Dan Rafael

Dan Rafael

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Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Rafael began writing for ESPN.com in March 2005 after working for 5 years as the boxing writer for USA Today.

43 Results for dan rafael

Wood could be a bargain in Cleveland

Eric Karabell

...Rays have in Dan Wheeler; if Wood were to need a disabled list stint, Lewis could find his way to replacement saves. If not, Lewis will work eighth innings with Rafael Betancourt and Rafael...

Blog Entry | Conversation | December 15, 2008

Relief Efforts: Offseason bullpen roundup

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell takes stock of each team's closer situation heading into the 2009 season, which will be updated constantly through the winter.

Story | Conversation | November 19, 2008

Relief Efforts: Under-the-radar saves guys for 2009

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell looks at 10 guys who are not closing now but could be in line for saves come 2009.

Story | Conversation | August 27, 2008

Relief Efforts: Sherrill disabled, Wagner still ailing

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell discusses the injury issues of two more closers, George Sherrill and Billy Wagner, as well as those to buy low and sell high on down the stretch.

Story | Conversation | August 20, 2008

Relief Efforts: Forecasting second-half save leaders

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell takes a stab at predicting the second-half save leaders and provides the latest news from bullpens around baseball.

Story | Conversation | July 09, 2008

Relief Efforts: American League bullpen breakdowns

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell looks at each American League bullpen situation to forecast which team will get the most saves and how many it'll rack up.

Story | Conversation | July 02, 2008

Relief Efforts: Does the Player Rater work for closers?

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell looks at the top closers on the Player Rater, but wonders if it's the perfect tool to analyze relievers' values.

Story | Conversation | June 11, 2008

Relief Efforts: Where do Braves go with Smoltz gone?

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell looks at the Braves' bullpen situation now that John Smoltz is out for the year, as well as the Yankees' pen now that Joba Chamberlain is a starter.

Story | Conversation | June 04, 2008

Relief Efforts: Don't look for patterns in save chances

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell says it's fruitless to predict exactly how many saves any closer will get over the course of a season.

Story | Conversation | May 28, 2008

Relief Efforts: Good relief pitching can be contagious

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell says you can find some relief gems from the back-end guys on the best bullpens.

Story | Conversation | May 14, 2008

Relief Efforts: Chamberlain remains valuable in current role

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell gives his assessment of Joba Chamberlain in his current role, ranks the top 20 middle relievers, and provides news, notes and updated rankings for closers around the league.

Story | Conversation | April 23, 2008

Relief Efforts: Rating the closers

Eric Karabell, ESPN.com

Eric Karabell rates the bullpens 1-30, naming closers, next-in-lines and stealth candidates for saves.

Story | Conversation | March 26, 2008

Drafting Joba is quite a relief

Eric Karabell

Two springs ago, fantasy owners everywhere were tantalized by a potential front-line starting pitcher in a major market, a strikeout right-hander who ...

ESPN Insider Blog Entry | Conversation | February 13, 2008

Enjoying one-game eligibility perks

Eric Karabell

Kirby Puckett played second base four times in his career, and three other times he appeared at shortstop. Roger Cedeno, when he was stealing bases an...

ESPN Insider Blog Entry | Conversation | February 05, 2008

L.A. fantasy baseball stories

Eric Karabell

The Los Angeles baseball teams are two of the most interesting ones for fantasy, because there are more unanswered questions there than in most places...

ESPN Insider Blog Entry | Conversation | January 29, 2008