Relief Report

The day after I used this very column to say Brad Lidge could be on the verge of once again becoming the Astros ' closer, manager Phil Garner made the announcement (I'm a genius, I know). Of course, Lidge had to keep things interesting by blowing his first save opportunity. But since Lidge allowed just one solo home run in that outing -- unlike the four earned runs Dan Wheeler allowed in his blown save the very next day -- and refrained from shoving the starter whose lead he blew upon reaching the dugout (also unlike Wheeler ), Lidge should be spared from a quick trip back to setup duty.

Even though Lidge handled his save situation a bit better than the competition, a blown save is still a blown save and that makes three straight for him going back to April -- something he never even did in his ugly 2006 campaign. Unless he really does have some kind of undiagnosed mental block that prevents him from converting a save situation, we have to assume this was either an unfortunate coincidence or a case of being overanxious to impress in his first big chance after getting promoted.

As previously mentioned, Lidge was downright dominant in his time as Wheeler 's setup man, so we know he can still pitch like he did when he saved 42 games in 2005. All that remains to be seen is whether he can still do it in the ninth inning with a lead of three runs or less. And if he can't, well, it might be time to launch legal proceedings against Albert Pujols to get restitution for emotional damages. I think I saw a commercial for a lawyer during the Jerry Springer Show on Thursday offering his services for these exact circumstances.

While you consider just how much more reasonable such a lawsuit would be compared to any brought by Josh Hancock 's father, let's take a look at a few other bullpen situations around the league:

Athletics : While Alan Embree continues to do a more than serviceable job as closer in Huston Street 's absence -- which still has no end in sight, by the way -- fantasy owners may want to start paying attention to the recently called up Santiago Casilla. The 26-year-old reliever has yet to allow a single earned run in his eight appearances since getting the call from Triple-A on June 3, and, perhaps more importantly, he has already notched two saves in as many chances.

Although Embree has done little to be considered for demotion so far, remember that this is the same guy who had just eight saves in 28 opportunities over his career coming into this season. Should he revert to that kind of save conversion ratio, Casilla could very well be next in line for the save chances in Oakland .

Giants: Across the bay, Brad Hennessey earned his third save of the season this week, his first since replacing the departed Armando Benitez as San Francisco 's closer. Despite a couple of shaky outings recently, Hennessey remains the best closer option in the Giants' bullpen right now. Fantasy owners should still consider all other available options before adding him, though. With a grand total of five career save chances under his belt, Hennessey is far from a sure thing.

Blue Jays : Speaking of being far from a sure thing, Jeremy Accardo has been just that for Toronto lately. In his last seven outings, Accardo has blown two of five save chances and taken a couple of loses. Meanwhile, Casey Janssen has added two saves to his total of three on the year, lowered his ERA to 1.02 and his WHIP to 0.96 thanks to his current streak of five straight hitless innings pitched. Now, Accardo probably isn't in immediate danger of losing his closer's job, but when he is, Janssen should be the one to benefit.

Nationals : Chad Cordero may have become the second youngest player to reach 100 career saves this week, but by following up that feat the very next day with his fifth blown save of the year, he didn't exactly improve his job security. In fact, those five blown saves in just 15 chances puts him well on his way to topping his career high of seven blown saves, which he accumulated over 54 chances in 2005.

So who could be next in line if Cordero keeps blowing saves like Paris Hilton blows, uh, second chances to stay out of jail? Well, Saul Rivera has picked up two saves in the last week or so, giving him three on the year. He also has a 3.47 ERA and 1.21 WHIP and is pitching as well as he has since getting called up in mid-April. I doubt Cordero needs to start worrying, but if he keeps going at this rate, I doubt manager Manny Acta will be as sympathetic to his cause as L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca has been to Paris '.