New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is 40 years old and the definition of a three-out pitcher. He strikes out, relatively speaking, few hitters, and he rarely picks up cheap wins. So, why is he the No. 1 closer in this week’s rankings? Well, because he’s the only stopper, in our estimation, with zero questions to answer.

Jonathan Broxton is in the midst of an unsettling season. Jonathan Papelbon’s strikeout and walk rates are heading in the wrong direction. Joakim Soria pitches for a cellar dweller. Rafael Soriano’s health can never be trusted. Heath Bell puts too many runners on base. Carlos Marmol has more walks than any other closer in baseball. And so on.

Meanwhile, Rivera keeps churning out off-the-charts ratios and competitive saves totals. And now, as the season winds down, he historically gets even better. He’s the most trustworthy stopper in baseball, fantasy or reality, which makes him the rightful No. 1 closer in fantasy. Here’s how the rest of the rankings shake out.
** Statistics through Aug. 9 games Read more »

Closers are the most painfully necessary players in fantasy baseball. Every season, only 30 of them exist, which creates a market dynamic unlike any other position in the game. The chase begins on draft day and doesn’t end until the season comes to a close.

Injuries, ineffectiveness and committee situations are among the headaches that come with relievers, but there is an upside. Because closer positions are the most volatile in fantasy, there are constantly opportunities to improve throughout the season. Drafting well is important, sure, but hawking saves all season long might be even more crucial.

We’ve put together our preliminary closer rankings, which are, of course, prone to change at any time throughout the spring. As the regular season nears, we’ll shuffle the rankings and go a little deeper to include the ‘insurance policy’ for each closer on the list. Read more »

Name recognition and marginal statistics are often times all that separates elite closers from the ‘middle class.’ There’s a steep price to be paid for both items, most of the time for fantasy owners who want to lock down their bullpens, then shift their focuses elsewhere for the rest of the season.

That’s one form of bullpen shopping. But the other, more popular, way to obtain help involves a season-long dedication to bargain hunting and scavenging for saves. Like a housemom fixated on clipping coupons, a hustling fantasy owner is rewarded for his hard work with freebies and cost-effective substitutes. Read more »

Rankings are arbitrary and subject to all kinds of different perspective and opinions. At the end of the day, they don’t serve much purpose, except to stir up some controversy and serve as an entertaining read. If we’re lucky, readers will find what they’re about to read controversial, entertaining, informative and/or useful.

These kinds of lists are a little different in fantasy, especially in a publication’s ability to express a thought that’s a little outside the norm. Also, in the case of closer rankings, fantasy owners are able to check out the bottom of our list and see which stoppers may get into early trouble. Read more »

In a typical rotisserie baseball league, there are 10 statistical categories to consider. Most players make big contributions in a handful of categories, which gives them a great deal of value. But, the way fantasy baseball works, one-dimensional, less productive players — relievers and closers — require far more work and maintenance.

Plots thicken, closers get demoted or injured, and managers often make bullpen situations hard to predict. So, while it’s all in pursuit of saves – and to a far lesser extent strikeouts, ERA and WHIP — keeping a stable full of closers requires a great deal of time, anticipation and a little luck. Read more »

The most important thing baseball fans probably had on their minds last night, as the Tampa Bay Rays cruised to a 7-0 lead in Game 5 of the ALCS, was who would start Game 1 of the World Series for the AL Champions.

But the Red Sox rallied from seven runs down to win Game 5 and send the series back to Tampa Bay with the Rays now holding a slim 3-2 advantage.

Most fans probably can’t help but wonder now who’s going to start Game 7 for the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Would it be Daisuke Matsuzaka, last night’s starter, going on three days rest for the Red Sox if the series makes it to Sunday? You can’t count out future Red Sox ace Jon Lester, who, although he gave up four earned runs and took the loss in Game 4, is a big game pitcher no matter how you look at it. The man defeated cancer and essentially death. So, pitching in a Game 7, on the road in a hostile environment, is probably not a big deal to him. Read more »

At the core, I don’t believe that the Tampa Bay Rays did anything wrong when they threw down with the Boston Red Sox on June 5 and ignited a new rivalry. The Rays had a justifiable beef with Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp, who drew the ire of manager Joe Maddon with a dirty slide on Akinori Iwamura the previous night. But, I do disagree with how the young Rays went about exacting their revenge.

First of all, I have a hard time believing that Maddon was free and clear of payback plans. He had the biggest problem with Crisp’s actions, and his jawing at the outfielder from the dugout set a bad example for his young team. Who knows what happened behind closed doors between the June 4 game and the June 5 brawl, but Maddon, either directly or indirectly, was responsible for the blowup. Read more »

Francisco Rodriguez tops the list of best closers so far this season. He’s had at least 40 saves the last three seasons and looks to be well on his way to another. Jonathon Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Jason Isringhausen aren’t far behind.

Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes find themselves surprisingly at the bottom of this list, while Brandon Lyon and Brian Wilson inch closer towards the top. Read more »