvement there.

I wouldn't drop Frasor yet, as he could definitely improve, but if he doesn't and starts blowing saves the Jays might be forced to remove him from the role.

Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Closers

These rankings are more for informational purposes than anything else, as we don't advocate taking closers early. For more Closer information, read these two articles we've recently written on the subject. In short, wait until the late rounds of the draft to take closers.

Draft Day Strategy - Closers
Sleeper Alert - Late Round Closers

Like our Starting Pitcher Rankings, these don't take injury risk into account. While Gagne is #1, I wouldn't recommend drafting him - even if I recommended drafting top closers in general - because he is a huge risk and has Akinori Otsuka (a great option if Gagne does go down) breathing down his neck. Our Closer Rankings include player's involved in Closer Battles, not just the front runners.

Lastly, these Closer Rankings only represent the player's skill, not his likely hood to receive save opportunities. As this is a delicate thing to predict, we aren't even going to attempt it. We don't have a scientific way of doing it at the moment, but it is something we will be looking into for 2008. This is explained more in our Draft Day Strategy article on Closers.

Without further ado, our Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings.

Rank	Pitcher	Score
1	Eric Gagne	13.59
2	Joe Nathan	12.86
3	Brad Lidge	12.86
4	Francisco Rodriguez	12.36
5	Billy Wagner	12.32
6	B.J. Ryan	12.22
7	J.J. Putz	11.10
8	Jonathan Papelbon	10.78
9	Jose Valverde	10.68
10	Bobby Jenks	10.65
11	Tom Gordon	10.36
12	Mariano Rivera	10.26
13	Takashi Saito	9.91
14	Octavio Dotel	9.90
15	Huston Street	9.76
16	Francisco Cordero	9.63
17	Trevor Hoffman	9.34
18	Brian Fuentes	9.34
19	Chad Cordero	8.91
20	Jorge Julio	8.71
21	Jason Isringhausen	8.66
22	Danny Miceli	8.45
23	Bob Wickman	8.39
24	Chris Ray	8.28
25	Ryan Dempster	8.12
26	Armando Benitez	8.07
27	Arthur Rhodes	7.87
28	Salomon Torres	7.80
29	Chris Reitsma	7.79
30	Dustin Hermanson	7.70
31	Bill Bray	7.49
32	Joe Borowski	7.34
33	Mike Stanton	7.18
34	David Weathers	7.13
35	Todd Coffey	7.10
36	Todd Jones	7.05
37	Seth McClung	5.26

Teams that have closer jobs up for grabs include:

Reds

Red Sox

Devil Rays

Marlins (Tankersley's DLed to start the year and Owens and Lindstrom aren't included, but Owens is a good sleeper if he gets the job)

Teams whose closer has an above average chance of getting injured or losing his job by year's end:

Tigers

Rangers

Braves

Cubs

Pirates

Cards

Giants

Phillies

Indians

The two lists above illustrate one of my biggest arguments for waiting on closers. Guys will be available on the waiver wire, and this year, lots of great options will be.

UPDATE 3/9: Brendan Donnelly, Joel Pineiro, Craig Hansen, and Jonathan Papelbon added with the news of Mike Timlin's injury (Thanks to Jason McAdams of My Baseball Bias for the tip). I wouldn't touch any of these guys until something is resolved. Unless Papelbon takes the job, which doctors continue to say he shouldn't do for health reasons, I don't see the Red Sox trusting any of these guys in their run for the playoffs. I see a mid-season trade as the most likely scenario.

UPDATE: 3/16: Julian Tavarez, Chris Reitsma, and Arthur Rhodes added.

UPDATE: 3/26: All Red Sox (except Jonathan Papelbon) removed with news that Papelbon will close. Dustin Hermanson added.

UPDATE: 3/26: Jorge Julio added with the news that he has been traded to the Marlins.