J.J. Putz News: Pro Sports Daily

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September 19

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"J.J. Putz's season has been unforgettable in ways Nat King Cole never thought of. The Mariners closer came into Thursday with a 6-4 record, a 3.83 ERA and 13 saves in 21 tries spread over two stints on the disabled list that left him a fraction of the 40-save pitcher he was a year ago. Only in the past six weeks has Putz begun to feel like his old self. Tuesday, he worked the eighth inning against Kansas City only because the Mariners hadn't been close enough in the previous week to get him a save opportunity. He faced three batters, easily hit the mid-90s with his fastball and got two strikeouts. Watching his fastball was a little like using a time machine to go back to the 2007 season, ..."

What's in a name?

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August 5

Baltimore Sun

columnist Peter Schmuck

"Seldom does a Seattle series go by that I don't get several e-mails or personal entreaties to interview reliever J.J. Putz. And, of course, this is understandable because of the similar ridiculousness of our respective surnames. Some of you probably remember that I did just that a couple of years ago for a column in The Sun. I approached J.J. in the Mariners clubhouse and introduced myself and expected some kind of reaction when he heard my last name, but he just stared at me as if I had just surfed back from Gilligan's Island. No problem. I explained to him that because I was a semi-respected journalist with a very silly name and he was an up-and-coming baseball star with a silly name, we ..."

Putz zeroes in on the closer's role

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August 4

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"J.J. Putz is starting to feel like his old self again, which means Brandon Morrow could soon be heading for Triple-A Tacoma. That sounds like bad news for Morrow, but it's actually just the opposite. Putz had his best outing in months Sunday at Safeco Field, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the Mariners' 8-4 victory over Baltimore. He gave way to Morrow for the ninth, but soon Putz will be back in the saddle as closer. That will free Morrow, who has been filling in ably as closer, to begin working toward becoming a starter, something he and the Mariners have wanted for a long time. "They want Brandon to start, and they are waiting for me to get going," Putz said. "Today was a real good ..."

J.J. Putz returns to mound with solid outing for Mariners

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July 21

Seattle Times

"It wasn't so much the outs J.J. Putz got Sunday, but how he got them that had the past-and-maybe-future Mariners closer so upbeat afterward. Putz retired Cleveland on 13 pitches in the seventh inning of the Mariners' 6-2 loss Sunday at Safeco Field, marking a successful return to the mound. He had been sidelined since June 11 with a hyperextended right elbow. "I feel really good about it," he said of his performance. Especially the fact that when he wanted to throw a pitch somewhere, it went where he wanted."

Putz could be activated by today

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July 20

Seattle Times

"J.J. Putz was one of the first Mariners on the field Saturday morning, but he wasn't taking the field for the Mariners. At least not yet, but that could change today. Manager Jim Riggleman said Putz may be activated from the disabled list, where he has been since June 12 with a hyperextended right elbow. "I'd say there's a good chance we'll activate him," Riggleman said after Saturday's 9-6 loss to Cleveland. Putz pitched a scoreless 1-2/3 innings in Tacoma on Friday night and was at Safeco Field on Saturday morning playing catch in the outfield before his team took the field for batting practice. Riggleman said Putz will either pitch one more game for Tacoma today or he will be ..."

Tacoma just fine for Putz

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July 19

Tacoma News Tribune

"There was no AC/DC blaring over the loudspeakers or fancy entrance montage on the big screen for J.J. Putz on Friday night. This was, after all, Cheney Stadium and not Safeco Field. And Putz wasn’t entering the game as a closer for the Seattle Mariners in the ninth inning to hold a lead, he was starting the game for the Tacoma Rainiers, with a 25-pitch limit, in what he hoped would be his last rehab stint before returning to the Mariners. Putz went about his work with precision. With Mariners executives Bob Fontaine and Dave Wallace looking on, Putz cruised through 1 2/3 innings of hitless pitching against the Tucson Sidewinders and looked ready to return to the Seattle bullpen."

Putz set to return after All-Star break

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July 9

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Seattle had the hottest closer in baseball last year in J.J. Putz -- 6-1, 1.38 ERA and 40 saves in 42 chances. The Mariners have the hottest closer in baseball in recent weeks in Brandon Morrow -- 1-1, 0.65 and seven saves in seven opportunities. Putz is on the disabled list, due to come back from elbow problems sometime within the first week or so after the All-Star break, which runs July 14-17. When he does, he won't come back as the closer, not right away, because manager Jim Riggleman says he will want Putz to pitch midgame a couple of times to see how his stuff looks after two long stints on the DL."

Putz's new motion a setback

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June 29

Seattle Times

"One reason Mariners closer J.J. Putz won't be back before the All-Star break is a setback suffered last week in Atlanta due largely to miscommunication. Putz apparently attempted to play catch June 21, but had been told something by the training staff about getting "better extension" on his throws. Not really sure of what that meant, he began snapping off throws with a different, twisting-type motion that wound up causing soreness in the arm. "I was out there trying to snap it and it got sore again," he said before Saturday's game. No one knows for certain whether Putz would have made it back any sooner had he started throwing regularly after that Atlanta attempt. Putz instead wound ..."

Morrow will get more save chances with Putz on DL

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June 15

Seattle Times

"Brandon Morrow didn't get to dip a toe to test the temperature of the role as Seattle's closer. He cannonballed into the deepest end of the bullpen when he replaced an injured J.J. Putz in Toronto on Wednesday. Probably better that way. "I was loose and ready to go in," Morrow said. "But I wasn't mentally preparing myself [like], 'All right, here comes a save situation.' I think it was easier to get thrown in there without thinking about it." He pitched a scoreless inning to earn the save. Manager John McLaren did not designate Morrow the closer after Putz was placed on the disabled list Friday, but Morrow figures to get a few more save opportunities as Putz recovers from his ..."

Mariners closer J.J. Putz relieved to hear that sore elbow won't require surgery

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June 14

Seattle Times

"J.J. Putz's arm still hurt Friday, his elbow throbbing even as he leaned against a wall outside the Mariners clubhouse to answer a reporter's question about his second trip to the disabled list this season. The Mariners closer felt better in one important way, though, after finding out his elbow injury would not require anything more significant than rest to heal. "I'm very relieved that it was nothing structural," Putz said. "Just take a few days off and start throwing again.""

Mariners place closer J.J. Putz on disabled list

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June 13

Seattle Times

"Mariners closer J.J. Putz has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hyperextended right elbow. The team announced the move today and said that relief pitcher Roy Corcoran had been recalled from Class AAA Tacoma and would be in uniform tonight for the start of a weekend series against the Washington Nationals. Putz hurt the elbow during a ninth-inning appearance against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday."

No DL, but Putz gets weekend off

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June 13

Tacoma News Tribune

"The news for the Seattle Mariners and closer J.J. Putz was better than expected Thursday: The right-hander’s elbow injury is not considered serious. After Putz walked off the mound during a ninth-inning save opportunity Wednesday at Toronto, the Mariners feared the worst. A day later, however, the reliever was relieved – and so was his team. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed Putz hyperextended his right elbow throwing a pitch, and an evaluation by team physician Dr. Edward Khalfayan showed nothing more than triceps tendon inflammation and an irritated ulnar nerve."

Closer connection links Putz, Papelbon

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June 8

Boston Herald

columnist John Tomase

"If there's someone who understands what it's like to be Jonathan Papelbon, it's Mariners closer J.J. Putz. Both throw fastballs in the upper-90s with impeccable control. Both scowl at home plate like serial killers. And if you polled players and coaches, the duo would finish in the top three (with the Angels' Francisco Rodriguez) on the list of most desirable American League closers. So what does Putz think of Papelbon? "I enjoy watching him pitch," he said before yesterday's 11-3 Red Sox win, in which Papelbon allowed an unearned run and struck out two in one inning. "He's dominating. He's got great stuff. He throws in the mid-90s with three pitches for strikes. That makes for ..."