Jason Bulger was pulled early from Saturday's game when he complained of a Shoulder tightness to Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher. There is no word on whether or not he will be added to the postseason roster.
The Bullpen is easily the Angels biggest question mark headed into the postseason. Bulger was an integral part of the late inning relief corps.
Without Bulger, the Angels Bullpen Depth looks lke this:
Brian Fuentes: Closer
Kevin Jepsen: 8th / 9th
Darren Oliver: 7th / 8th / Lefty Situational
And then the ambiguities form: Ervin Santana will be called in if a starting pitcher falters, traditionally the role of Matt Palmer this season. Palmer may get a more important role and his 2 shutout innings on Saturday illustrate his effectiveness. Sean O'Sullivan could be a possibility and threw out of the pen the other day quite effectively.
A four man rotation and the six pitchers listed here leave room for other relievers, none of whom should get you too excited: Jose Arredondo, Trevor Bell, Rafael Rodriguez and Rich Thompson should only get the ball in the postseason with ten-run leads or 8-run deficits.
Poll
ALDS, 7th inning, Angels ahead by one run, Oliver just pitched the 6th, Bulger unavailable, Jepsen/Fuentes the obvious choice for the 8th/9th... who you gonna call?
Another inning from Cousin Oliver (144 votes)
Magic Matt Palmer (175 votes)
Black Magic Ervin Santana (392 votes)
Ghostbusters (79 votes)
790 total votes


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