Boston was issued a rare delay of game warning coming out of a timeout

Thirteen -- count em, 13!!! -- of the 30 big league teams have had their closer roles change hands since the All-Star break, with five of those switches happening since Monday alone. Six of those 13 changed as a result of significant trades, and weve already seen three closers who have saved 20-plus games this season -- Jeremy Jeffress (27), Cody Allen (20) and Brad Ziegler (20) -- traded into situations where they stand little chance at padding those totals.Thats why its not a surprise that nine of the most-added players in ESPN leagues (as of Wednesday morning) are closers, while no other position absorbed as much change in the Going Forward Rankings as the relief pitchers. Simply handing a talented relief arm a potential 16 saves -- that was the average number accrued by the top 10 in the category from Aug. 3 forward last season -- swings a ranking as rapidly as anything, and this past week, a lot of very talented arms fell into that opportunity.To put into perspective what a closers job means -- and Im borrowing this concept here, I admit, though its one that has become more commonplace in the fantasy industry -- lets play a little game of Blind Résumés. ?The following stats have been accrued since (and including) Mothers Day (May 8):Player A: 35 G, 1.59 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 36.2 K%, .154 BAAPlayer B: 33 G, 2.12 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 43.2 K%, .179 BAAPlayer C: 36 G, 2.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 42.3 K%, .193 BAAPlayer D: 33 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 ERA, 37.3 K%, .209 BAAMost likely, youd have picked either Player A or B. Player A,?Kenley Jansen, is ranked No.1 among relief pitchers on the Player Rater.?Player B? Hes Andrew Miller, who will probably notch almost all of the Cleveland Indians saves going forward. Chances are, though, that you also took long looks at Players C and D, which is the point of this exercise: Theyre Dellin Betances?(C)?and Ken Giles?(D), the New York Yankees and Houston Astros new respective closers.Now add 16 saves to each of those stat lines. Not only are they remarkably similar players, but cant compelling cases be made that they should comprise four of the top five relief pitcher rankings spots? As is, Jansen (first), Miller (fourth) and Betances (sixth) made the top six, with the only reasons for Giles slotting in at 16th (15th if you remove relief-eligible starter Danny Duffy) being his early-season struggles coupled with more limited overall big league experience than the other three. Still, a compelling case could be made that Giles belongs as high as eighth, between Mark Melancon and Roberto Osuna.If were willing to ignore big league experience, incidentally, a fifth résumé could easily be added to the list:Player E: 25 G, 1.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 46.0 K%, .243 BAAThats the stat line of new Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, who could easily make a top-10 reliever case right now.And, as an aside, Zach Britton has a 0.00 ERA in his 33 games during that same time span.Here are some quick thoughts about a few starting pitchers...Clayton Kershaw is this weeks toughest to rank. Hes a former No. 1 overall player who is now a pitcher with a range of outcomes as wide as his not throwing another pitch in 2016 to making as many as nine more starts. Granted, the latter is much less likely than the former, but ranking -- nay, valuing for trade purposes -- Kershaw right now comes down to your risk aversity. My ranking below bakes in a seven-start projection, but also one that docks him slightly in the performance department (2.15 ERA and 1.01 WHIP). You might feel he wont pitch that effectively if/when he returns, or you might anticipate a different number of starts, so to give a sense of where hed slot in my rankings based on starts with those ratios:Nine more starts: No. 17 overall, No. 3 starting pitcher. Eight: No. 35 overall, No. 11 starting pitcher. Six: No. 52 overall, No. 15 starting pitcher. Five: No. 87 overall, No. 22 starting pitcher. Four: No. 168 overall, No. 45 starting pitcher. Three: No. 259 overall, No. 69 starting pitcher. With fewer than three starts, Kershaw wouldnt generate a meaningful ranking.From a scheduling standpoint, consider that, as of the games scheduled for Aug. 3, 13 is the most starts any individual could make for the rest of the season, barring a pitcher working on three-day rest at any point. The average team has 51.1 remaining games, which works out to 11.2 average starts per pitcher. Chances are, I might be somewhat optimistic about Kershaws rest-of-2016 prospects, but hes also earned that optimism.Ive been asked about my Noah Syndergaard ranking recently, especially in light of his decent performances in his past two starts. Its picking and choosing samples, but the statistical difference before and after the post-June 22 report that he was pitching through a bone spur in his elbow is stark:Before: 14 GS, 1 GR, 8 W, 12 QS, 2.08 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 30.8 K%After: 6 GS, 1 W, 3 QS, 3.62 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 28.4 K%Rankings arent entirely about projections; theres also a bit of feel involved. Gerrit Cole is such an example -- a far more talented starting pitcher than what he has shown in Player Rater terms over the past year and a half. Hes more capable of missing bats than this, and I wonder whether he might lean more on his breaking pitches (curveball and slider) knowing now that he needs to carry this Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff going forward. Since the beginning of 2014, and among pitchers with at least 50 starts, Coles 39.3 percent miss rate on swings against his breaking pitches ranked 14th out of 114, and only 22 pitchers induced more than Coles 199 whiffs with breaking balls during that time span, despite the fact that 39 pitchers went to the breaking ball more often with two strikes.New ESPN position eligibilityThe following players added new position eligibility within the past two weeks. As a reminder, position players need to appear 10 times at a new position to gain in-season eligibility, while pitchers need to make three starts to earn starting-pitching eligibility or five relief appearances to earn relief-pitching eligibility.Mike Aviles (2B), Joel De La Cruz (SP), Brandon Drury (2B), Carson Fulmer (RP), Matt Holliday (1B), Edwin Jackson (SP), Seth Lugo (RP), Jonathon Niese (RP), Jace Peterson (OF), Miguel Rojas (3B).The following players are within two games of earning new eligibility, with their total games played noted at the listed position.Cristhian Adames (2B, 9 games), Emilio Bonifacio (OF, 8 games), Daniel Castro (3B, 9 games), Ji-Man Choi (OF, 9 games), Christian Colon (3B, 8 games), Chase dArnaud (2B, 9 games), Ivan De Jesus (3B, 8 games), Daniel Descalso (1B, 9 games), Nick Franklin (OF, 8 games), Adam Frazier (2B, 9 games), Paul Janish (3B, 9 games), Raul Mondesi (2B, 8 games), Daniel Murphy (1B, 8 games), Gregorio Petit (3B, 8 games), Tyler Saladino (2B, 8 games), Ronald Torreyes (SS, 8 games), Kennys Vargas (1B, 8 games).Going-forward rankings: Week 17Listed below are my updated, going-forward rankings. These are based upon an ESPN standard league of 10 teams and Rotisserie 5x5 scoring. Click here to see these rankings sorted by position. Joe Thomas Youth Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Joe Thomas Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com/Youth-Odell-Beckham-Jr-Elite-Jersey/ .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Bernie Kosar Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Austin Seibert Womens Jersey . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. MINNEAPOLIS -- Cool as their unflappable head coach, Brad Stevens, the Boston Celtics never got down even as their deficit ballooned against the young and athletic Minnesota Timberwolves.When the Celtics finally got going, the Wolves tensed up once again and let another big lead get away.Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points and Boston rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Timberwolves 99-93 on Monday night.Al Horford added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Celtics, who trailed 81-68 after three. Boston opened the fourth on a 17-0 run to take the lead and held on down the stretch for its second straight win.I think give us credit for playing a little harder than them and making them think a little more and getting them uncomfortable, Thomas said.Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Gorgui Dieng added 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Andrew Wiggins was just 5 for 18 and Minnesota scored three points in the first 9 minutes of the fourth.We laid a damn egg, said Zach LaVine, who was 4 of 12 from the field and 0 for 7 on 3-pointers.Terry Rozier added a career-high 12 points off the bench and keyed the Celtics surge in the first 6 minutes of the fourth.The Timberwolves have normally reserved their meltdowns this season for the third quarter, when they have the NBAs worst point differential. But they won that period 29-26 on Monday night, just the second time this season they have outscored their opponent in the third.Jonas Jerebko and Rozier opened the fourth with 3-pointers, and Rozier added another long ball and a steal and dunk to push the Celtics in front.Towns was the only player who scored for the Wolves in the first 11 minutes of the fourth quarter, converting a three-point play with 5:18 to go for their first bucket and hitting a 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining.Boston outscored Minnesota 31-12 in the fourth as the Timberwolves shot 5 for 25.They were definitely pressing, Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. Guys were into guys, we were making everything hard. You could definitely tell they were pressingg to find a great shot.ddddddddddddThe Wolves outscored Boston 58-34 in the paint and outrebounded the Celtics 51-39, including 16-6 on the offensive glass. But Minnesota missed eight free throws.I think we have to play tougher with a lead, coach Tom Thibodeau said. And the big thing for us is to improve and learn.TIP-INSCeltics: Horford also had three blocks and reached 20 points for the first time with the Celtics. ... Boston was issued a rare delay of game warning coming out of a timeout late in the third quarter. ... Jerebko was a plus-20 in under 19 minutes.Timberwolves: Minnesota entered the game leading the NBA in 3-point shooting, but was 4 for 24. ... Towns has blocked a shot in 20 straight games. ... F Brandon Rush was active after missing the previous seven games with a sore big toe on his right foot. He played 2 minutes in the fourth quarter.TEMPERS FLAREOne of the biggest guys on the court and the smallest got into it in the third quarter when the 6-foot-11, 240-pound Dieng leveled the 5-9, 185-pound Thomas with a screen. Dieng was called for an offensive foul because he was moving while he set the screen, and Thomas took exception. The All-Star guard got up and shoved Dieng, and the two exchanged words while being separated by teammates.It was the heat of the battle, Thomas said. We talked about it after, and he loves my game, I love his, so were good.CROWDER AILINGJae Crowder missed eight games with a sprained left ankle before returning on Saturday against Detroit. He made life difficult on Wiggins, who was 0 for 5 from 3-point range. But Crowder had to leave the game in the third quarter because of soreness in that left ankle and did not return.Hopefully hell be OK, Stevens said.UP NEXTCeltics: Boston wraps up a three-game road trip in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.Timberwolves: Minnesota starts a three-game trip with a game at New Orleans on Wednesday night in which Towns will face fellow Kentucky big man Anthony Davis. ' ' '