By Thom Henninger
As many as four playoff teams may play October baseball with their closers struggling to get people out.
After recording a 1.95 ERA and 41 saves without blowing a single opportunity in 2008, Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge has struggled in 2009 and begins the final series of the regular season at 0-8 with a 7.34 ERA, 31 saves and 11 blown chances.
Closer Brian Fuentes has run hot and cold in his first year as an Angel, and has a 5.16 ERA since the All-Star break. The Cardinals’ Ryan Franklin had been terrific all season, but seemed to run out of gas in September. Opposing hitters batted .382 against him.
If the Detroit Tigers prevail in the ongoing American League Central race, they will do it with the wildly inconsistent Fernando Rodney closing games. He’s blown only one save in 37 opportunities in 2009, but has made many of them more exciting and has a 4.88 ERA since the break. The right-hander was 7-for-7 in saves in September, but gave up at least two runs in five of his last 12 appearances. Rodney had a 9.24 September ERA.
Here are September numbers of the key players in those four bullpens.
September Bullpen Performance
| Reliever | IP | ERA | OBA |
| Fernando Rodney, Det (R) | 12.2 | 9.24 | .314 |
| Zach Miner, Det (R) | 17.1 | 2.08 | .254 |
| Brandon Lyon, Det (R) | 14.0 | 2.57 | .163 |
| Ryan Perry, Det (R) | 8.0 | 4.50 | .273 |
| Jeremy Bonderman, Det (R) | 6.0 | 6.00 | .304 |
| Brian Fuentes, LAA (L) | 10.0 | 4.50 | .310 |
| Matt Palmer, LAA (R) | 13.2 | 1.98 | .182 |
| Darren Oliver, LAA (L) | 14.0 | 2.57 | .250 |
| Kevin Jepsen, LAA (R) | 14.0 | 3.86 | .184 |
| Jason Bulger, LAA (R) | 8.0 | 2.25 | .172 |
| Brad Lidge, Phi (R) | 9.0 | 9.00 | .372 |
| Ryan Madson, Phi (R) | 12.1 | 2.92 | .273 |
| Chad Durbin, Phi (R) | 13.2 | 1.98 | .174 |
| Tyler Walker, Phi (R) | 9.2 | 6.52 | .286 |
| Brett Myers, Phi (R) | 4.2 | 5.79 | .222 |
| Ryan Franklin, StL (R) | 8.1 | 7.56 | .382 |
| Blake Hawksworth, StL (R) | 8.2 | 0.00 | .080 |
| Kyle McClellan, StL (R) | 10.1 | 0.87 | .182 |
| Jason Motte, StL (R) | 8.1 | 0.00 | .143 |
| Dennys Reyes, StL (L) | 9.1 | 0.96 | .115 |
The Phillies have turned save opportunities over to Ryan Madson lately. The right-hander worked a four-out save for a 6-5 victory in Milwaukee on Sunday. Two days later he pitched the final two innings to finish off a 7-4 win over Houston. Brett Myers would be manager Charlie Manuel’s first choice to replace Lidge, but Myers has been out with a strained back muscle and returned to action Thursday after missing nearly three weeks. Manuel said the right-hander looked “rusty” in his return, as did Myers. Ninth-inning duties may fall to Madson.
Two weeks ago, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he might use right-hander Kevin Jepsen in the ninth inning, along with lefty Fuentes. It hasn’t happened. Jepsen has battled a tired arm recently, while Fuentes has converted six straight save opportunities without giving up a run since Sept. 17.
Over 31.2 innings in June, July and August combined, Franklin allowed just three runs and successfully closed out 23 of 24 save chances for St. Louis. August was the third month the right-hander didn’t allow a run in 2009, but he blew three of six save opportunities in September and has been extremely hittable. Otherwise, the St. Louis bullpen has been very good of late, but no one is closer-tested.
Then there’s Rodney, who is 36-for-37 in saves, but has dodged bullets all season. Since saves became an official statistic in 1969, no pitcher with at least 25 saves and no more than a single blown chance has posted an ERA of 3.00 or higher. Rodney has a 4.35 mark going into the weekend, after allowing six runs in his last four appearances. His job is probably secure, though you have to wonder if his luck will run out against the best teams in October.
