Angels Bullpen: Some Shine, Others Buckle Under Pressure

It’s no secret the LA Angels starting rotation has been in shambles most of the year. With Hector Santiago being traded and Tim Lincecum being designated for assignment, the pressure for the bullpen to help the rotation is at an all time high.

The Angels bullpen this season has been an experiment. They’ve tried to find roles for certain players and hoping to find something that sticks. Cam Bedrosian and Deolis Guerra have been the biggest and quite possibly the only major bright spots in the bullpen for the Angels this year.

Bedrosian was said to be taking over the closing duties from Huston Street in the future, but with Street on the DL coupled with the year he has had, chances are Bedrosian takes over the closer role for the rest of the season. Bedrosian recorded his first career save August 2nd in the Angels 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Jhoulys Chacin has also been a nice addition to the bullpen. He was switched duties after Nick Tropeano returned, and has settled nicely into a long reliever role posting a 2.70 ERA in his last seven appearances. With Lincecum being designated for assignment, there is a chance Chacin could creep back into the starting rotation.

It isn’t all gloom in the bullpen though. Over the last six games the bullpen has been responsible for the wins or losses, with three of those games being losses. On July 31st Huston Street threw away a 3-0 lead and allowed the Red Sox to score five runs in the 9th.

On August 4th Mike Morin allowed the Athletics two runs in the top of 10th. Last night Jose Valdez walked three consecutive batters to load the bases and Deolis Guerra took over and gave up a sac fly and a three run home bringing Valdez’s ERA to 81.00.

With the Angels starting rotation being so inconsistent there is a good chance we will be seeing more of the bullpen as the season progresses. Which side of the bullpen we will see seems to be the bigger question at hand. One thing is for certain and it’s that the bullpen has a lot of weight on their shoulders for the rest of the season. Not only is their workload growing, but it comes at a time where the Angels front office is most likely already thinking about next year.

Next: Lincecum likely done as an Angel?

This is the perfect time for the bullpen to show the front office what they can do under pressure, and if the rest of the bullpen can rally behind Cam Bedrosian and Deolis Guerra they can be a force in the American League West. Or in the least, have a position in the bullpen come next season.