Melancon pitching with adrenaline: Boston reliever Mark Melancon, who was demoted from his closer role and eventually to the minors, says he should have seen his poor pitching coming, reports the Providence Journal on Monday. Melancon made nine appearances during the Grapefruit League season and says he had too much adrenaline at that time. He suppressed it, but couldn't get it back during the regular season. "When you're out of the bullpen, your adrenaline gets going so much you try to suppress that," he said. "I think I've gotten to the point that I've suppressed it too much. I need to use that in the right direction as opposed to not using it at all. That's where I think it was to my detriment." (Updated 05/07/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/23/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Melancon has found his adrenaline again and it has worked wonders in the minors with Triple-A Pawtucket. Melancon has yet to allow a run in seven appearances for the PawSox with 12 strikeouts without a walk over 7 2/3 innings. "You can see the ball down the zone more," PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "He's pitched inside more. He's pretty much taken the plate away, gained that plate back and shown it's his. I know this is Triple-A and it's not the big leagues, but there's still some good hitters here, and he's got to get them out here, too. He's done what he's come down here to do." Melancon was not recalled on Monday, despite the Red Sox needing bullpen help, and that is telling. He still has work to do in the minors and carries just low-end Fantasy value at this time. (Updated 05/07/2012).
04/10/2012 18:09 Setting the Trends: Some relief in sight!
Hector Santiago is officially closing games for the White Sox -- for now. Should owners go all out to get their hands on him? Our Nando Di Fino shares his take on that and more in Setting the Trends.
04/08/2012 23:40 The Lineup: Let's hear it for the boys in blue
Home plate Mike DiMuro made a difficult and controversial -- but ultimately correct -- call on the Diamondbacks' go-ahead run against the Giants. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Carlos Santana celebrated his birthday with two home runs.
04/08/2012 18:44 Red Sox may have a closer problem
Boston's bullpen blew two save opportunities in Sunday's 13-12 loss to the Tigers in 11 innings, and the loss of Andrew Bailey has been magnified by the struggles of the two men charged with replacing the closer, Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon.
04/08/2012 18:08 Tigers top Red Sox on walk-off
Alex Avila's two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a stunning 13-12 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Mark Melancon was one of the few players in the offseason to shift from a lowly situation (Houston) to one of the best (Boston). However, he might not benefit from his new surroundings with the Red Sox as he will not serve as the team’s closer -- at least for now. Melancon had 20 saves for the Astros last season and finished with an 8-4 record with a 2.78 ERA in 71 relief outings during his first full major league season. He was then shipped to Boston in a trade for Jed Lowrie last December, but will pitch as the club’s setup man after the Red Sox acquired Andrew Bailey from Oakland for the ninth-inning role. Melancon, 26, is a quality strikeout pitcher and typically displays solid accuracy -- a positive attribute for any reliever. The right-hander fanned 66 batters last season while posting a 1.22 WHIP for Houston. He could record some rare saves during the 2012 season, but Fantasy owners should not expect him to see many more innings than last year (74 1/3). Consider him a low-end option in Fantasy formats that reward points for middle relievers. (Updated 2/6/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start