Closing Time: Tom Wilhelmsen loses his way; Jose Valverde and Heath Bell feed the gopher

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

For the opening six weeks, Tom Wilhelmsen was a closer in control. The Bartender reeled off 11 saves in a row and had a microscopic 0.50 ERA. Last year's delicious breakout year was being validated.

Alas, things have fallen apart since the middle of May, so it's time for an audit in Seattle. Settle in with your latte and meet us at Safeco Field.

Wilhelmsen unraveled in Wednesday's loss to Houston, allowing five runs and recording just one out in the ninth. It's his fourth blown save over 11 appearances, a stretch where he's walked 10 batters (three intentional) against just eight strikeouts. In the blink of an eye, his ERA is up to 3.77. More troubling, his strikeout rate has completely collapsed

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Cliff Gets Cheers Bar The Wins

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Yesterday, Cliff Lee gave the line 8 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 10 Ks to move his record to 6-7 in 190 innings.  That’s to go with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  If you had 7 wins as his over/under for the year with a full season of starts and without him being traded midseason to the Astros, you might win yourself a lot of money.  If you doubled down with the bet, Roy Halladay’s ERA would be above 4.  You’re buying drinks for him and Norm.  This year, Lee’s Ks are a little off, but still well above 8 per nine and his xFIP is near 3.  The only thing he’s missing this year is just the slightest bit of luck with wins and his ratios.  For next year, he’s probably going to be drafted lower because of the

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Pitcher Ranks: Dodger blues

Source: Sporting News Fantasy Source Baseball

Kenley Jansen has emerged as one of the best closers in baseball, but the 24-year-old converted catcher might not pitch again this year because of an irregular heartbeat.

Jansen is set to have an examination on Tuesday. If he's cleared, he can pitch again as soon as Friday. If he's not, he'll miss at least four weeks like he did when this issue popped up last season.

Obviously, the primary concern here is Jansen's health and career. It would be a shame for such a young, talented player to have anything happen to him. In the fantasy world, there's also concern about what to do if you were counting on Jansen down the stretch.

Dodgers' manager Don Mattingly has said Ronald

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Streaming Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball: Magically…PREDICTABLE!

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

VinWins outed me as having had a modicum of success in streaming pitchers: 68 SP (yes, 68 different starters) have recorded 55 wins and 648 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.13 and 1.22 WHIP in 797 IP. From FA/WW grabbed the likes of R.A. Dickey, Lance Lynn, James McDonald, Jonathan Niese, Wade Miley, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Parker. You could have scooped them as well.

Relievers I was able to pick up include Ernesto Frieri, Santiago Casilla, Rafael Soriano, Francisco Rodriguez, Henry Rodriguez, Tom Wilhelmsen, Rafael Dolis, Jared Burton, Glen Perkins, and Bobby Parnell. In total, 59 RPs recorded a 2.75 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 293 Ks in 249 IP. Plus a

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