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Closer Watch: Brian Wilson, Huston Street & Rafael Soriano

Ten days into the season and there has already been some turnover at the closer position.  Here is a quick look at a few developing situations along with a link to some important injury information from injury expert Will Carroll.

San Francisco Giants:

Brian Wilson closed yesterday's win after Brad Hennessey made it a save situation in the 9th.  This helps erase the memory of Wilson's two previous appearances in which he allowed runs and blew a save.

I don't think Wilson is in any danger of losing the job, but bad appearances by closers need to be noted regardless.

Oakland A's:

Keith Foulke closed yesterday's win for the Oakland A's.  Closer Huston Street was unavailable because he pitched the previous two games.  There appears to be nothing here except the fact Foulke was successful.

Atlanta Braves;

Rafael Soriano was placed on the DL on Wednesday.  Manny Acosta was held back on Monday to be used as the closer, but Peter Moylan had been used the previous two days (Saturday and Sunday).  Surprisingly, Braves manager Bobby Cox used Moylan on a third consectuive day that Monday.  Moylan hasn't pitched since Monday, and Cox has announced he will use a committee for now.

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Will Carroll's Friday, non-subscriber version of Under The Knife is available.  Here is what he says about closer Rafael Soriano:

Soriano's slow-healing elbow has been problematic since the spring, so a combination of continued problems and a need to get Chuck James back on the active roster pushed the team into making the move. Bobby Cox is saying all the right things about having Soriano healthy over the course of a season, but he neglects to mention that he's had a hard time keeping his two best relievers, Soriano and Peter Moylan, healthy even through spring training and the first two weeks of the season. Manny Acosta will get the save chances in the interim, and Soriano is expected to miss the minimum, as the Braves hope this is nothing more than tendinitis they're DLing Soriano with. His history has to make Braves fans wonder, however.

Click through to read about the injury status of Mike Lowell, John Smoltz, Barry Zito, Tom Gorzelany, et al.