Lots of saves possibilities, few guarantees

When it comes to the BABS philosophy of players being “more alike than they are different,” there is no better demonstration of this than with relief pitchers. There are only 12 relievers right now who can be considered good bets for 30 saves. They are all blessed with elite skills, which makes them essentially interchangeable. However, there…

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No need to overpay for closer roles

When it comes to the BABS philosophy of players being “more alike than they are different,” there is no better demonstration of this than with relief pitchers. There are about three dozen relievers who have a shot at about 10 or more saves; about 20 who are good bets for 30-plus. However, the top dozen…

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Pitcher attrition and bullpen fallout

Here is my ESPN piece for this week. As of today, 41 percent of the pre-season Top 300 have been disabled, demoted or designated for assignment. That’s only about 10 players away from the 44 percent attrition accumulated over a full season in 2010. We are on pace for about 70 percent turnover of our…

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For relievers, just worry about the saves

When it comes to the BABS philosophy of players being “more alike than they are different,” there is no better demonstration of this than with relief pitchers. There are about three dozen relievers who have a shot at about 10 or more saves; about 19 who are good bets for 30-plus. However, the top 13…

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