Fish Bytes

Heath Bell out as closer -- for the time being

    SAN DIEGO -- Heath Bell blew one save too many, and the decision was finally made on Saturday to relieve him of the closer's role, if only for the time being. One night after Bell blew his fourth save in a game the Marlins eventually won in the 12th,  manager Ozzie Guillen and pitching coach Randy St. Claire sat down with Bell on Saturday to break the news.

      "We're going to move him down, maybe for a few days, to get him back on track," said Guillen, explaining that he intends to use Bell in non-save situations until he shows he's ready to reclaim his old job. "It's not like I'm removing him from his job. We're going to come up with something positive for him to resolve the problem."

     That means Bell will most likely be used in early or middle relief -- "whatever the inning we think would work for him," Guillen said.

     Bell's latest meltdown set off a chain reaction of events that essentially taxed the bullpen to the point that the Marlins had to reach into their minor league system and call up two relievers on Saturday -- right-handers Sandy Rosario and Chris Hatcher -- from Triple A New Orleans. Outfielder Bryan Petersen and left-handed reliever Dan Jennings were optioned to New Orleans to make room.

     Guillen said he is leaning toward having Steve Cishek take over the closer's role. But because Cishek went three innings on Friday and two on Wednesday, Guillen said he'll be unavailable the rest of the Padres series and perhaps the first game of the Houston series on Monday.

     The moves leave Guillen one position player short on his bench. But the manager said Carlos Zambrano could serve as a pinch-hitter, if necessary.

     LINEUPS:

     Marlins: 1. Reyes, ss; 2. Bonifacio, cf; 3. Ramirez, 3b; 4. Kearns, lf; 5. Infante, 2b; 6. Stanton, rf; 7. Sanchez, 1b; 8. Buck, c; 9. Buehrle, p.

     Padres: 1. Denorfia, rf; 2. Guzman lf; 3. Headley, 3b; 4. Hundley, c; 5. Alonso, 1b; 6. Hudson, 2b; 7. Maybin, cf; 8. Bartlett, ss; 9. Richard, p.

 

Marlins facing decisions as Johnson, Bell falter again

    SAN DIEGO -- You couldn't tell by Ozzie Guillen's demeanor that the Marlins had just posted their fourth consecutive win, a 9-8 victory over the Padres in 12 innings. He sounded exasperated after poor outings by Josh Johnson and Heath Bell.

    "I just wonder if he not feeling good," Guillen wondered aloud of Johnson, who was knocked out in the third inning after giving up six runs to the low-scoring Padres and squandering a 5-0 lead. "He says he feels good, but his stuff is not there. A lot of bad pitches. I think right now what is killing him is he does not have any command with his pitches."

    And then there is Bell, who blew his fourth save.

    "We'll check tomorrow about what's going to be the situation with the closer," Guillen said. "We've got to do something about it. We can't be waiting anymore. Tomorrow we might talk to him about the situation. If we're going to be in the pennant race, he's got to be better. Tomorrow we'll have a better idea what to do with him."

     Bell and Johnson said afterward that they're fine physically.

     This much is all but certain. The Marlins will likely announce moves in the morning, calling up either one or two pitchers from the minors as reinforcements for an overworked bullpen. Chris Hatcher said via Twitter early Saturday morning that he is being promoted from Triple A New Orleans. Steve Cishek covered the final three innings Friday to get the win, and Guillen says that means he probably won't be available for the rest of the series. Guillen also said that Edward Mujica won't be available on Saturday.

     "Physically I feel good," said Johnson, who is 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA. "When you throw the ball over the middle of the plate, you're going to get hit. I felt good out there. Just can't throw the ball over the middle of the plate. It was terrible. Really frustrating. Can't put it into words. Wearing the bullpen out kills me. Get the five runs early and to squander the lead like that, it's unacceptable."

     As for Bell, here's what he had to say:

     "I'm having some bad luck right now," he said. "I think I made some pitches when I needed to. What can you do? I just have to keep my head up and keep going. Physically I'm fine. If I was hurt, then I could actually explain my bad luck. Nothing is going right for me now. I feel like I can get the job done. I just got to keep believing in myself and keep going. I feel really bad because I feel like I keep letting my teammates down. But they keep patting me on the back and say keep going, you're going to be the guy."

     Hatcher and Sandy Rosario, another call-up possibility, are both at Triple A New Orleans and are on the 40-man roster. Rosario has nine saves and a 2.13 ERA for the Zephyrs in 13 appearances. Hatcher has a 1.20 ERA in 11 outings.