2013 Phillies Reliever of the Year - Results

When the story of the 2013 Phillies is written and the ballad is composed, the mentions of the bullpen will probably not be pleasant. 2013 was the year of four straight Papelbon blown saves. The year of Chad Durbin's soul sucking, planet consuming, dream killing awfulness. The year of Antonio Bastardo's suspension.

What it should have been was the year of Jake Diekman. After his call-up in June, he was quietly excellent for the rest of the season. Well, he may have been excellent at regular volume, but Jonathan Papelbon's blown saves pretty much drowned him out.

Jake Diekman won the hearts of you, the readers. Here's the breakdown:

188 votes

Jake Diekman -- 58% (108 votes)
Antonio Bastardo -- 12% (23 votes)
Jonathan Papelbon -- 10% (18 votes)
Ethan Martin -- 5% (9 votes)
Justin De Fratus -- 4% (8 votes)
B.J. Rosenberg -- 4% (7 votes)
Mike Adams -- 3% (6 votes)
Joe Savery -- 2% (4 votes)

Luis Garcia, Cesar Jimenez, Michael Stutes, and Raul Valdes each got one vote. I'm going to assume the one vote for Valdes and his 7.46 ERA was cast ironically.

Diekman the Nebraskan giant also won the hearts of your beloved staff:

12 votes

Jake Diekman -- 7 votes
Jonathan Papelbon -- 2 votes
Antonio Bastardo -- 1 vote

There was one vote cast for "no one" and one vote cast for Chad Durbin, because Dany is trying to give me a stroke.

88Lindros88 -- Jake Diekman

He really came into his own this year and absolutely destroyed left handed opponents. He held opposing lefties to a slash line of .148/.221/.148. Nice. Real nice. Other guys had decent years too, but Bastardo got himself suspended and Papelbon, while not terrible, really came in below expectations in terms of performance, so he only gets an honorable mention as well.

Ben Horrow -- Jake Diekman

Don't laugh. Seriously, Diekman may not be the Scott Eyre just yet, but he showed that at the MLB level he can defeat lefties. He has nasty stuff and one of the funkier deliveries there is in the game today. All we need to see from him to become one of the most useful LOOGY's in the game is for him to repeat his mechanics a bit more. While Antonio Bastardo can get both righties and to some extent lefties out, Diekman may become a cheap and more effective weapon against such divisional annoyances as Jason Heyward, Bryce Harper, and Freddie Freeman.

Cormican -- Antonio Bastardo

Well, someone had to win it.

dajafi -- Jake Diekman

Pretty much on the same grounds I made my MVP choice(s). A few inexperienced relievers stepped forward this year, but none to the extent of Diekman--who suddenly found some command without losing any of the bite on his stuff. A lefty who throws high 90s with movement and can command a slider is a very valuable guy.

DanyS -- Chad Durbin

cuz he relieved all over the mound on a regular basis

David S. Cohen -- no one

No one in the bullpen deserves recognition this year.

Jaypoozle -- Jake Diekman

For no other reason he is fun to watch pitch. Very few sidearm deliveries and his is electric. Much like all Phillies relievers, if he could harness any control, he could be a future closer.

John Stolnis -- Jonathan Papelbon

What, you were expecting Luis Garcia? Yes, Papelbon's stuff is diminished and he blew a bunch of saves. But he was one of the few relievers with an ERA under 3 and a WHIP below five million. He wins this award "by default," which is how I usually win most of my awards.

Liz Roscher -- Jake Diekman

I fell in love with Jake Diekman and his throwing motion after I first saw him pitch in 2012. This year, he finally got things under control and put up fabulous numbers. With the bullpen being a giant pile of Papelbon-scented crap, the Phillies depended on him, and it was great to see him flourish under the pressure.

Phrozen -- Jonathan "Lights On" Papelbon

Seven blown saves aside, Douche Quixote was a pretty damn good relief pitcher.

schmenkman -- Jake Diekman

ERA/FIP/xFIP of 2.58/2.50/2.87. Somewhat better numbers than Papelbon, and *MUCH* more likable. Or is that less unlikable. Either way.

Wet Luzinski -- Jake Diekman

He had the year I thought Philippe Aumont would. He is very blond. He is tall. He throws 97mph. I saw him in Lehigh Valley in 2012 and was hopeful he could put it together, and he did. God, I hope it lasts. Hope he replaces that salary sinkhole closer of ours, and soon.