I went to my first Yankee’s game of the season last week and had my first Mike Myers experience.  Myers, for those of you who don’t watch many movies, shares his name with psycho killer Michael Myers from the movie Halloween.  Myers came into the game in relief of starter Shawn Chacon and, while warming up, the theme from Halloween was played over the speaker system in Yankee stadium.  I’m not sure if Myers has always had this played for him while warming up or if the people selecting music at home stadiums have made the choice for him in his career, but I love it.   Anyway, here’s another look at some struggling closers and our weekly update on injured closers.  All stats are through Tuesday, May 2nd.   

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The Tampa pen remains a mess. Tyler Walker, acquired last Friday via a trade with San Francisco, has earned a save and struggled in two other late inning situations since joining the Rays.  Shawn Camp, who got two outs on Sunday against the Red Sox for a save, says Walker will ultimately take the closing job in Tampa but manager, Joe Maddon, has promised nothing to any reliever on his team.  That means Dan Miceli and Chad Orvella also remain in the mix for saves.  If you must scrounge for saves on this team, do so knowing there is a lot of volatility here and that one of these guys might be picking up a save one night, only to get shelled pitching in the sixth inning another night.

St. Louis Cardinals

Jason Isringhausen has racked up seven saves already this season but he’s looked fairly awful in doing so.  In nine innings pitched, Isringhausen has a 5/10 K/BB ratio and has given up three home runs as well.  Despite these struggles Isringhausen is fairly secure in his closing role for the time being, as he has managed to convert save opportunities even with all the batters he’s put on base.  However, if he were to start blowing saves, manager Tony LaRussa could be forced to make a change.  If that were to happen Braden Looper would likely earn the first chance to assume the closers role.  Pick him up if you are speculating for saves.

Texas Rangers

Francisco Cordero has lost his job as the Texas closer for the time being and Akinori Otsuka has taken over.  As we mentioned last week, Otsuka should have been on a roster of anyone who owned Cordero or anyone speculating for saves.  He’s picked up three saves since assuming the closing role and could prove to be a very valuable reliever over the rest of the season, if Cordero does not earn his old job back.  Manger Buck Showalter has indicated this change could be temporary, so Cordero owners should hang on to him as a solid week or two of performance could have both players switching back to their old roles again.  

Injuries

Huston Street, OAK (day-to-day with a strained chest muscle) – Street returned to action on Tuesday, pitching a scoreless seventh inning against the Angels.  Manager Ken Macha wanted to ease Street back into the closer role which is why he got the early assignment.  Expect Street to take over closing duties again now that he has an appearance under his belt.  

Mike MacDougal, KC (strained upper right arm) – The latest reports suggest MacDougal won’t return to action until mid-June at the earliest.  MacDougal, who has been out since March 15 because of a strain below his right shoulder, has started throwing every other day but progress is slow.  Manager Buddy Bell stated on the Royals’ team site on MLB.com that MacDougal will get his closing job back when he returns from the disabled list.  Ambiorix Burgos will continue to fill in until that happens.  Thus far he has two saves and an 11/5 K/BB in 9.1 innings as the Royals’ interim closer this season.

Eric Gagne, LAD (right elbow) – Gagne, rehabbing from elbow surgery, has been throwing from 75 feet and is reporting no problems thus far.  He’s currently estimating a return in three to four weeks which would have him off the disabled list potentially before the end of May.  Danys Baez is 0-1 with eight saves and a 10/3 K/BB in 13.2 innings as the Dodgers’ interim closer.

Pen Names is your guide to bullpen situations around the majors.  Questions for inclusion in future columns can be emailed to Pelowski@CREATiVESPORTS.com.