1. Atlanta Braves To have a shutdown bullpen, you have to have a dominant closer, and the Braves' Craig Kimbrel is coming off one of the greatest seasons ever for a reliever: Opposing hitters had 231 plate appearances against him, and he struck out 116 -- almost exactly half -- in 62 2/3 innings, with just 14 walks and 27 hits. When he threw strike one on the first pitch of the at-bat (147 of those 231 plate appearances), hitters went 16-for-143, with 97 strikeouts and one extra-base hit. Here's one more: After hitters got ahead in the count, they went 5-for-32, with 10 strikeouts. Just one more: With two outs and runners in scoring position, opposing hitters were 1-for-18 with 10 strikeouts. In other words, Kimbrel is the best closer in the game, and, at the outset of his career, he has established an unprecedented trajectory: Nobody has been this good so soon. The Braves have outstanding relievers stacked all around Kimbrel, from underrated Eric O'Flaherty (1.73 ERA in 64 appearances last season) to Jonny Venters (who seemed to bounce back in a big way after a rough first half) to Cristhian Martinez (65 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings) to Luis Avilan. And, oh by the way, the Braves swapped for hard-throwing Jordan Walden (average fastball velocity last year: 96.3 mph) in the offseason, with some confidence they can help his command, and, if that happens, Atlanta could essentially end games after the fifth and sixth innings. This is an extraordinary bullpen, and the Braves' staff and front office deserve credit for changing the way the Atlanta relievers were rested in 2012 after the relievers were worn out in 2011. Some teams don't change; the Braves did. 2. Tampa Bay Rays The names change almost every year, but the performance remains the same. Tampa Bay led the American League in bullpen ERA, after Fernando Rodney became the Rays' latest reclamation project (watching the Tampa Bay bullpen every year is like watching an episode of "American Restoration," on which junk is turned into gleaming excellence), and he merely became a Cy Young candidate, with just 43 hits and two homers allowed in 74 2/3 innings. He is surrounded by Jake McGee and Joel Peralta and perhaps Roberto Hernandez -- the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona -- who has always had great stuff but an inconsistent delivery. It would surprise no one in the sport if we checked back in August and found that Hernandez had become a dominant setup man. Such is the reputation of the Rays for identifying bullpen talent, and the reputation of pitching coach Jim Hickey for refining that talent. 3. Kansas City Royals In a September conversation, some of the Chicago White Sox hitters and staff talked about the Royals' bullpen with complete awe and respect. No team, Adam Dunn said, had a collection of power arms like that of the Royals. "It's like every guy comes out of the bullpen throwing 97 [mph]" Dunn said. The bullpen might be the best piece of hope for Royals fans to hang on to because if the Kansas City rotation can be at least mediocre -- just average -- the Royals' bullpen would win a lot of games in the late innings. Aaron Crow had 65 punchouts in 64 2/3 innings; Tim Collins whiffed 93 in 69 2/3 innings; closer Greg Holland had 91 strikeouts in 67 innings. The Royals' bullpen racked up 535 strikeouts in 561 1/3 innings and finished sixth in the majors in ERA, at 3.17. 4. Baltimore Orioles The Orioles had a makeshift rotation all season, because of injuries and performance, yet the Baltimore bullpen held up despite an extraordinary workload. No team that made the playoffs needed more bullpen innings than the Orioles, yet the Baltimore relievers finished fifth in ERA at 3.00, a tribute to the way Buck Showalter and his coaches use all parts of their pitching staff. Closer Jim Johnson had a major-league-best 51 saves, with just 15 walks in 68 2/3 innings, and got a whole lot of help from Pedro Strop, Darren O'Day and Luis Ayala. One of the interesting decisions the Orioles will face in spring training will be what to do with left-hander Brian Matusz, who has generally struggled as a starter -- but had moments of total dominance out of the bullpen down the stretch. It might be that Matusz is a modern version of Arthur Rhodes and is just more comfortable pitching out of the bullpen; he told me during the playoffs that he really loved throwing in relief. 5. San Francisco Giants Arizona GM Kevin Towers is known for being one of the best at piecing together a bullpen, so it should be no surprise that his former manager in San Diego, Bruce Bochy, is known for being among the best handlers of a relief corps. The past four seasons, this is how the San Francisco bullpen has ranked in the majors in ERA: 2009 2nd (3.49) 2010 2nd (2.99) 2011 2nd (3.04) 2012 15th (3.56) Sergio Romo took over from Brian Wilson as closer last season, seamlessly -- especially in the postseason. In the playoffs and World Series, the Giants' bullpen, bolstered by a temporary relief assignment for Tim Lincecum, was difference-making. Jeremy Affeldt didn't allow a run in 10 1/3 innings and struck out 10. The Giants' bullpen has nice righty/lefty balance, swing-and-miss capability and experience. What's not to like? 6. Oakland Athletics The Athletics finished fourth in bullpen ERA last season, at 2.94, and they basically return the entire group: All-Star Ryan Cook, Grant Balfour, Jerry Blevins, Pat Neshek, Evan Scribner and others. Cook, who was traded to the Athletics in the Trevor Cahill deal, held opposing hitters to a .166 batting average last season. 7. Los Angeles Dodgers J.P. Howell agreed to terms with the Dodgers on Friday, another good piece to an already deep bullpen; the left-hander saw his velocity increase markedly in the 2012 season, in his first full year back from shoulder surgery, to the point that his highest radar gun reading came in his last appearance of the season. Don Mattingly's weapons include Brandon League (who posted a 2.30 ERA for the Dodgers after being acquired from Seattle), Kenley Jansen (99 strikeouts in 65 innings despite some heart issues) and Ronald Belisario. 8) Reds 9) Padres 10) Cardinals 10a) Diamondbacks Via Buster Onley
ATL and KC are definitely 1 and 2 IMO. TB, SF, OAK, and our BP's are 3-6, I'd probably rank it OAK, LAD, SF, TB
I just can't get over the lineup rankings. Buster must gain back the trust I had in him throughout his years of devoted service. I think he snubbed the doyers just to personally piss me off. This is personal Buster. What kind of name is Buster? That's a dog name.
He's pretty obviously a Dodgers fan. He admits to growing up a Dodgers fan, like half of his tweets in the regular season are about the Dodgers, he picks them all the time. I wouldn't take it to heart.
Maybe the Howell signing is a reason why Buster held off on this BP rankings? But yeah I guess it's awesome to be in the top ten in everything except for infield and lineup (which we def should be in there).
I cant believe that a bp that has the great Mariano Rivera or the amazing Papelbon arent ranked... Please note sarcasm before insulting me...
