Shaky Closers Are Shaky

I've reversed one stance that I used to have in leagues with daily transactions. Before, I would try to refrain from jumping at the first noteworthy performance from a player, or the first sign of weakness from a closer. However, not only did I miss out on the Jose Bautista breakout types, but the inaction often forced me to miss out whenever a closing job changed hands. Part of my change derives from selection bias - my one daily transactions league is Yahoo Friends & Family, which is both active with sharks (good luck sneaking a newly minted closer past Scott Pianowski), but because it's an innings-cap league, so many top set-up guys are already owned, making the chase that much tighter when someone does emerge. So, to that end … hello Takashi Saito, and welcome to my roster!

Phillies 5, Astros 4

- Brandon Lyon retired just one batter in his gut punch blown save, allowing three runs on six hits. All six hits were singles, and not all of them were hard hit, and the final hit was a function of center fielder Michael Bourn playing shallow to cut down any potential runner on a fly ball at home plate. Lyon started 2010 hurt and didn't pitch well initially before closing well to finish the year. He won't lose his job because of this outing - it'll take more than that. Still, his top replacement candidates are Wilton Lopez and Mark Melancon.
- I'm not quite sure how Brett Myers gets it done. His velocity was down most of the day against the Phillies, rarely topping 90 mph. He didn't strike out anyone his seven innings of work, walking three. But he held the Phillies to two runs (one earned) on three hits nonetheless, after pitching well against them last year.
- With Chase Utley out for the Phillies, their batting order Friday was interesting, with Shane Victorino leading off and Jimmy Rollins batting third. I'm not sure if it's optimal to put Rollins, who isn't really an on-base guy, in front of Ryan Howard like that, but I also don't know if the Phillies have a better option right now. Speaking of Rollins, he stole third base in the ninth inning with one out and the Phillies down two runs - it worked, but the reward wasn't worth the risk. As a fantasy owner I would like it, but if I were a Phillies fan I'd be appalled at the poor judgment.

Pirates 6, Cubs 3

- Stop the presses! An NL Central closer actually converted a save chance Friday. Joel Hanrahan gave up a walk and a hit, but also struck out two without allowing a run. For one day, Hanrahan holds the "Best NL Central Closer" title.
- The Pirates went 17-64 on the road last year, but 5-4 at Wrigley.
- The Cubs had 11 hits, but all of them were singles and they drew only two walks. By contrast, the Pirates had only seven hits, but five of them were for extra bases and they also drew seven walks, including four off of Ryan Dempster.
- Clint Hurdle's teams tend to run often, and Friday's game was no different with two stolen bases for the Bucs. Jose Tabata's swipe was reasonably foreseeable, but Pedro Alvarez also picked up his first career stolen base.
- It's worth noting that the Pirates pinch-hit Matt Diaz for Garrett Jones at the first sign of a lefty (John Grabow).

White Sox 15, Indians 10

- Hey, at least Fausto Carmona's K:BB (5:1) was good! It's not as if fading Carmona is going out on a limb, but I'm happy that I don't own him anywhere.
- How disappointed do you have to be if you're an Alex Rios owner, see that the White Sox scored 15 runs, and then see his line in the boxscore?
- If this were a football game, the Indians would have had a backdoor cover.
- Not only did Jack Hannahan win the Tribe's Opening Day third base job, but he went 3-for-5 with a rare homer.
- Adam Dunn is probably my favorite player in baseball. I understand why he can't be in Cincinnati any longer, but I'm glad to see him hit yet another Opening Day homer (his seventh), and because he's in the other league, I can root for him without reservation. And yet, I own him in just one league right now.

Rangers 9, Red Sox 5

- Jamey Newberg from the fantastic Newberg Report discussed Michael Napoli's ability to crush lefties and how the Rangers were slated to face a number of good lefties early in the season. He looked pretty prophetic after Napoli took Jon Lester deep today. We did get to see a little bit of the future, in that Mitch Moreland sat against a tough lefty.
- Not a good day for Julio Borbon - he got plunked, batted ninth, and made an error after his defense was criticized in spring training. Then to top it off, David Murphy pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning and had the go-ahead hit.
- David Ortiz's homer against Darren Oliver shouldn't be a surprise, even though Oliver is left-handed and dominated lefties last year. Over his career, his BAA against is within .007 over each other, plus Oliver struggled in the playoffs. Even with Neftali Feliz closing, the Rangers' back-end of the bullpen is pretty weak, with Alexi Ogando in the rotation. They need Arthur Rhodes to stay healthy for the bulk of the season.
- Daniel Bard wasn't his sharpest, but the pitch he threw to David Murphy for the go-ahead hit was actually a really good pitch that Murphy was somewhat fortunate to get his bat on. Murphy didn't drive the ball, but just flicked it down the line and it happened to stay fair. Don't read too much into Bard's results.

Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 6

- Ubaldo Jimenez was topping out at 92-93 mph, a good 4-5 mph slower than his typical fastball. I wouldn't be too alarmed - I've seen a number of power pitchers struggle with their velocity and command in April. Obviously if this lack of velocity persists later in the season, sound the alarm bells, but it's just one start. That said, he couldn't throw his curveball in the bullpen, and he ditched it early in his start. Afterward, the Denver Post's Troy Renck said that Jimenez had a cut on a thumb cuticle, which could explain everything.
- Aaron Cook (finger) is weeks away from a return, meaning we'll see a decent amount of Esmil Rogers in April.
- J.J. Putz dealt with a bad back in spring training, but he looked good Friday, striking out two in a perfect inning to get the save.
- Jose Lopez had 25 homers as a Mariner two years ago. He could tank, but he could also be a threat to regain that power and a little more playing in Coors Field. The big question for him might be his defense - it was bad enough for him to get moved off second base in Seattle.
- Juan Miranda got the Opening Day start at first base for Arizona - he's going to have to produce to hold off both Russell Branyan and Xavier Nady, let alone Brandon Allen in the minors.
- Stephen Drew (abdominal strain) couldn't answer the bell, and because Arizona sent down Tony Abreu, Willie Bloomquist was your Opening Day Diamondbacks shortstop and leadoff hitter.

Blue Jays 13, Twins 3

- Somehow we have to trick J.P. Arencibia into thinking each game is his season-debut with the Blue Jays.
- My sidebet with Derek VanRiper on Jose Bautista is off to a good start. Just 29 more to go, Jose!
- In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter, but how did Carl Pavano rate in getting the Opening Day start ahead of Francisco Liriano? I'll admit to looking at the score first, thinking that Liriano had gotten torched for my AL Tout Wars squad, and being presently surprised that it was Pavano.
- Aaron Hill left after the seventh inning Friday - he had dealt with a quad injury in spring training. It looks like this was completely precautionary. They also declined to pick up their club option for the 2014 portion of their three-year options.
- The Jays intend to run a little more this year, and they did so in the first inning, pulling off a double steal between Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar.

Marlins 6, Mets 2

- Josh Johnson continued to allay fears of any remaining effect from last year's season-ending injury, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He might have been the most impressive Opening Day starter this side of Clayton Kershaw.
- Michael Stanton's hamstring injury obviously is a concern, though it's to his other leg, not the one that bothered him in spring training.
- I posted the update on Scott Cousins last night - if he gets the playing time if there's an extended absence for Stanton, he could be a quiet source of stolen bases. He might end up playing a lot anyhow, even if Stanton is fine. It's not hard to envision Chris Coghlan moving to the infield, opening up center field for Cousins.
- Logan Morrison's homer was a pure climbing line drive. He could have a lot of those doubles-turned-into-homers this year.

Orioles 4, Rays 1

- I missed out on Zach Britton everywhere, but even putting self-interest aside, I don't if it's universally such a good thing that he's getting the call now in place of the injured Brian Matusz. If Britton is as special as his most ardent fans think, from an O's perspective, calling him up now might cost them a year of his services. I understand that they've taken a win-now approach, and maybe they really will build on that strong second half last year under Buck Showalter. But I tend to think that they are a couple of years away, and this emphasis on winning now could end up being a little short-sighted.
- Sean Rodriguez sat out the season opener, as the Rays started Ben Zobrist at second, allowing Dan Johnson to start at first base and Matt Joyce in right field. Look for a lot of fluidity in the playing time situations for each position, as everything hinges on what position Zobrist plays.

Royals 2, Angels 1

- KILA!
- It's just two games in, but the only Angels reliever that has looked good so far is Jordan Walden.
- Mark Trumbo will sit Saturday after grounding into two double plays Friday. Don't overreact to this news, however - in spring training, Mike Scioscia said that Howie Kendrick would get some playing time at first base, to allow Alberto Callaspo some playing time. Trumbo will be back in there Sunday.
- Jeff Francis looked good against the Angels, after allowing a first-inning homer to Kendrick. That said, he didn't top 85 mph on the radar. His margin for error is going to be pretty thin.

Mariners 6, A's 2

- I'm re-using the same joke I made on Twitter last night, because I liked it: "We secretly replaced the A's infield with that of the 2010 Marlins. Let's see if anyone notices!"
- The New York Post's Kevin Kernan joked about Felix Hernandez being on target for another CY Young, "for those voters that don't believe wins are important…" after he fell behind 2-0. Strangely enough, he didn't tweet about the rest of the game. But I doubt they get the West Coast feed of games in his cave.
- Franklin Gutierrez (stomach gastritis) is making significant progress through antibiotics. He should return from the DL shortly. In the meantime, your starting center fielder is … Ryan Langerhans!
- Of the A's errors, none committed when Trevor Cahill was on the mound came in to score. But it helped run up his pitch count, so that he had to leave after 4.2 innings, having thrown 105 pitches at that point. He did more than his share contributing to that pitch count by walking four batters.
- Kurt Suzuki left with a mild ankle sprain after a play at the plate - there was contact between he and Miguel Olivo, but it didn't seem to be a full-on collision, rather just Suzuki getting positioned awkwardly.

Dodgers 4, Giants 3

- Two days, two saves for Jonathan Broxton, this time without any blood.
- Matt Kemp for the second day in a row impressed with his baserunning ability, going from first to third on a ground out, later scoring on a sac fly.
- Brandon Belt hit his first major league homer, a pure shot to center field off of Chad Billingsley.
- The Giants committed back-to-back errors in the Dodgers' go-ahead rally. The two Bay Area teams combined for seven errors Friday.
- Juan Uribe sat out with a swollen elbow after getting hit by a pitch, and Jamey Carroll sat with lefty Jonathan Sanchez starting. Thus the Dodger second base and third base positions were manned by Ivan DeJesus Jr. and Aaron Miles. Yikes.