Joaquin Benoit, saver of games (USAT Images)

On a night when the Tigers and Mariners somehow combined for 40 strikeouts, Joaquin Benoit didn't register a single K. He did, however, earn his first save of the 2013 season ... barely.

It can be argued that catcher Brayan Pena, a guy who spent 14 innings behind the plate on Wednesday night, actually deserves a share of the save, if not the whole damn thing. Pena survived a game-ending collision at home with Justin Smoak, recording the game's final out. Smoak attempted to score from first on Dustin Ackley's line-drive double, hammered into the right field corner, but the relay throw beat the base-runner with ease, so he flattened Pena. Watch the play right here via MLB.com.

Pena held onto the ball, gloriously...

Power of the Purple (USAT)

Today's ranking assignment takes us down on the corner, the first basemen and the third basemen. Settle in, settlers.

What you'll see below are prices for most of the Yahoo-eligible cornermen going forward. There are a few rules here: if you're in the minors or on the DL, you don't make this list. Too variable in worth, league to league. If you're catcher-eligible, you don't make the list – everyone's probably going to use you at catcher anyway. Don't obsess over the actual dollar amounts – what matters is how the players relate to one another. When players are at the same number, they're considered even.

The games to this point are merely an audition. We're trying to figure out who's worth the most going forward. Assume a 5x5 rotisserie format, as always.

I welcome your respectful disagreement but you have to include a reason. Respect the room; back up your disagreement with facts, stats, logic. Win the debate, win the rank. And remember the golden rule: a player doesn't spike in value by 15-20 percent merely because he's on your roster. Keep both cleats on the ground.

I reserve the right to tweak this list as the day goes along, and I'll add extensive commentary as well.

Don't worry, Kelvin, no one really gets Ned Yost (USAT)

The torrid Atlanta Braves lineup, and its proclivity for home runs, is making a mess of bullpens all around baseball. The Upton brothers basically removed Carlos Marmol from our closing thoughts last week, and in Tuesday's action, the Braves took dead aim at well-regarded Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera in the eighth inning. (Roll the tape here: skip to the 1:11 mark for the key video).

Jason Heyward started the binge, then Justin Upton followed (let me know when it lands), and then Dan Uggla did the trick. Three homers in four at-bats off one frustrated reliever. So much for the tie game; say hello to another Braves victory. And boom goes the dynamite.

I'm not intending to bash Herrera, who was lights-out in his first six appearances. And it's tricky to know where closer Greg Holland is at these days, given the Royals haven't been using him. He hasn't worked in a game since his dodge-em special against Minnesota back on April 9 (the Twins left the bases loaded, and the clouds basically opened up during the game-ending strikeout of Joe Mauer). You get the idea Holland will likely pitch in Wednesday's matinee against the Braves, even if it's the dreaded "get some work" appearance. This entire blog post could be irrelevant in less than two hours.

Dan Haren ponders his nightmare start (USAT)

I'm out of new excuses, how about you? When do things get better for Dan Haren?

The veteran righty was terrible in 2012, largely blamed on injury problems. Okay, that's understandable. Haren threw batting practice in spring training last month (6.39 ERA, seven homers over 25.1 innings), but hey, those games don't count.

When Haren dished up four taters in Cincinnati two weeks back, the apologists shrugged - the Reds are a strong ball club and their ballpark plays cozy on most nights. Haren was mediocre in his second turn (5 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K), though he picked up a win.

And then came Tuesday's start against Miami, another step backwards. On paper, it was a delightful matchup: a start in Miami against the worst offense (by far) in the majors. And Giancarlo Stanton, the lone threat in the Marlins lineup, was once again a pregame scratch.

So much for the easy victory. Haren was knocked around for seven hits and seven runs (three earned) over 4.1 innings. He walked one, struck out just two, and the immortal Adeiny Hechavarria took him over the bridge fish tank (certainly nothing cheap about that one).

Now it's time for the spin doctors. What do we do with Haren going forward?

Matt Adams, spectator (Getty Images)As of this moment, Matt Adams is on pace to finish the season with just 249 plate appearances — clearly not enough to make him a no-doubt fantasy option, despite his ridiculous early-season performance. Adams is 11-for-18 so far with three homers, eight RBIs and an OPS of 1.872. He's only started four games this year, yet he somehow has more total hits than Ryan Braun (10-for-30), Matt Kemp (10-for-51) and Buster Posey (9-for-39).

Adams is, for lack of a better cliché, absolutely on fire.

But as everyone knows, he's also blocked at first base in St. Louis by Allen Craig. Defensively, Adams really doesn't fit at any other spot. The Cards have zero motivation to trade him, because he's cheap ($490K), young (24) and enormously talented (see above). Adams hasn't seriously struggled at any pro level, MLB included. He hit .310 in the Midwest League with 22 homers in 2010, then .300 with 32 bombs in the Texas League the following year, and then .329 with 18 homers in just 67 games in the PCL last season. He's verifiably great.

As St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said this spring, "The bat plays."

And still, Adams is a part-timer, a pinch-hitter with benefits. An extremely high-maintenance fantasy asset.

If you're among the 13 percent of Yahoo! fantasy managers who currently own Adams, then no doubt his playing-time situation is wearing you down. He's fine for folks in daily transaction leagues, as long as A) they have no shortage of bench spots, and B) they're available to run pre-game checks of the Cardinals' lineup every day. But if you're the type who prefers to set a lineup and forget it, then it's tough to deal with players like this — even if they're hitting .611.

Unforgettable day in Boston

Ninety-nine percent of the time, this column lead is going to be about the players and the stats, not about me. But here's a rare case where an exception to the rule applies.

By now you surely know all about the tragic events that took place in Boston on Monday afternoon. Hateful acts and destructive consequences are never easy for anyone to view or understand, but there's an extra layer of pain that applies when the events occur in your home area.

I don't live in New England currently – it's actually been more than a decade since I moved away. But I grew up in Massachusetts and attended college in Rhode Island; all of my roots are in the area. Boston is my city as much as any city has ever been, and anytime I go back to visit New England, it feels like I'm going home.

Every year on Patriots' Day, I have friends at the marathon and in the marathon. My closest friend growing up was a distance runner (he's since passed the running baton to his wife), and I've spent Marathon Monday in The Hub on several occasions. To see a fun and joyous day turned into a day of terror makes my stomach sick.

I'm writing Closing Time because it's what I do, and I'm thankful and grateful to have this daily forum. But for one edition at least, you'll have to excuse me if my heart wasn't completely in it, if rooting for a save here or a stolen base there didn't carry the same worth it might on a normal day. I realize sports serve as a welcome distraction and diversion in most of our lives, and I'm fine with that; I know why you're coming here and what my job is. Just know my mind was elsewhere as I watched baseball Monday evening; it would be false to write this column without that disclosure.

You're in my thoughts, Boston. I'm proud of how you've responded. Keep taking care of one another.

Thanks for listening. Now let's get back to work, back to the sandlots.

Matt Harvey is the real deal (USAT)

I’m not sure what more can be said about Matt Harvey at this point, but I’ll go ahead and continue to pile on the praise. The guy has allowed six hits over 22.0 innings this season. Six! Thanks to a 0.82 ERA and a decent 0.55 WHIP, he’s been the No. 1 ranked fantasy player so far. Harvey’s control still isn’t great, as he’s walked multiple batters in all three of his outings (and he had a 3.93 BB/9 rate across Triple-A and with the Mets last year), but his stuff is among the nastiest in the league already. Harvey’s average fastball velocity (94.3 mph) has been the fourth-highest among all starters this season, while his slider (88.6 mph) has easily been the fastest (next highest is Madison Bumgarner at 88.0 mph) - with this ridiculous movement to boot. His curveball has also averaged the fourth-highest velocity, and he sports a plus changeup for the fun of it as well. Harvey’s 14.8 SwStr% leads the National League, and he somehow currently has a higher IFFB% (8.7) than line drive percentage (7.0). That’s pretty good. Over his first 13 starts in the major leagues, he has a 2.21 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 95 strikeouts over 81.1 innings with a .173 BAA. In case I haven’t been clear, I think Harvey is for real, although I will caution that odds are his ERA rises above 1.00 at some point this season. Matt Harvey once visited The Virgin Islands. They have since just been referred to as The Islands.

[Also: Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo arrested for DUI]

Reeling in passes could be a common occurrence for Bush in Detroit. (USAT)

In locker-rooms, on plasma screens or behind podiums, NFL head coaches typically spew one of three different types of propaganda when discussing expectations for newly acquired players – believable, outlandish and whatever the heck flies out of Jim Schwartz’s mouth.

Over the years, Schwartz has rewarded the football community with several golden nuggets, his comparison of Jahvid Best video clips to “porn” being the best. Well, it appears the Old Hyperbolator is at it again. Last week, he divulged to Lions fans running back Reggie Bush is poised for an enormous season. In Schwartz’s fantastic words:

"Last year, when [Bush] played for the Miami Dolphins, he was a running back," Schwartz said Tuesday at a Town Hall Meeting for season ticketholders at Ford Field. "He didn’t have very many catches. He had about 20 catches last year. This is a guy who can potentially catch 60-to-70-to-80 balls, depending on how you use him..."

"You want to put players in the best position for them to show what they can do, the best position to effect the game, the best position to be able to make an impact on the game and help win the game and that’s what we plan to do with Reggie...We have a very specific role in mind for him.”

Schwartz’s above declaration may seem like a pull-a-number-of-your-butt projection, but it’s not at all unrealistic. The Lions offense is fast, explosive and high-octane, a pass-centric scheme designed to tax secondaries via constant bombardment. Over the past two seasons, Matthew Stafford chucked 43.4 passes per game, nearly two more tosses per game than next-in-line Drew Brees. With undeniably the game’s finest receiver, Calvin Johnson, and additional above average weapons on roster (e.g. Brandon Pettigrew, Ryan Broyles, Nate Burleson and Joique Bell), it’s no wonder why Detroit is stubborn in its skyward ways. Bush’s arrival only solidifies the club’s air-prolific standing.