I am fairly sure that in your leagues as in mine there were very high prices paid for Joe Smith, who would be assuming the closer’s role for Mike Scioscia’s Angels. Those prices were too high, in my opinion.
The main reason Scioscia made the change was the April struggles of opening day closer Ernesto Frieri, who saved two games and blew two saves with an ERA of 7.27 and a 1.59 WHIP.
But let’s look at Frieri over the last two years and his closing success. In 2012, Frieri converted 23 of 26 save opportunities. Last year, he converted 37 of 41 save opportunities but I will bet your recollection of last year’s stats is that he didn’t pitch that well. But that would only be partially true. Yes, he had a 3.80 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP and blew four saves, and yes, he was replaced as the closer for awhile. But again, he blew only four save opportunities and struck out 12.8 batters per 9 IP.
So let’s take a closer look at Frieri in 2013. He had a good April (2.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 3 SV, 1 L) followed by a poorer May (4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP but still saved nine games). He then had a good June (2.77 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and another nine saves) followed by a terrible July (8.64 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 4 SV, 2 L). After being replaced as the closer, he returned to the role in August (3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 4 SV, 1 L) and then enjoyed a great September (2.84 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 8 SV).
And his strikeout rate was actually its highest in July at 15.1, so maybe he was just trying too hard to throw the ball by hitters when he was struggling.
All of that plus Scioscia’s fondness for his regular players suggests that Frieri, who has had two good appearances since being removed this year, will get a chance to close again for the Angels.
Remember that Joe Smith, who has been a good setup reliever, has been striking out batters at only 7+ batters per nine innings pitched over the last two seasons, and his 9.0 this year is higher than any season since he was a rookie in 2007.
So yes, I think Frieri will be closing again and relatively soon, so don’t give up on him. In fact, watch to see if someone panics and drops him or is willing to throw him into a trade. {jcomments on}