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NEW YORK - Mariano Rivera 33 R and Steve Karsay 31 R and Chris Hammond 37 L and Antonio Osuna
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
RIVERA
2000 NYY 7 4 66 0 0 0 36 76 58 25 58 285
2001 NYY 4 6 71 0 0 0 50 81 61 12 83 234
2002 NYY 1 4 45 0 0 0 28 46 35 11 41 274
KARSAY
2000 CLE 5 9 72 0 0 0 20 77 79 25 66 376
2001 CLE-ATL 3 5 74 0 0 0 8 88 73 25 83 235
2002 NYY 6 4 78 0 0 0 12 88 87 30 65 326
HAMMOND
2002 ATL 7 2 63 0 0 0 0 76 53 31 63 095
OSUNA
2000 LA 3 6 46 0 0 0 0 67 57 35 70 374
2000
INJURED
2002 CHW 8 2 59 0 0 0 11 68 64 28 66 386
      The guy I haven't listed here is Jose Contreras, only because I don't know where he is going to pitch. Apparently, the Yankees are leaning towards making him a reliever, and no wonder. Right now, New York's bullpen is aging and fragile. Rivera, Karsay, Hammond and Osuna all have a history of arm problems, and any or all could end up on the DL this year.
      As for Contreras, he sounds like a good pitcher but we will wait and see. I don't know how much experience he has in the bullpen, or whether he will like it... but then, if he wanted to be a starting pitcher, he should have signed with Detroit.
ANAHEIM - Troy Percival 34 R and Brendan Donnelly 32 R and Francisco Rodriguez 21 R/R and Ben Weber
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
PERCIVAL
2000 ANA 5 5 54 0 0 0 32 50 42 30 49 450
2001 ANA 4 2 57 0 0 0 39 58 39 18 71 265
2002 ANA 4 1 58 0 0 0 40 56 38 25 68 192
DONNELLY
2002 ANA 1 1 46 0 0 0 1 50 32 19 54 217
RODRIGUEZ
2000 A 4 4 13 12 0 0 0 64 43 32 79 281
2001 A 5 7 20 20 1 1 0 114 127 55 147 538
2002 AA-AAA 5 6 50 0 0 0 15 83 62 28 120 227
WEBER
2000 SF-ANA 1 1 19 0 0 0 0 23 28 6 14 635
2001 ANA 6 2 56 0 0 0 0 68 66 31 40 342
2002 ANA 7 2 63 0 0 0 7 78 70 22 43 254
      I didn't know who to root for in the playoffs last year. On one hand, I really liked the Angels and their mix of players and their fans and the Rally Monkey and the whole experience. On the other hand, I found it really distasteful that they relied so heavily on Francisco Rodriguez in the playoffs. If you're going to win the World Series, at least win it with the guys who got you there, not someone who was parachuted in the final week of the season. Seeing Rodriguez enter almost every game left a bad taste in my mouth.
      Rodriguez is a brilliant young prospect. Troy Percival is still an effective closer, but time is not on his side. Rodriguez will be the setup man this year, probably take over as the closer in another year if he stays healthy.
      Brendan Donnelly was also a great story last year, though he didn't get a lot of attention. A 30-year-old rookie, Donnelly pitched brilliantly during the season. The only time anyone noticed him was when he gave up the home run to Bernie Williams in the ALDS, but he recovered and had a brilliant World Series (23 outs, 1 hit, 0 runs — I'll take that).
OAKLAND - Keith Foulke 30 R and Chad Bradford 29 R and Jim Mecir 33 R and Ricardo Rincon 33 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
FOULKE
2000 CHW 3 1 72 0 0 0 34 88 66 22 91 297
2001 CHW 4 9 72 0 0 0 42 81 57 22 75 233
2002 CHW 2 4 65 0 0 0 11 78 65 13 58 290
BRADFORD
2000 AAA 2 4 55 0 0 0 10 54 38 12 42 151
2001 OAK 2 1 35 0 0 0 1 37 41 6 34 270
2002 OAK 4 2 75 0 0 0 2 75 73 14 56 311
MECIR
2000 TAM-OAK 10 3 63 0 0 0 5 85 70 36 70 296
2001 OAK 2 8 54 0 0 0 3 63 54 26 61 343
2002 OAK 6 4 61 0 0 0 1 68 68 29 53 426
RINCON
2000 CLE 2 0 35 0 0 0 0 20 17 13 20 270
2001 CLE 2 1 67 0 0 0 2 54 44 21 50 283
2002 CLE-OAK 1 4 71 0 0 0 1 56 47 11 49 418
      The Athletics traded their closer, Billy Koch, to the White Sox in exchange for Chicago's former closer, Keith Foulke. Koch saved 44 games, while Foulke lost the closer's role with a crummy May:
     W  L  G SV IP HT BB SO ERA
MAY  0  2  9  2 10 12  2  9 810
      Though he struggled a bit, Foulke blew only two saves the first two months of the season. Nevertheless, the White Sox decided to strip him of the closer's role.
      I think that Keith Foulke is a terrific pitcher, and has proven that in the past. Why the White Sox soured on him so fast is a mystery to me, though I think it is fair to say that GM Ken Williams has shown a distressing lack of judgment with pitchers recently. Oakland GM Billy Beane, on the other hand, probably looked at Foulke's last two months and liked what he saw:
         W  L  G SV IP HT BB SO ERA
AUG-SEP  1  0 20  2 26 16  1 17 034
      Yeah, that's a pretty good way to close a season. Beane has a thing about walks; he likes batters who take pitches, and pitchers who throw lots of strikes. Billy Koch is a good pitcher but wild as hell; I think that Foulke will have a great year for Oakland, and that the Athletics will get the better end of the deal.
SEATTLE - Kazuhiro Sasaki 35 R and Arthur Rhodes 33 L and Jeff Nelson 36 R and Shigetoshi Hasegawa 35 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
SASAKI
2000 SEA 2 5 63 0 0 0 37 63 42 31 78 316
2001 SEA 0 4 69 0 0 0 45 67 48 11 62 324
2002 SEA 4 5 61 0 0 0 37 61 44 20 73 252
RHODES
2000 SEA 5 8 72 0 0 0 0 69 51 29 77 428
2001 SEA 8 0 71 0 0 0 3 68 46 12 83 172
2002 SEA 10 4 66 0 0 0 2 70 45 13 81 233
NELSON
2000 NYY 8 4 73 0 0 0 0 70 44 45 71 245
2001 SEA 4 3 69 0 0 0 4 65 30 44 88 276
2002 SEA 3 2 41 0 0 0 2 46 36 27 55 394
HASEGAWA
2000 ANA 10 5 66 0 0 0 9 96 100 38 59 348
2001 ANA 5 6 46 0 0 0 0 56 52 20 41 404
2002 SEA 8 3 53 0 0 0 1 70 60 30 39 320
      Another aging bullpen that didn't get the major overhaul that it probably needed. Sasaki was blazing hot the first half of the season, but like most of the Mariners fell into a funk in the second half. He's a quality pitcher, but eight blown saves and only 60 innings pitched don't make him a top-flight closer.
      Rhodes still throws gas and is a quality pitcher, but Nelson isn't durable, and each year is a survival test for Hasegawa.
BOSTON - Mike Timlin 37 and Ramiro Mendoza 31 R and Alan Embree 33 L and Bob Howry 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
TIMLIN
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
2002 STL-PHI 4 6 72 1 0 0 0 97 75 14 50 298
MENDOZA
2000 NYY 7 4 14 9 1 1 0 66 66 20 30 425
2001 NYY 8 4 56 2 0 0 6 101 89 23 70 375
2002 NYY 8 4 62 0 0 0 4 92 102 16 61 344
EMBREE
2001 SF-CHW 1 4 61 0 0 0 0 54 65 17 59 733
2002 SD-BOS 4 6 68 0 0 0 2 62 47 20 81 203
HOWRY
2000 CHW 2 4 65 0 0 0 7 71 54 29 60 317
2001 CHW 4 5 69 0 0 0 5 79 85 30 64 469
2002 CHW-BOS 3 5 67 0 0 0 0 69 67 21 45 419
      Mike Timlin quietly had an exceptional season for both St. Louis and Philadelphia. His 96 2/3 innings pitched was his most since his rookie season in 1991. The batting average against him was only .212; his control was better than ever. He gave up 15 home runs, which isn't so good, but everybody gives up home runs these days.
      At age 37, Timlin will be a leader of the Boston bullpen. The Sox don't have a closer, and will instead try the dreaded closer-by-committee approach. Every year some team tries this, and it never works. The last team to win a championship without a #1 closer was the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers, and even that team had to use Orel Hershiser in relief on occasion.
      Having said that, I would like to see the Red Sox succeed; I think there are a lot of overrated closers in the league, and it would be nice to see a team that can actually succeed with the committee approach. There is no reason why a closer-by-committee can't work, except that most teams don't have the pitching depth, nor the patience to stick with the plan.
      It won't be easy, though. The Sox have some solid veteran pitchers, but they also have too much age and too many sore arms and not enough 95 mph fastballs.
MINNESOTA - Eddie Guardado 32 L and J.C. Romero 27 L and La Troy Hawkins 30 R and Tony Fiore 31 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
GUARDADO
2000 MIN 7 4 70 0 0 0 9 62 55 25 52 394
2001 MIN 7 1 67 0 0 0 12 67 47 23 67 351
2002 MIN 1 3 68 0 0 0 45 68 53 18 70 293
ROMERO
2000 MIN 2 7 12 11 0 0 0 58 72 30 50 702
2001 MIN 1 4 14 11 0 0 0 65 71 24 39 623
2002 MIN 9 2 81 0 0 0 1 81 62 36 76 189
HAWKINS
2000 MIN 2 5 66 0 0 0 14 88 85 32 59 339
2001 MIN 1 5 62 0 0 0 28 51 59 39 36 596
2002 MIN 6 0 65 0 0 0 0 80 63 15 63 213
FIORE
2002 MIN 10 3 48 2 0 0 0 91 74 43 55 316
      Trying to pick a good bullpen from a bad one is a perilous endeavour. The Twins had a horrible bullpen in 2001, but last year they were great — with mostly the same cast of characters! Eddie Guardado handled the closer's role effectively, leading the league in saves. J.C. Romero and LaTroy Hawkins were both magnificent, after struggling to badly in 2001.
      I underrated the Twins' bullpen last year, but now will try not to overrate them. Guardado can probably succeed as the closer as long as expectations aren't set too high, kind of like Jeff Shaw did for a few years. Both Romero and Hawkins have been plagued by inconsistency and control problems in the past; it would be optimistic to think that they will continue to pitch as well as they did last year.
      And how did Guardado get the nickname "Everyday Eddie"? 68 games is not exactly a stressful total for a closer (Billy Koch pitched in 84).
CHICAGO - Billy Koch 28 R and Damaso Marte 28 L and Matt Ginter 25 R and Rick White 34 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
KOCH
2000 TOR 9 3 68 0 0 0 33 79 78 18 60 263
2001 TOR 2 5 69 0 0 0 36 69 69 33 55 480
2002 OAK 11 4 84 0 0 0 44 94 73 46 93 327
MARTE
2000
INJURED
2001 PIT 0 1 23 0 0 0 0 36 34 12 39 471
2002 CHW 1 1 68 0 0 0 10 60 44 18 72 283
GINTER
2001 AAA 2 3 22 10 0 0 0 76 62 24 67 259
2001 CHW 1 0 20 0 0 0 0 40 34 14 24 522
2002 CHW 1 0 33 0 0 0 1 54 59 21 37 447
R WHITE
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
2002 COL-STL 5 7 61 0 0 0 0 63 62 21 41 431
      No matter what anyone else says, I love Billy Koch. He's not as good as Rivera or Percival, or even the guy he was traded for, Keith Foulke. His control is wobbly, to put it kindly, and he gets himself in and out of all sorts of trouble.
      But Billy gives you something that no other closer in the league gives you, and that's innings. Here in Toronto, Blue Jay fans were happy with the deal that sent Koch to Oakland in return for Eric Hinske. But we also had to suffer along with closer Kelvim Escobar, who whined any time he had to get more than three outs in a game. Koch will pitch in any situation for however long he is needed, and he's always ready to take the ball again the next day.
      But as much as I like Billy, I wouldn't have traded Foulke for him. I just think that Koch has a high likelihood of burning out. Obviously, the workload is high, and he rarely has an easy outing. He is super intense; he blew up badly against his former team last year, and apparently he took his meltdown in last year's playoffs very hard. And, he's a guy whose already had major reconstructive surgery on his arm.
      A best-case scenario for Sox would be for Koch to get off to a good start and erase memories of last October. And if he can reclaim some of the good control he had in 2000, maybe he can make life easier on himself. I hope he sticks around awhile, but I'm not betting on it.
BALTIMORE - Buddy Groom 38 L and Willis Roberts 28 R and Jorge Julio 24 R and BJ Ryan 27 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
GROOM
2000 BAL 6 3 70 0 0 0 4 59 63 21 44 485
2001 BAL 1 4 70 0 0 0 11 66 64 9 54 355
2002 BAL 3 2 70 0 0 0 2 62 44 12 48 160
ROBERTS
2001 BAL 9 10 46 18 1 0 6 132 142 55 95 491
2002 BAL 5 4 66 0 0 0 1 75 79 32 51 336
JULIO
2001 AA-AAA 1 2 46 0 0 0 19 56 44 21 62 307
2001 BAL 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 21 25 9 22 380
2002 BAL 5 6 67 0 0 0 25 68 55 27 55 199
RYAN
2001 BAL 2 3 42 0 0 0 0 43 36 31 41 591
2001 BAL 2 4 61 0 0 0 2 53 47 30 54 425
2002 BAL 2 1 67 0 0 0 1 58 51 33 56 468
      The Orioles came darn close to having a good season in 2002, letting it get away from them over the last six weeks. A secret to their success was their bullpen, led by 23-year-old rookie closer Jorge Julio, who had a terrific season. Also impressive was aging left-hander Wedsel Groom, who had his best season. Buddy is aging like wine, has dropped his ERA three straight seasons.
      Three other pitchers (Ryan, Roberts, Rich Bauer) rounded out the pen, and all had good seasons. All except for Groom are in their mid-20's; Julio is probably the only one who is closer-quality. The Orioles got Julio from the Expos in exchange for Ryan Minor; with luck, Orioles fans will be smiling about that deal for a few more years.
TORONTO - Kelvim Escobar 27 R and Cliff Politte 29 R and Corey Thurman 24 R and Jeffrey Tam 33 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
ESCOBAR
2000 TOR 10 15 43 24 3 1 2 180 186 85 142 535
2001 TOR 6 8 59 11 1 1 0 126 93 42 121 350
2002 TOR 5 7 76 0 0 0 38 78 75 44 85 427
POLITTE
2000 PHI 4 3 12 8 0 0 0 59 55 27 50 366
2001 PHI 2 3 23 0 0 0 0 26 24 8 23 242
2002 PHI-TOR 3 3 68 0 0 0 1 73 57 28 72 366
THURMAN
2000 A 10 5 19 19 1 0 0 116 97 46 96 226
2000 AA 4 5 9 9 0 0 0 50 46 24 47 483
2001 AA 13 5 25 25 0 0 0 155 117 65 148 337
2002 TOR 2 3 43 1 0 0 0 68 65 45 56 437
TAM
2000 OAK 3 3 72 0 0 0 3 86 86 23 46 263
2001 OAK 2 4 70 0 0 0 3 75 68 29 44 301
2002 OAK 1 2 40 0 0 0 0 40 56 13 14 513
      Escobar's first full season as a closer was a disappointment. He couldn't throw strikes under pressure, and gave up too many hits. He saved 38 games, but many of those were pretty soft saves, and he also blew eight save opportunties. He also complained to the media when asked to throw more than one inning. All said, it was a year that had more downs than ups.
      Corey Thurman was a surprisingly solid member of the Jays' bullpen. Well, "surprising" may not be the right word; Thurman has pitched well at every level of ball, but the Blue Jays claimed him from the Royals in the Rule V draft (I guess he got buried behind all of Kansas City's outstanding young pitchers). His control was wonky, but he has a nasty changeup and the potential to get better. The Jays could try him out as a starter if he can prove that he can throw more strikes.
TEXAS - Ugueth Urbina 29 R and Esteban Yan 28 R and Todd Van Poppel 31 R and Francisco Cordero 28 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
URBINA
2000 MON 0 1 13 0 0 0 8 13 11 5 22 405
2001 MON-BOS 2 2 64 0 0 0 24 67 58 24 89 365
2002 BOS 1 6 61 0 0 0 40 60 44 20 71 300
YAN
2001 TAM 4 6 54 0 0 0 22 62 64 11 64 390
2002 TAM 7 8 55 0 0 0 19 69 70 29 53 430
VAN POPPEL
2000 CHC 4 5 51 2 0 0 2 86 80 48 77 375
2001 CHC 4 1 59 0 0 0 0 75 63 38 90 252
2002 TEX 3 2 50 0 0 0 1 73 80 29 85 545
CORDERO
2000 TEX 1 2 56 0 0 0 0 77 87 48 49 535
2001
INJURED
2002 TEX 2 0 39 0 0 0 10 45 33 13 41 179
      John Hart signed a whole bunch of veteran relievers last season, giving hope that the Rangers might have a decent bullpen... but you knew that all was lost once Hideki Irabu started closing games in May. A season-ending injury to Jeff Zimmerman was devastating, and none of the new pitchers worked out (the now departed John Rocker was a notable bust).
      Hart has tried again this year, adding closer Ugueth Urbina and pretend-closer Esteban Yan. One of the two (or Francisco Cordero) should be able to effectively handle closing duties; problem is, both Urbina and Cordero have a history of arm troubles, and for as long as I can remember the Rangers have been unable to keep their best pitchers healthy.
DETROIT - Matt Anderson 27 R and Danny Patterson 32 R and Jamie Walker 32 L and Franklyn German 23 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
ANDERSON
2000 DET 3 2 69 0 0 0 1 74 61 45 71 472
2001 DET 3 1 62 0 0 0 22 56 56 18 52 482
2002
INJURED
PATTERSON
2000 DET 5 1 58 0 0 0 0 57 69 14 29 397
2001 DET 5 4 60 0 0 0 1 65 64 12 27 306
2002
INJURED
WALKER
2000 AAA 3 10 24 15 0 0 0 102 138 25 52 522
2001 AAA 7 2 38 8 0 0 2 93 104 27 51 387
2002 DET 1 1 57 0 0 0 1 44 32 9 40 371
GERMAN
2000 A 5 5 17 14 0 0 0 72 88 37 52 550
2001 A 2 4 53 0 0 0 19 63 67 31 93 398
2002 AA-AAA 2 2 60 0 0 0 29 64 43 34 90 253
      German is only 23 years old, but has already taken a circuitous route to the majors. He pitched in the independent Northwest League for a couple of years, then was signed by Oakland, and last year was dealt to Detroit in the Carlos Pena deal. He has posted awesome strikeout rates in the lower minors; he also pitched well for Toledo last season and threw six shutout innings for the Tigers.
CLEVELAND - Danys Baez 26 R and Mark Wohlers 33 R and David Riske 26 R and Jerrod Riggan 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
BAEZ
2000 AA 4 9 18 18 0 0 0 103 98 32 77 368
2001 CLE 5 3 43 0 0 0 0 50 34 20 52 250
2002 CLE 10 11 39 26 1 0 6 165 160 82 130 441
WOHLERS
2000 CIN 1 2 20 0 0 0 0 28 19 17 20 450
2001 CIN-NYY 4 1 61 0 0 0 0 68 69 25 54 425
2002 CLE 3 4 64 0 0 0 7 71 71 26 46 479
RISKE
2001 AAA 1 2 38 0 0 0 15 53 45 17 72 236
2001 CLE 2 0 26 0 0 0 1 27 20 18 29 198
2002 CLE 2 2 51 0 0 0 1 51 49 35 65 526
RIGGAN
2000 AA 2 0 52 0 0 0 28 65 43 18 79 111
2001 AAA 2 2 28 0 0 0 13 32 26 4 37 195
2001 NYM 3 3 35 0 0 0 0 48 42 24 41 340
2002 CLE 2 1 29 0 0 0 0 33 53 18 22 764
      When Mark Wohlers has the best control in your bullpen you know you're in trouble.
KANSAS CITY - Jason Grimsley 36 R and Jeremy Hill 26 R and Ryan Bukvich 25 R and Jeff Austin 26 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
GRIMSLEY
2000 NYY 3 2 63 4 0 0 1 96 100 42 53 504
2001 KC 1 5 73 0 0 0 0 80 71 28 61 302
2002 KC 4 7 70 0 0 0 1 71 64 37 59 391
HILL
2001 A 4 2 49 0 0 0 14 60 32 33 79 135
2002 AA 4 7 56 0 0 0 19 76 61 32 80 236
BUKVICH
2001 A 0 1 37 0 0 0 13 58 41 31 80 172
2002 AA-AAA 2 1 35 0 0 0 16 48 21 22 64 094
AUSTIN
2001 AAA 7 7 28 8 0 0 2 71 89 27 55 688
2001 KC 0 0 21 0 0 0 0 26 27 14 27 554
2002 AAA 4 0 39 0 0 0 2 52 54 15 44 327
      I can only take a wild guess about who might be pitching out of the Royals' bullpen this year. Grimsley will be there, I think, and then... well, Hill and Bukvich have been dominant in the lower minors, and neither is getting any younger so they might as well pitch for the big club. Hill is kinda interesting, he was a catcher for five years in the lower minors, then two years ago tried his hand at pitching. From the looks of it, he made a wise career move.
TAMPA BAY - Jesus Colome 25 R and Victor Zambrano 28 R and Bob Wells 36 R and Lance Carter 28 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
COLOME
2001 TAM 2 3 30 0 0 0 0 49 37 25 31 333
2002 TAM 2 7 32 0 0 0 0 41 56 33 33 827
ZAMBRANO
2001 TAM 6 2 36 0 0 0 2 51 38 18 58 316
2002 TAM 8 8 42 11 0 0 1 114 120 68 73 553
WELLS
2000 MIN 0 7 76 0 0 0 10 86 80 15 76 365
2001 MIN 8 5 65 0 0 0 2 69 72 18 49 511
2002 MIN 2 1 48 0 0 0 0 58 78 16 30 590
CARTER
2002 AAA 12 2 33 18 2 1 1 132 111 12 90 280
2002 TAM 2 0 8 0 0 0 2 20 15 5 14 133
      At age 25, Colome and his blazing fastball appear to be washed up. First, he posted an unsightly 8.27 ERA during the season. Back home during the winter, he was involved in a car crash in which three women died. "This could affect my career because I don't know whether I feel OK to play this season," Colome was quoted as saying. Ummm, yeah.
      Lance Carter has had a fascinating career. Every couple of years he pitches brilliantly somewhere; in 1994 he had a 0.29 ERA with the Gulf Coast Royals. In 1998 he had a 0.67 ERA with Lansing, and in 1999 he had a 0.78 ERA with Wichita. Of course, he has also missed two full seasons (1997 & 2001) with arm ailments. Last year was more of the same; he pitched brilliantly with Durham and Tampa, but spent time on the DL. He's still only 28 years old.