Summoning the Closer in the 8th

Why?

Why bring in your closer in the 8th inning, risking his effectiveness in the 9th?

OK, fine, because the set-up or the mop-up guy has gotten himself and the team into a nasty jam and your closer is the steel-nerved savior.

How many times have you painfully witnessed your closer trotting out into the diamond in the 8th with runners in scoring position only to watch helplessly as your fantasy baseball team's ERA and WHIP ballooned?

In the past three days, Chad Qualls and Jason Frasor were called upon to get four outs to earn a save. Both closers came through, but Frasor's outing yielded ugly numbers of 13.50 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.

After Jeremy Accardo plunked two Yankees in-a-row on Monday (7/6) in the 8th to load the bases, Frasor came in and promptly walked in a run before giving up two earned runs of his own (a bloop single by Hideki Matsui) in the 9th for the save. Phew. When is Scott Downs coming off the DL?

On the flip-side, you have to love the less-than-an-inning saves. Especially the one-out save.

On Sunday (7/5), MacDougal had to save Scott Olsen's 116-pitch outing against the Atlanta Braves, and he did it in the most interesting fashion by allowing two runners of his own after Olsen served-up three runs on a long home-run by Nate McLouth with two outs.

Mike MacDougal's K/B Ratio is Scary

Ever since I brought up the whole lack-of-saves issue, my 'pen has posted the following line:

6.2 IP, 1 W, 5 SV, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, and 0.75 WHIP

(With Mike MacDougal contributing four out of five base-runners allowed.)

Not bad. After getting a surprising day off on Friday (minor back stiffness), David Aardsma came back on Saturday to close it out against the Red Sox, his former team, Kevin Gregg capped off a drama-less week after the fugly BS@DET (6/23), and MacDougal and Chad Qualls (in an apparent response to my last post) picked up a pair of saves each.

All right, it was better than not bad, it was f'ing brilliant.

But as mentioned above, MacDougal is having some issues throwing strikes, and his saves are not pretty.

Have you ever watched this guy pitch? I didn't get to check him out back in 2003 and 2005 when he was closing for the Kansas City Royals, but when he throws for the Washington Nationals, you can totally understand why the Chicago White Sox let him go after just 4.1 IP earlier in the year.

Donning the White Sox black, the man posted a K/B ratio of 1:1, doling out exactly seven hits and seven walks to a tune of 12.46 ERA, numbers that look more like a lunch hour indicator rather than that of a major league pitcher.

MacDougal throws heat: 93-98 with movement. He also throws with his eyes closed. Or he might as well. In an at-bat against Matt Diaz with a runner on first with just an out, MacDougal fired cheese near Diaz's face, bounced a couple, and threw one away, allowing a walk on five pitches.

With two-on, he was able to induce a line-out and a ground-out, "earning" the save, but his inability to command his fastball, not to mention his inability to strike batters out (still posting nearly a perfect 1:1 K/B ratio with the Nationals at 12:11) makes you wonder how long this charade can last.

Obviously, I am hoping for at least until the end of the year, since he's one of the five closers I have on Team Inchon (along with Aardsma, Qualls, Gregg, and Scott Downs/Jason Frasor), but I am certainly afraid. Very afraid.

Frasor Frasor Frasor Why Why Why?!?!?!

As if it wasn't bad enough that Scott Downs went on the DL with a bum toe - any injuries that have to do with feet makes me feel very somber inside - Jason Frasor not only did not step-up to instill confidence in his ability to be the Toronto Blue Jay's interim closer, but he disgraced himself (along with my ERA and WHIP) with the following line:

0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB

I turned on the game with the Jays hanging on, in the bottom of 11th, with one out and runners on first and second. I said to myself, "Please do not let it be Frasor."

Once MLB.tv feed came in from Washington DC, I saw number 54 on the mound. "No," I said. As my futile word was heard by no one, Frasor completed issuing his second walk of the inning, to loaded the bases for . . . Adam Dunn.

"Double play," I muttered. Then I stared chanting, "Dou-ble play. Dou-ble play."

I was determined to will Frasor through this inning without tarnishing any more of my fantasy baseball statistics with my Dou-ble Play Chant.

Two swinging strikes for an 0-2 count. "Is the chant working?" Too early to tell! Do not jinx it!

As soon as the third pitch of the at-bat ricocheted off Dunn's lumber down the first base line, past Lyle Overbay, I reached for the trackball. Game over. Next game.

I regretted plugging in Frasor and benching Mike MacDougal - in a partially reactionary move after Frasor's 0.1 IP victory the night before - and felt let down by Frasor. How the hell do you come into an extra-inning ballgame and start issuing walks like you're a parking meter attendant desperate to make quota?

As hard as the 27.00 ERA and 12.00 WHIP was to swallow, I had to be thankful that the game was in Washington and the Nationals needed only the lone run to end the game. Mercy. Thank you.

Do I flip the switch tonight and bench Frasor in favor of MacDougal? Battle of young arms of the 2007 draft in DC, as Cecil returns to the Jays rotation and Detwiler vies for his first career MLB win. Impossible to predict for sure.

On a related note, the grand return of Jeremy Accardo continued, as he tossed two innings of shut-out ball while striking out four and giving up a hit and base on balls. What is Cito thinking? Accardo or Frasor? God forbid, not B.J. Ryan, right?

In addition to the Frasor failure, Chad Billingsley crumbled in the sixth inning at Anaheim, capping yet another rough outing versus the Angels. Of course I should've benched Billingsley: Angels hosting the Dodgers while toting a gaudy .350 BA and having knocked around Billingsley at Dodger Stadium last time around.

Fantasy baseball issues all-around. Down 3.5 points to 68.5, dropping two spots from the top of the standings, trailing by 4.5 points.