July 6, 2001
Quick Hits: Jeff Zimmerman
The Texas pitching woes have started to migrate from "we're
terrible" to "we're a M*A*S*H unit," and the Rangers are trying to
figure out what they have for next year. So here's another Quick
Hit, this time looking at the most popular topic of the week's
Inbox: Jeff Zimmerman. The next regular report will come over the
All-Star break; a complete archive is available at
http://dellepro.dellhost.com/doherty/portfolio/ESPN/. Feel free to
contact me with your questions at
TexasRangersFantasyBaseball@yahoo.com.
Tearing it Up
Let's be clear: Zimmerman is the closer, regardless of certain
recent controversial ninth-inning moves made by Jerry Narron. Yes,
Mike Venafro will get the occasional save, but Mike Stanton gets one
every couple of months in the Bronx, too. Zimmerman is 3-4 with a
3.46 ERA and a sterling 1.03 WHIP, with 11 saves in 14 chances, to
go with four official "holds." He's averaging more than a strikeout
per inning, and his K/BB ratio is a ridiculous 43/6. He'll never be
a Troy Percival, but he' moved up out of that nebulous early season
Tim Crabtree/Esteban Yan/Ryan Kohlmeier neighborhood.
Slumping
That said, it was an ugly scene Wednesday when Narron tabbed Venafro
to replace Zimmerman with two outs in the ninth against Seattle. But
to be fair, the man at the plate representing the tying run was
Ichiro, who has two homers in four at-bats against Zimmerman. In
fact, the 1999 All-Star has surrendered seven homers in just 41.2 IP
and five of those have tied the game, given up the lead, or been of
the "walkoff loss" variety. But as Ranger guru Jamey Newberg
(http://www.newbergreport.com/) noted, "Zimmerman appeared to be a
bit enraged about being pulled -- which is how we should want him to
react."
From the Rubber
So Zimmerman is displaying some of the "bulldog" attitude managers
and teammates like to see in a closer. And it's not like Texas fans,
who've endured the heart-stopping outings of stalwarts like John
Wetteland, Mike Henneman, Mitch Williams, Jeff Russell, Steve
Foucault and even an aging Sparky Lyle, haven't seen this kind of
act before. Zimmerman's rags-to-riches rise a couple of years ago
endeared him to Texas fans, and the fact that he remains one of the
club's most popular players also matters to a closer's makeup.
On the Mend
Crabtree, who was handed the closer's role in spring training, is on
the 15-day DL and considering season-ending surgery for a muscle
tear in his pitching shoulder. "Closer of the future" Francisco
Cordero is out for the season with another stress fracture in his
back. Juan Moreno has been terrific, but can't pitch on back-to-back
days. J.D. Smart is out for the season with a torn rotator cuff,
while Danny Kolb is just working his way back from the 60-day DL.
Even Jayson Durocher, who's been an occasional closer at AAA, was
recently shelved with shoulder soreness. The upshot? Z-Man is The
Man.
