Kevin Gregg's struggles were discussed in Friday night's closing time; today we have an explanation. He's been battling left knee soreness according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and the club has decided to shut him down indefinitely (3-5 days of rest, then side work, then hopefully a return).

Matt Lindstrom becomes the head of the bullpen committee in Gregg's absence, though lefty Arthur Rhodes might get some matchup-driven looks and Joe Nelson is another option. If you have one shot to take here and really need saves, go with Lindstrom, but he's still very much a work in progress and your expectations should be modest.

Man can't live on Fantasy Football alone - we've still got pennants to chase on the sandlots. Here's a summary of what you may have missed from Friday night:

• Kevin Gregg has been walking a tightrope for much of the summer, but the other cleat appears to have finally dropped on the Florida closer. He suffered his third blown save and fourth loss of the last two weeks in Friday's stomach-puncher against New York (Carlos Beltran's grand slam sealed the deal), a devastating loss that pushed the Marlins seven games back of the division-leading Mets. Gregg's ERA has jumped a run and a half over his last seven appearances, and you have to wonder how long the Fish will wait before they go to someone else.

A ground-ball spike has limited some of the damage for Gregg in 2008, but there are plenty of red flags at play: a strikeout dip, a walk increase, more line drives. And heck, a league-high nine blown saves speak for themselves.

Perhaps Fredi Gonzalez would have made a change a while back if

On the eve of the biggest draft weekend of the year, let's empty out the scouting notebook.

• I've got the Jaguars finally unseating the Colts in the AFC South this year, and I like to snag my kicker and defense from a winning situation, so voila - I'm fairly well invested in Josh Scobee and the Jacksonville defense. Jacksonville is also a difficult place to play, especially early in the season, which doesn't hurt the angle.

• Whatever you paid for Brandon Marshall, it was worth it. He's looking like a Top 10 receiver (the suspension reduction obviously helps). And the price looks right on Jay Cutler and Tony Scheffler, too.

• Everything Brad Evans says about Kevin Walter is true. I'm pretty heavily invested in Walter stock; love him as a No. 4, and I'll slot him as a No. 3 in some situations.

• The 49ers have that 5-11 look to them, but it's going to be an entertaining, 'putting the fun in dysfunctional' sort of season. The Cardinals have that same tint.

• Earnest Graham was

Just eight games on the sandlot Thursday, which is fine by me because my head is a little scrambled after running two concurrent fantasy auctions tonight (don't try this at home). They can't all be Picassos - in this instance, a color-by-number job will have to do.

• I'm not going to rehash the crazy, meandering Elijah Dukes story, but I know this - when he's on a baseball field, healthy and focused, numbers can go up in a hurry. Dukes carried the Nats over the Dodgers Thursday, putting up two homers, three runs and a stolen base, and keep in mind he was playing fantastic baseball in the middle of the summer before a knee injury hit (he also battled a calf problem this month). If Dukes can get to 500 at-bats next year, I fully expect a 25-25 season to come out of it. In mixed leagues, I implore you to check your waiver wire, right now.

• Pennant fever is supposed to grip The Hub about this time of year, but how about some old fashioned panic instead? Josh Beckett has been scratched

The original aim of the Closing Time blog was to focus on the ninth inning, the save grabbers, the committees and the closers going good and bad. Ultimately the collective ambitiousness of the staff morphed this column into something else - a discussion of the night in fantasy baseball - but for tonight's edition, I'm getting back to CT's roots: bullpen audits first, everything else can wait. It's a good night to adopt such a theme - we only saw two lopsided scores on this full slate.

• Kerry Wood mowed down the Pirates for his 27th save (1-2-3, two strikeouts), and it's safe to say his blister problem is history. He's only allowed one run in his 10 appearances since returning, with 13 strikeouts and one walk. The eighth inning is also in good hands, as Carlos Marmol's unhittable act has returned in August (14.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 18 K).

If Chicago can keep everyone healthy for the fall (looking at you, Rich Harden), here's your overwhelming NL favorite. They've got it all, dynamic

How putrid did Washington's first-string offense look Saturday at Carolina? This bad: Jim Zorn plans to start the group for a series or two in the preseason finale against Jacksonville Thursday. The new West Coast scheme isn't ready for prime-time in D.C. just yet.

It's always a mistake to overreact to one game, good or bad, but there's no way to sugarcoat it: the Redskins stunk at Carolina, and it specifically brings Jason Campbell and friends under the fantasy microscope. The passing game managed just three net yards in the first half Saturday, Campbell took four sacks and lost a fumble, and the Redskins never came close to scoring. Campbell's six completions went for a scant 39 yards.

"You just don't want to have that as your last impression going into your season," conceded receiver Antwaan Randle El. "Really, your last impression shouldn't be that."

While the offensive line deserves a chunk of the blame - Carolina's pass rush was dominant from the word go - sacks can also be a

Pitchers are the singing sirens of the fantasy equation; today's hero can turn into tomorrow's zero with little warning, and vice versa. In tonight's 10-game lap, let's first turn our eyes to a couple of NL East hurlers who have come out of nowhere to become fantasy saviors.

• Mike Pelfrey had the sinking fastball working Monday, and when you're collecting 18 ground-ball outs, why throw anything else? Pelfrey also struck out six Astros (against no walks) and took a shutout into the ninth inning; in all his 13th win cost him just 108 pitches, and best of all for New York fans, the bullpen wasn't needed. Pelfrey wasn't originally going to get another turn this week, but with John Maine (rotator cuff) now out of the equation, the Mets will bring Pelfrey back on Sunday at Florida.

How real is Pelfrey's emergence? Skeptical fantasy players will point to his modest strikeout rate and shake their heads, but he's doing a lot of things right: heavy ground-ball rate, just nine homers allowed,

Frank Francisco's career is approaching the 180-degree shift, from "throwing a chair" to "closer's chair" in less than four years. Let's scan those waiver wires, amigos.

Here's what you need to know: the Rangers peddled soft-tossing lefty Eddie Guardado to the Twins today for minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger. Guardado's fantasy worth expires with the move; Minnesota already has arguably the best closer in the league in Joe Nathan.

The Rangers have yet to publicly name a successor to Guardado, but in competitive save-chasing leagues let's make a speculative play on Francisco. He's got closer stuff (65 strikeouts in 52.1 innings) and for his career he's allowed a scant .229 batting average. His control is less than ideal, but he's trimmed his walk rate significantly this year. Fly-ball tendencies and some gopheritis will be at play, but hey, you can't have everything. He's far and away the most intriguing of the current candidates. Point, click, acquire, and we'll pick up on this in