George Sherrill

itchers who perform better in save situations have drastic splits in performance.  Baltimore's George Sherrill, who is tied for second in the majors with 30 saves, has a 3.12 ERA in save situations, but has allowed six earned runs in just nine non-save innings, for an ERA of 6.00.  Coincidentally (or perhaps not), as his name has come up frequently over the last week in possible trade scenarios several scouts and team executives have noted that he thrives on guts and guile rather than great stuff.  C.J. Wilson, who has saved 23 games in 26 chances for the Rangers, has a 4.01 ERA in save situations.  Think that ERA is less than impressive for a closer?  Well, if he performed as badly in save chances as his 6.38 ERA in 18.1 non-save innings, he probably wouldn't even be in the major leagues.  San Francisco's closer, Brian Wilson, leads the NL with 28 saves in 30 chances, and has an impressive 2.67 ERA in save situations.  However, in non-save situations his ERA balloons to a whopping 9.82 over 11 innings pitched.

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e taxed pitchers like Brandon Webb (who had pitched seven innings and 108 pitches two days before), George Sherrill (the Orioles’ closer, who pitched two and a third innings), and Scott Kazmir (who had also pitched on Sunday, logging six innings and 104 pitches). Webb and Kazmir weren’t supposed to appear at all, with Tampa manager Joe Maddon specifically requesting that Kaz rest his arm, and we have yet to see what the effects might be on them, or guys like Carlos Marmol, who threw an inning in spite of recent struggles and a strong need for rest.

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