Putz funk not affecting standings – yet
Jul 1, 2011, 3:47 AM | Updated: 4:48 am
Arizona Diamondback’s closer J.J. Putz has thrown like two different closers this season.
An excellent May followed by a poor June has Mark Asher, co-host of Sports 620 KTAR’s Mark Asher wondering what’s up with Putz.
“I have major concerns with Putz, because without the back-end of that bullpen, this team’s going nowhere,” Ash said during Thursday’s show.
In May, Putz was a pitching machine. He appeared in 13 games and saved 11 of those. In every game Putz had a save during the month of May, the D-backs did not lose. From May 19 until May 29, Putz appeared in seven games and he got the save in all of them.
June has been a different story. Putz has appeared in 12 games and only saved five. He blew four saves and lost one. In the 12 games Putz appeared in during June, the D-backs had a record of 8-4.
“In the games that Putz has blown, the Diamondbacks actually bailed him out and won,” Ash said. “You can’t necessarily coordinate it to wins and losses and where they are in the standings right now.”
But that’s right now. If Putz continues his slide, the wins and losses column could become tilted against the D-backs and for a team that’s finally enjoying some success, a closer in a funk could prove disastrous.
