Where's the Relief?

[Kevin]

The first month of the DTBL season was actually dominated by pitchers. Not one team finished April with an ERA over 4.15. However, the numbers would be even more impressive if it were not for some terrible relief pitching. Through May 4, only two of the ten DTBL teams had a better ERA from their bullpen compared to the starting rotation. The league ERA for relief pitchers is currently 4.32, significantly higher than the overall total. So what is the reason for the poor relief? One explanation is that several of the league's best relievers have been injured for most, if not all, of the 2003 season. The Darkhorses are withouth Robb Nen and Trevor Hoffman. The former is probably out until the All-Star break, while the later will likely miss the entire season. Mariano Rivera is making his season debut in the Cougars lineup this week. Jason Isringhausen is yet to pitch for the Gators. For every injured closer, there are several more relievers who simply are not getting the job done. Previously solid closers like Billy Koch, Armando Benitez, Jose Jimenez, Mike Williams and Kelvim Escobar are all sporting extremely high ERAs. Generally, poor bullpen ERA and WHIP numbers are not a huge concern since they do not account for a particularly large chunk of a team's innings pitched. However, very high numbers do make a big difference. As of Sunday, the Choppers, Kings, Darkhorses and Naturals all had relief pitching ERAs above 5.00, led by the Naturals at 5.90. It has been proven that the DTBL can be won without a terrific bullpen, but when bad relief starts hurting the ERA and WHIP rankings there is certainly reason to be concerned. Maybe May will be a better month for the men in the pen.