Saito

Takashi Saito of the Dodgers blew his second save of the season against the Rockies and coincidentally it was for Kuroda. Kuroda would have two more wins to his record if Saito, his fellow countryman from Japan, was able to hold a 9th inning lead.

Owners, don't be too worried right now but Saito seems like he has some holes in his pitching after two amazing seasons in 2006 and 2007 with 24 and 39 saves respectively. As always, J. Broxton who is the Dodgers set-up man is the closer in waiting so everyone should have him on their rosters, just in case there is a change of closers.

DL Time

E. Bedard of the Mariners is officially on the 15Day-DL, retroactive to April 9th. So far Bedard has been reported as saying he's not even sure when he'll be back on the mound. This is a big blow for owners who drafted him early in drafts but with a player of this calibre, you have no choice but to keep him on your bench or hopefully in a DL spot, if it is free. Again, this proves the point on why you should never draft pitching early in a draft. Pitchers will always come up during the season.

J. Borowski of the Indians is on the 15Day-DL with a strained tricep. Borowski was suffering from low velocity on his pitches and here is the reason why. Owners who read my previous post should have picked up Kobayashi and now I will also include the name of R. Betancourt for the job. Both are candidates for the closer position. I believe Kobayashi will get the nod because he is pitching well and has proven, in Japan, he can close out games an grab a save.

Saito/Broxton

The rock solid closer, Takashi Saito of the Dodgers, blew a save by allowing 3ER's against the Pirates. As with every year, Saito has a strong and almost comparable set-up man waiting for Saito to falter. J. Broxton is throwing smoke this season, 12K's in 6.1 innings, and is ready to take the closer role permanently.

Owners of Saito should grab Broxton, if they haven't already, just in case there is a change in closers. At this point in time, one blown save amounts to nothing especially with the record and history Saito has over the past 3 years. Even if there is no change in closers Broxton is a great pitcher to have on your team to lower your ERA/WHIP and provide a nice boost in K's. Owners, shouldn't panic but adding Broxton is something you should do but with Broxton's stats, he'll most likely be on someone else's roster.

Indians Closer Situation

Joe Borowski of the Indians and his great way of ending games might be closing for a AAA team in the near future. Okay, he won't be sent to the minors but he'll be pitching in the 6th/7th/8th, while closer in waiting, Masa Kobayashi, takes over his job.

Borowski blew another save last night, allowing 3ER's against the Red Sox. Owners who drafted Borowski drafted him knowing he was going to have a high ERA and plenty of save opportunities. His time might be coming to a close (no pun intended).

ADVICE - Owners should go out and grab Kobayashi off the waiver wire ASAP!! It is imperative you go out and grab the next closer for the Indians just in case there is a change of scenery for Borowski.

BJ Ryan

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays is officially back from Tommy John Surgery and collected his first save of the season. Owners of Ryan should take some caution with this and maintain Accardo as a back-up just in case something happens with Ryan. Also, since the Blue Jays want to take care of Ryan's arm you will find the Jays holding Ryan back from back-to-back days of pitching. Ryan is coming back early from surgery and you never know how this will pan out in the future especially since he has an erratic pitching style that puts more than usual amount of pressure on the arm.

Owning both Accardo and Ryan should be a good hedge.

Blown Saves

Trevor Hoffman of the Padres blew a save (0.2IP, 4ER) but I do expect him to bounce back. With his reputation in the ninth, owners shouldn't panic.

Brandon Lyon of the Diamondbacks blew a save (3ER, 1HR 0IP) and unlike Hoffman, this should be looked at cautiously. Owners should keep him in the lineup but if he continues you might need to look for another closer on the Diamondbacks.

DL

JJ Putz of the Mariners was placed on the 15-Day DL. As posted previously, the Mariners will be closer by committee. Look to Mark Lowe to be the main guy but since it is a committee he will not see all the opportunities especially since he's had 2 surgeries to his elbow in the past 19 months.

Pedro Martinez of the Mets was placed on the DL and well he'll be gone at least a month. Fantasy owners, just drop him. His body is aging and well he's not going to bring you much value right now. If happen to have a DL spot or a huge bench dropping him might not be the greatest choice but honestly, I wouldn't even keep him on my deep bench.

Putz

Blown save by Mariners closer JJ Putz. Nothing to jump over at the moment but as always with closers, keep an eye out on this situation.

Note pt. 2

Kerry Wood - 1IP, 2H, 3ER, 1BB (intentional), 1K. After being named the closer by coach Pinella, Wood comes out in his first appearance and throws this stat line at Lou. With Marmol and Howry working in save opportunities in 2007 keep an eye out for this closer battle. To give credit to Wood, the closer role is still his but he better change his first day stat line, fast! Wood owners shouldn't worry just yet.

Tom Gordon - 0.1IP, 4H, 5ER, 1BB. When is Lidge coming back?

Barry Zito - Absolutely disgusting!! $126Million for this? (5IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR) Only thing that overshadows this is his "smooth" fastball topping out at 84MPH. UGLY!! Zito owners, why was he even drafted?

Victor Martinez - Day-to-day with a hamstring injury. Not a great injury for a catcher to have. Also, being a top 5 catcher in a position that is shallow in fantasy eyes V-Mart owners should be a tad worried.

Pat Neshek - 1IP, 1H, 3K. Nice stat line for a RP in any league. Gives the nice boost in ERA, WHIP, K's, and of course the occasional save or vulture win.

First Day Notes

The first day of full action is finally finished.

Eric Gagne - He blew his first save opportunity (1IP, 3ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR) but luckily he was on the right end of the stick and came out with a vulture win. Keep an eye on this situation in case this is the start of more blown saves. If you have space, grab Turnbow who might become the new Brewers closer.

Albert Pujols - Does this silence some of his critics? Big Albert hit a HR in his opener, which ended up being deleted due to rain, but shows us the upside he holds especially when he was drafted in the late first round and even into the early second.

Kosuke Fukudome - Had a great day at the plate for his first game in the big leagues (3Hits, 1HR, 3RBI, 1BB). Don't expect him to give huge power numbers but what was a nice sign was his attempt at stealing. He was thrown out but it does show that he will run. Add 15-20SB's this season while hitting 20+HR's. Would you like that on your team?

Erik Bedard - Allowing a HR in the first inning didn't seem like his spring numbers were just that, spring numbers. But after the HR he settled down and finished with 5IP, 3H, 4BB, 5K, 1HR. This was a positive step after a terrible spring.

Chris Young (OF) - Hit a HR in his first game. Taking a quick look at his 2007 stats (32HR in 569AB) shows he has power. But along with the power he has 141K's, 43BB's, and a disgusting .237AVG. Only if he could lower his K's and up his BB's because when he does find the bases he steals, evident by his 27SB's. Young might grow into a mold like Adam Dunn. Not a bad person to have on your fantasy team except for the fact you have to balance the low average with a very high average player like an Ichiro.

Alex Gordon - The highly touted 2007 rookie started his 2008 campaign with a HR and 2RBI's. After starting extremely cold last year fantasy owners hope he can bring the second half of 2007 into this year.