St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin was impeccable in his first 13 appearances of the season, going 9-for-9 in save opportunities with a spotless 0.00 ERA. That perfect run ended on Sunday when he gave up a couple of solo home runs in the ninth inning against the Reds, blew a save, then rebounded to pick up his first win of the season.

Needless to say, Franklin — one of the most valuable waiver wire pickups in all of fantasy thus far — still has plenty of leash left with manager Tony LaRussa. Just enough to choke himself with, which is exactly what he did after a dominant run as a closer last season. Read more »

A constant storyline in fantasy, closers must be monitored as such to determine who’s on the verge of save opportunities and who’s losing the grip on their jobs. The season is just a week old, enough data still exists to make educated guesses at who will pleasantly surprise and who will disappoint.

Of course, there have been numerous surprises and disappointments, but we’ll set our sights on just three of each for now. As the season wears on, there will be plenty of future articles on who’s winning and losing jobs. The direct purpose of this story isn’t on long-term prospects as much as it is establishing a baseline expectation and saying who’s exceeded it or fallen short. Read more »

St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte isn’t doing anything to clear up his team’s bullpen situation. He entered the Cards’ 5-3 win over the Houston Astros Friday night, got one out, allowed two singles, and was lifted in favor of Kyle McClellan. While Motte didn’t blow a save, he did manage to blow another opportunity to take control of the closer job.

After the game, in typical Tony LaRussa fashion, mixed signals were sent to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about both McClellan and Motte. Read more »

St. Louis Cardinals rookie closer Jason Motte got touched up for four runs and a blown save in a 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday. An auspicious start for a closer with shaky job security as it was, which begs the question today, just how safe is Motte in his new role?

It’s impossible to interpret quotes from manager Tony LaRussa anyway, but he wasn’t quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch specifically on the matter. But, what LaRussa did do was show Motte some support by not warming up any other relievers until Jack Wilson hit a go-ahead three-run double, the Post-Dispatch reported. That’s a good indication that Motte has some leash left. Read more »

Well, after initial reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. signing a one-year deal worth $2 million plus incentives with the Braves, the report was quickly denied by Griffey, who officially signed with the Seattle Mariners Wednesday.

This news coming from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which also reports that a phone call from Willie Mays gave Seattle the edge over Atlanta for good in the Griffey sweepstakes. Read more »