Interlude - Saves

Some thoughts as I am getting more concrete data on relievers. Prepare to have your mind blown!

-Do you know how many blown saves there were last year? That number would be 575. That is a staggering number. There are fewer stars in the galaxy than that! That is untrue, of course. Still staggering.

-Do you know that there are 8 teams that have 10 or more blown saves from pitchers who never even recorded a single save (Colt 45s, Klue Klays, Bravos, Brewers, Marlins, Natinals, Padres, and Rockies)! 3 guys blew 7 saves each without converting a single one. One of them was Aaron Crow! That guy was on my team for a short period last year! Why do they keep getting the ball in the 9th! 7 saves blown! Not a single one converted! What is this, the '06 Yankees season and we are talking about Kyle Farnsworth? Managers: these guys stink. Don't give them the ball. What are we talking about here!

-In the entire league last season, there were 1818 save opportunities. 31.6% of them were blown. Have I truly been so spoiled by a decade of Mariano Rivera and his delicious steaks outside of New Rock City that this number is almost certainly incorrect (of course it is correct)?

-How do you think the Colt 45's numbers of saves matches up with their number of blown saves. Those two numbers are approximately equivalent, or more precisely, exactly the same. They saved 25 and they blew 25. While Mark Melancon didn't exactly light the world on fire with 20 whole saves, without him, they would have blown 4 times the number of saves that they accrued (20 blown, 5 saved). Wilton Lopez blew 6 saves himself without ever successfully converting a chance. Brandon Lyon, a legit fantasy option the season before last, blew 3 himself. I drafted him in the 20th round. Do you know who else I could have gotten in that round? Albert Pujols, that's who. Well, actually, that's not who. I could have gotten some other trash like Jason Kubel, but the fact remains!