2002 National League Relief Rankings imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap
SAN FRANCISCO - Robb Nen 32 R and Felix Rodriguez 29 R and Jay Witasick 30 R and Jason Christiansen 33 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
NEN
1999 SF 3 8 72 0 0 0 37 72 79 27 77 398
2000 SF 4 3 68 0 0 0 41 66 37 19 92 150
2001 SF 4 5 79 0 0 0 45 78 58 22 93 301
RODRIGUEZ
1999 SF 2 3 47 0 0 0 0 66 67 29 55 380
2000 SF 4 2 76 0 0 0 3 82 65 42 95 264
2001 SF 9 1 80 0 0 0 0 80 53 27 91 168
WITASICK
2001 SD-NYY 8 2 63 0 0 0 1 79 78 33 106 330
CHRISTIANSEN
2001 STL-SF 2 1 55 0 0 0 3 36 29 15 31 322
      Last year wasn't one of Nen's best, but he was still plenty good and led the league in saves. When he is at the top of his game, as he was in 2000, he is almost unihittable. Lots of strikeouts, outstanding control. As you probably know, he has developed a pattern of having his best seasons in even-numbered years... though these patterns always break down eventually.

      As setup man, Felix Rodriguez was just flat-out awesome. Can I say that again, just in case you missed it the first time? Felix Rodriguez was awesome. He might be the best reliever in baseball who isn't closing games.

After struggling along miserably for years in the starting rotation, Witasick moved to the bullpen and pitched very well, striking out 106 batters in 79 innings. He gives the Giants three nasty right-handers in the bullpen.
HOUSTON - Billy Wagner 31 L and Octavio Dotel 28 R and Nelson Cruz 30 R and Dave Mlicki 34 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
WAGNER
1999 HOU 4 1 66 0 0 0 39 75 35 23 124 157
2000 HOU 2 4 28 0 0 0 6 28 28 18 28 618
2001 HOU 2 5 64 0 0 0 39 63 44 20 79 273
DOTEL
1999 NYM 8 3 19 14 0 0 0 85 69 49 85 538
2000 HOU 3 7 50 16 0 0 16 125 127 61 142 540
2001 HOU 7 5 61 4 0 0 2 105 79 47 145 266
CRUZ
2001 HOU 3 3 66 0 0 0 2 82 72 24 75 415
MLICKI
2001 DET-HOU 11 11 34 29 0 0 0 168 203 74 97 617
      Wagner's comeback from season-ending surgery was a stunning success. He was probably the best closer in the league, blowing only two saves all year. He wasn't as good as his incredible 1999 season... but even if he had stayed healthy, it is unlikely he could have repeated that performance. Away from Enron Field, he had a 1.57 ERA.

      Octavio Dotel may have started his last game. After moving to the bullpen, Dotel was awesome, striking out over 12 batters per game. He's a dominant setup man, will move into the closer's role when he gets out of Wagner's shadow.

      Cruz was picked up from Detroit last season, and was a workhorse in Houston's bullpen. He's had two good years in a row.
ST. LOUIS - Jason Isringhausen 30 R and Steve Kline 30 L and Dave Veres 35 R and Mike Timlin 36 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
ISRINGHAUSEN
1999 NYM-OAK 1 4 33 5 0 0 9 65 64 34 51 473
2000 OAK 6 4 66 0 0 0 33 69 67 32 57 378
2001 OAK 4 3 65 0 0 0 34 71 54 23 74 265
KLINE
1999 MON 7 4 82 0 0 0 0 70 56 33 69 375
2000 MON 1 5 83 0 0 0 14 82 88 27 64 350
2001 STL 3 3 89 0 0 0 9 75 53 29 54 180
TIMLIN
1999 BAL 3 9 62 0 0 0 27 63 51 23 50 357
2000 BAL-STL 5 4 62 0 0 0 12 65 67 35 52 418
2001 STL 4 5 67 0 0 0 3 73 78 19 47 409
VERES
1999 COL 4 8 73 0 0 0 31 77 88 37 71 514
2000 STL 3 5 71 0 0 0 29 76 65 25 67 285
2001 STL 3 2 71 0 0 0 15 66 57 28 61 370
      After a second full season as Oakland's closer, we can safely say the Isringhausen's comeback from serious injury is complete. On the surface, his numbers were great... but his season was marred by a few bad pitches that resulted in nine blown saves. Still, he has to be considered one of the better closers in the game; he has good control, hits the upper-90's with his fastball and has one of the nastiest curves in the game.

      I admit that I wasn't crazy about the Cardinals' decision to trade Fernando Tatis, but the deal turned out to be a slam dunk for St. Louis. It opened up a spot for Pujols to play, plus they got a decent starter in Hermanson and a super-duper reliever in Kline. Kline handles a heavy workload each season, and last year pitched brilliantly.
ARIZONA - Byung Hung-Kim 23 R and Bret Prinz 25 R and Miguel Batista 31 R and Mike Myers 33 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
KIM
1999 ARI 1 2 25 0 0 0 1 27 20 20 31 461
2000 ARI 6 6 61 1 0 0 14 71 52 46 111 446
2001 ARI 5 6 78 0 0 0 19 98 58 44 113 294
PRINZ
2001 ARI 4 1 46 0 0 0 9 41 33 19 27 263
BATISTA
2001 ARI 11 8 48 18 0 0 0 139 113 60 90 336
MYERS
1999 MIL 2 1 71 0 0 0 0 41 46 13 35 523
2000 COL 0 1 78 0 0 0 1 45 24 24 41 199
2001 COL 2 3 73 0 0 0 0 40 32 24 36 360
      Kim had an amazing year, doing a great job as the main man in Arizona's bullpen, and then... well, you all watched the World Series. Despite his October breakdown, there is everything to like about him. He is very young, and a terrific pitcher; the Diamondbacks would not have been in the playoffs without him. He is durable and throws nasty stuff; if his confidence holds together, and if Brenly can resist the urge to overwork him, then he should remain a fantastic pitcher.

      What a difference a year makes. Entering 2001, Batista had put together a string of miserable seasons, and had been passed around by the worst teams in the league. Six months later, he was a World Series hero. He will start this year in the bullpen, but the Diamondbacks have a fragile starting rotation.

      Myers is the ultimate one-batter pitcher. He had a pair of pretty amazing seasons in Colorado. I wonder how much he earns for every pitch he throws?
CINCINNATI - Danny Graves 29 R and Scott Sullivan 31 R and Gabe White 30 L and John Riedling 27 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
GRAVES
1999 CIN 8 7 75 0 0 0 27 111 90 49 69 308
2000 CIN 10 5 66 0 0 0 30 91 81 42 53 256
2001 CIN 6 5 66 0 0 0 32 80 83 18 49 415
SULLIVAN
1999 CIN 5 4 79 0 0 0 3 114 88 47 78 301
2000 CIN 3 6 79 0 0 0 3 106 87 38 96 347
2001 CIN 7 1 79 0 0 0 0 103 94 36 82 331
G WHITE
1999 CIN 1 2 50 0 0 0 0 61 68 14 61 443
2000 CIN-COL 11 2 68 0 0 0 5 84 64 15 84 236
2001 COL 1 7 69 0 0 0 0 68 70 26 47 625
RIEDLING
2001 CIN 1 1 29 0 0 0 1 34 22 14 23 241
      A pretty good bullpen, led by Graves, who last year was used more like a typical closer. Graves usually pitches in more innings and non-save situations than most closers, winding up with fewer saves but more decisions. He struggled a bit last year, despite the fact that his control dramatically improved. He's not one of the best closers in the league, but he's a solid pitcher.

      One of the most durable relievers in the game, Sullivan has averaged 85 games and 107 innings pitched over the past three seasons. Underrated, always pitches well, is improving his control.

      Gabe White returns to Cincy after he was traded to the Rockies in 2000. He had a strange tour of duty in Colorado, pitching brilliantly in 2000 but very badly last year. Hey, that happens in Colorado. White's a solid pitcher, should be a good addition to the staff.
SAN DIEGO - Trevor Hoffman 34 R and Steve Reed 36 R and Alan Embree 32 L and Jeremy Fikac 27 R and
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
HOFFMAN
1999 SD 2 3 64 0 0 0 40 67 48 15 73 214
2000 SD 4 7 70 0 0 0 43 72 61 11 85 299
2001 SD 3 4 62 0 0 0 43 60 48 21 63 343
REED
1999 CLE 3 2 63 0 0 0 0 62 69 20 44 423
2000 CLE 2 0 57 0 0 0 0 56 58 21 39 434
2001 CLE-ATL 3 3 70 0 0 0 1 58 52 23 46 355
EMBREE
2001 SF-CHW 1 4 61 0 0 0 0 54 65 17 59 733
FIKAC
2001 AA 6 0 53 0 0 0 18 69 54 20 75 197
2001 SD 2 0 23 0 0 0 0 26 15 5 19 137
      It seemed to me during the season that Hoffman was having an off-year. I think it was one really bad outing that put the idea in my head; that's the problem with closers, of course, that a half-dozen bad pitches can ruin a season. When the season ended, Hoffman's 3.43 ERA suggested that he was, indeed, off his game... but he blew only three saves, and you can't ask for much more than that. He's been a great closer for a long time now, probably has at least another five good years left.

      Embree began the season pitching horribly with the Giants, was able to rescue his season a little bit by pitching better with the White Sox. But his performance has degraded badly the past two seasons.

      Fikac is a bit of an unknown quantity, but there is nothing not to like about his performance last season. He began the season pitching brilliantly at Mobile, and ended it pitching brilliantly with San Diego.
NEW YORK METS - Armando Benitez 29 R and John Franco 42 L and David Weathers 33 R and Bruce Chen 25 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
BENITEZ
1999 NYM 4 3 77 0 0 0 22 78 40 41 128 185
2000 NYM 4 4 76 0 0 0 41 76 39 38 106 261
2001 NYM 6 4 73 0 0 0 43 76 59 40 93 377
FRANCO
2001 NYM 6 2 58 0 0 0 2 53 55 19 50 405
WEATHERS
1999 MIL 7 4 63 0 0 0 2 93 102 38 74 465
2000 MIL 3 5 69 0 0 0 1 76 73 32 50 307
2001 MIL 4 5 80 0 0 0 4 86 65 34 66 241
CHEN
2000 ATL-PHI 7 4 37 15 0 0 0 134 116 46 112 329
2001 PHI-NYM 7 7 27 27 0 0 0 146 146 59 126 487
      Benitez had a pair of horrible games against the Braves late in the season that ended the Mets' playoff hopes. He has a knack for blowing up at very bad times, but I'd still take him; he's a durable, powerful pitcher, and he blew only three saves all year.
ATLANTA - John Smoltz 35 R and Mike Remlinger 36 L and Kerry Ligtenberg 30 R and Rich Rodriguez 39 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
SMOLTZ
2001 ATL 3 3 36 5 0 0 10 59 53 10 57 336
REMLINGER
1999 ATL 10 1 73 0 0 0 1 84 66 35 81 237
2000 ATL 5 3 71 0 0 0 12 73 55 37 72 347
2001 ATL 3 3 74 0 0 0 1 75 67 23 93 276
LIGTENBERG
1999
INJURED - DID NOT PITCH
2000 ATL 2 3 59 0 0 0 12 52 43 24 51 361
2001 ATL 3 3 53 0 0 0 1 60 50 30 56 302
RODRIGUEZ
2001 CLE 2 2 53 0 0 0 0 39 41 17 31 415
      Is it just me, or do bad things happen to Atlanta closers? Jeff Reardon was baseball's all-time saves leader when he strapped on a Braves uniform; his career never recovered from the 1992 World Series. He was replaced by Greg McMichael, who won the job by pitching brilliantly, then promptly lost it. Mark Wohlers reached the tallest heights, leading the team to the World Series in 1995, before crashing and burning with major control problems. Kerry Ligtenberg did a solid job before his elbow gave out; I don't have to tell you about John Rocker.
      There have been others; Alejandro Pena, for example. Bruce Sutter was rolling along to the Hall Of Fame before that fateful day when he signed his name on Ted Turner's dotted line. So now, John Smoltz has the job. At least Smoltz has already recovered from personal disaster, missing the entire 2000 season with elbow trouble. Maybe now that he has gotten the bad stuff out of the way, he can have some success in the role.
      The Braves' bullpen is obviously pretty old, and also a little frail. It's been this team's biggest problem ever since it started winning in 1991; and though I won't call it a major weakness at this point, you have to be worried about their ability to get through a season without major problems.
MILWAUKEE - Curtis Leskanic 34 R and Mike DeJean 32 R and Chad Fox 32 R and Ray King 28 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
LESKANIC
1999 COL 6 2 63 0 0 0 0 85 87 49 77 508
2000 MIL 9 3 73 0 0 0 12 77 58 51 75 256
2001 MIL 2 6 70 0 0 0 17 69 63 31 64 363
DEJEAN
1999 COL 2 4 56 0 0 0 0 61 83 32 31 841
2000 COL 4 4 54 0 0 0 0 53 54 30 34 489
2001 MIL 4 2 75 0 0 0 2 84 75 39 68 277
FOX
2001 MIL 5 2 65 0 0 0 9 67 44 36 80 189
KING
2001 MIL 0 4 82 0 0 0 1 55 49 25 49 360
      A true fan's hero, Leskanic is one of the few - or maybe the only - pitcher to survive a long time in Colorado. Since moving to Milwaukee, he has lost remained basically the same, reliable pitcher, but with better ERAs.

      Mike DeJean is also a good pitcher, had a very fine year after escaping from Colorado. And Chad Fox, who hadn't pitched in the majors for two years, pitched brilliantly. I originally rated this bullpen a little higher, but now there are reports that Fox will miss the opening weeks of the season, and could be done for the entire year.
PHILADELPHIA - Jose Mesa 36 R and Ricky Bottalico 33 R and Turk Wendell 35 R and Nelson Figueroa 28 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MESA
1999 SEA 3 6 68 0 0 0 33 69 84 40 42 498
2000 SEA 4 6 66 0 0 0 1 81 89 41 84 536
2001 PHI 3 3 71 0 0 0 42 69 65 20 59 234
BOTTALICO
2000 KC 9 6 62 0 0 0 16 73 65 41 56 483
2001 PHI 3 4 66 0 0 0 3 67 58 25 57 390
WENDELL
1999 NYM 5 4 80 0 0 0 3 86 80 37 77 305
2000 NYM 8 6 77 0 0 0 1 83 60 41 73 359
2001 NYM-PHI 4 5 70 0 0 0 1 67 63 34 56 443
FIGUEROA
2001 AAA 4 2 13 12 0 0 0 87 74 18 74 247
2001 PHI 4 5 19 13 0 0 0 89 95 37 61 394
      How the heck did the Phillies get that kind of season out of Jose Mesa? There was no reason to think that Jose could still be a top-flight closer, and I wrote this team off as soon as I heard that they were counting on him to be the ace. But Mesa was fantastic, better than even Larry Bowa could have dreamed. Mesa, whose age is somewhere between 30 and 50, has had a weird and wonderful career, and while I certainly don't expect him to continue pitching well, it's not like he hasn't had good years in the past.
LOS ANGELES - Paul Quantrill 33 R and Giovanni Carrara 34 R and Eric Gagne 26 R and Guillermo Mota 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
QUANTRILL
1999 TOR 3 2 41 0 0 0 0 49 53 17 28 333
2000 TOR 2 5 68 0 0 0 1 84 100 25 47 452
2001 TOR 11 2 80 0 0 0 2 83 86 12 58 304
CARRARA
2001 LA 6 1 47 3 0 0 0 85 73 24 70 316
GAGNE
2001 LA 6 7 33 24 0 0 0 153 144 46 130 475
MOTA
2001 MON 1 3 53 0 0 0 0 50 51 18 31 526
      Let me get this straight... the Dodgers are going to try to compete in the NL West with Guillermo Mota as their closer? And his credentials are...?
      Paul Quantrill is a good middle reliever whom the Dodgers acquired from the Blue Jays. He has a rubber arm and throws nothing but strikes. He is well suited to the setup role, gives up too many hits to be a closer... but then, if his only competition is Guillermo Mota, then the Dodgers don't have many other options.
CHICAGO CUBS - Antonio Alfonseca 30 R and Kyle Farnsworth 26 R and Jeff Fassero 39 L and Courtney Duncan 27 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
ALFONSECA
1999 FLO 4 5 73 0 0 0 21 78 79 29 46 324
2000 FLO 5 6 68 0 0 0 45 70 82 24 47 424
2001 FLO 4 4 58 0 0 0 28 62 68 15 40 306
FARNSWORTH
1999 CHC 5 9 27 21 1 1 0 130 140 52 70 505
2000 CHC 2 9 46 5 0 0 1 77 90 50 74 643
2001 CHC 4 6 76 0 0 0 2 82 65 29 107 274
FASSERO
2001 CHC 4 4 82 0 0 0 12 74 66 23 79 342
DUNCAN
2001 CHC 3 3 36 0 0 0 0 43 42 25 49 506
      The Cubs were set to start the year with Flash Gordon as their closer, but the inevitable happened: he got hurt. The Cubbies, however, want to win this year, and were not discouraged, picking up Alfonseca just before the season started. Alfonseca is a mid-range closer, gives up too many hits to rank among the best in the league.

      Farnsworth's career wasn't doing so hot until last season, but he started to throw lots of strikes, and hitters weren't hitting them. He averaged over 11 strikeouts per nine innings...
MONTREAL - Matt Herges 32 R and Scott Strickland 26 R and Graeme Lloyd 35 L and Scott Stewart 27 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
HERGES
1999 LA 0 2 17 0 0 0 0 24 24 8 18 407
2000 LA 11 3 59 4 0 0 1 111 100 40 75 317
2001 LA 9 8 75 0 0 0 1 99 97 46 76 344
STRICKLAND
2001 MON 2 6 77 0 0 0 9 81 67 41 85 321
LLOYD
1999 TOR 5 3 74 0 0 0 3 72 68 23 47 363
2000
INJURED - DID NOT PITCH
2001 MON 9 5 84 0 0 0 1 70 74 21 44 435
STEWART
2001 MON 3 1 62 0 0 0 3 48 43 13 39 378
      This is not, I suppose the worst group of pitchers in the world. Graeme Lloyd was a deserving co-winner of the Tony Conigliaro Award, given to players who have overcome adversity. Lloyd's wife died in spring 2000 after a battle with Crohn's Disease; shortly afterward, he tore a rotator cuff in his shoulder and missed the entire season. He came back last year, and was his usual self, durable and efficient, and was 9-5 with a bad team.

      Strickland and Stewart are much younger, and were decent last season. I could rank these guys higher, but I don't know how I could justify that. Of the 16 teams listed here, the Expos are the only one that has almost no chance of exceeding expectations.
      The other winner of the Conigliaro Award, by the way, was Orioles' pitcher Jason Johnson, who has Type 1 Diabetes.
FLORIDA - Braden Looper 27 R and Armando Almanza 29 L and Vladimir Nunez 27 R and Chuck Smith 32 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
LOOPER
2001 FLO 3 3 71 0 0 0 3 71 63 30 52 355
ALMANZA
2001 FLO 2 2 52 0 0 0 0 41 34 26 45 483
NUNEZ
2000 FLO 0 6 17 12 0 0 0 68 88 34 45 790
2001 FLO 4 5 52 3 0 0 0 92 79 30 64 274
SMITH
2001 FLO 5 5 15 15 0 0 0 88 89 35 71 470
      With the trade of Alfonseca, the Marlins' don't have much depth to their bullpen. But it might work out; I never thought that Alfonseca was a great closer to begin with, and Nunez and/or Looper, if given the chance, could probably both take over the closer's role and do at least as well. The rest of the bullpen will likely be comprised of starters pushed out of the rotation by all of Florida's young studs.
COLORADO - Jose Jiminez 29 R and Rick White 33 R and Todd Jones 34 R and Jose Paniagua 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
JIMINEZ
1999 STL 5 14 29 28 2 2 0 163 173 71 113 585
2000 COL 5 2 72 0 0 0 24 71 63 28 44 318
2001 COL 6 1 56 0 0 0 17 55 56 22 37 409
R WHITE
1999 TAM 5 3 63 1 0 0 0 108 132 38 81 408
2000 TAM-NYM 5 9 66 0 0 0 3 100 83 38 67 352
2001 NYM 4 5 55 0 0 0 2 70 71 17 51 388
T JONES
2000 DET 2 4 67 0 0 0 42 64 67 25 67 352
2001 DET-MIN 5 5 69 0 0 0 13 68 87 29 54 424
PANIAGUA
2000 SEA 3 0 69 0 0 0 5 80 68 38 71 347
2001 SEA 4 3 60 0 0 0 3 66 59 38 46 436
      Jose Jiminez has now survived two seasons as Colorado's closer, which is almost a record. He will be joined by some newcomers in 2002, all of whom are about to get a rude awakening. Todd Jones was hit hard last season with Detroit and Minnesota, and it's hard to imagine that he will have any success at Coors Field. Jose Paniagua is tougher to hit, but he control is going to get him into loads of trouble. Rick White is a solid veteran, and he might be able to handle the job, though as a general rule I don't predict success for any Colorado pitchers. I'm sure that all of these gentlemen will find life to be an adventure in 2002.
PITTSBURGH - Mike Williams 34 R and Scott Sauerbeck 30 L and Josh Fogg 25 R and Mike Lincoln 27 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
WILLIAMS
1999 PIT 3 4 58 0 0 0 23 58 63 37 76 509
2000 PIT 3 4 72 0 0 0 24 72 56 40 71 350
2001 PIT-HOU 6 4 65 0 0 0 22 64 60 35 59 380
SAUERBECK
2001 PIT 2 2 70 0 0 0 2 63 61 40 79 560
FOGG
2001 AAA 4 7 40 16 0 0 4 115 129 30 89 479
2001 CHW 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 13 10 3 17 203
LINCOLN
2001 AAA 5 4 18 13 1 0 0 92 90 25 71 344
2001 PIT 2 1 31 0 0 0 0 40 34 11 24 268
      I don't dislike these pitchers individually. Mike Williams is a competent, veteran closer, no worse than some other closers who make a lot more money than he does. Scott Sauerbeck has some control problems, and his ERA wasn't good, but you have to be intrigued by a pitcher who strikes out 79 batters in 63 innings. Josh Fogg and Mike Lincoln both pitched well in limited opportunities.
      I would be willing to take a chance on any one of these guys. But all of them together?