Joaquin Benoit takes the ninth, imperfectly
When you check the box score from Detroit's 7-3 win over Toronto, you'll quickly notice two things about Joaquin Benoit's performance: 1) It wasn't particularly good, and 2) he pitched the ninth in a non-save situation.
Those two facts, taken together, would probably discourage you from adding Benoit under normal circumstances.
But it's worth noting that Benoit began warming when his team held a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, so he was in line for a save chance, until the Tigers plated a pair of insurance runs.
Look, here's a screen grab of Joaquin in the 'pen, not long after his save opportunity went away...
...with an expression on his face that says, "Do I seriously still have to pitch? For real?"
Well, he did pitch, and the results weren't great. He allowed two hits, including a 10,000-foot homer by Colby Rasmus, but he managed to close the door on the Jays. Eventually.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland recently indicated that Benoit would get the ninth more often than not, because, unlike Phil Coke, he has success against opposite-handed hitters. Here's the key quote:
"We figure the lefty-righty combination of [Benoit] being effective against both guys, if rested and available, we would lean that way probably more often," Leyland said.
So there you go, gamer. Benoit is owned in just 36 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and he's been mostly respectable in a set-up role over multiple seasons. He's not a guy who's likely to destroy your ratios. Do what desperate save-chasers do.
