by The Loveable Losers » Tue May 30, 2006 11:19 pm
Rotowire reports:
Valverde met with manager Bob Melvin on Tuesday to discuss his role as closer, the team's offical website reports.
"He won't pitch [Tuesday]," Melvin said. "[Jorge] Julio will close [Tuesday] and then we'll take a look at it down the road. That's all I'm really prepared to say today. We've talked. I just want him to take a mental break today and then we'll discuss where we're going from here in the next day or so." While there has been no official announcement, it sounds like Melvin could possibly be leaning towards giving Jorge Julio a shot until Valverde can work out his issues.
by The Loveable Losers » Wed May 31, 2006 10:47 am
More news from Rotowire:
Arizona manager Bob Melvin met with the struggling Valverde on Tuesday, the East Valley Tribune reports. Neither Melvin nor Valverde commented on the meeting to media afterwards, but Melvin did state that Jorge Julio would close for Arizona on Tuesday if needed, and it appears Julio is poised to replace Valverde as the team's closer going forward.
As it turns out, the Diamondbacks didn't need a closer on Tuesday, as Miguel Batista pitched a complete game for the win. However, the meeting and no-comment by both parties is an indicator (albeit not official confirmation) that Melvin is about to give Valverde at least a short break from closing duties, and Melvin did state that, philosophically, closers sometime need to pitch in less stressful situations for a while in order to work on things. Arizona manager Bryan Price also stated that he'd like to see Valverde rely on either his splitter or slider more often, noting that Valverde has "had a lot of games where he's been successful and thrown nothing but fastballs ... nevertheless, for the days he doesn't have his best fastball command, he (needs) to have his secondary pitches working for him."
and
Julio would have closed for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday had the opportunity arisen, and may be poised to replace the struggling Jose Valverde as the team's closer going forward, the East Valley Tribune reports.
Arizona did not need a closer on Tuesday as Miguel Batista pitched a complete game for the win. However, Melvin met with Arizona manager Bob Valverde on Tuesday, and neither person commented on the meeting to media afterwards. That's an indicator (albeit not official confirmation) that Melvin is about to give Valverde at least a short break from closing duties. Although Julio does sport a 4.26 ERA, he's been very effective of late, allowing just two runs in his last 10 outings (12 baserunners in 11.2 innings, 14 strikeouts). Julio has struck out 36 batters in just 23.1 innings this season for the Mets and D-Backs.
Jorge Julio will serve as the Diamondbacks' closer for the foreseeable future.
Julio was expected to fill in for Jose Valverde for just Tuesday's game, but it appears it will be a semi-permanent change. "I just want him [Valverde] to take a mental break," Melvin said. "We'll discuss where we're going from here in the next day or so." Julio closed some games for the Orioles during his three seasons in Baltimore
Jorge Julio will serve as the Diamondbacks' closer for the foreseeable future.
Julio was expected to fill in for Jose Valverde for just Tuesday's game, but it appears it will be a semi-permanent change. "I just want him [Valverde] to take a mental break," Melvin said. "We'll discuss where we're going from here in the next day or so." Julio closed some games for the Orioles during his three seasons in Baltimore
If Julio does a good job he might just take it over. He has been decent this year and has past success in closing games.
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by The Loveable Losers » Tue May 30, 2006 11:19 pm 
