Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez recorded his single season record tying 57th save last night against the
Seattle Mariners. And he did it in usual Frankie fashion by allowing 2 hits in his inning of work. K-Rod entered the game with two guys on after Scot Shields started the 9th by giving up hits to the first two batters he faced. Rodriguez induced a double play grounder from Ichiro and then gave up by back-to-back hits and allowing a run to score before getting Raul Ibanez to ground out to first for the final out. 57 saves is an awesome accomplishment, and he still has 16 games to get the record breaker, but why does each attempt have to be so nerve racking? Aren't closers supposed to come into the game and shutdown the opponent, rather than making each outing a nail-biter? I suppose the net outcome should be all that matters, and the outcome has been terrific.
K-Rod reportedly has backed off on his demand for a 5 years contract this off-season when he files for free agency. He has stated he'd take a 4 year deal with an option for the 5th year. I still think what he'll eventually get in salary is too much for a closer, and there always seems to be a reliever out there who can step it up to work the ninth inning pressure situations. The Angels already have two candidates in-house in Jose Arredondo and Jason Bulger, not to mention Kelvim Escobar will be returning next year after losing this season to an arm injury. Escobar had a pretty good year closing for Toronto in 2002 where he recorded 38 saves and struck-out 85 batters in 78 innings. Although his ERA was a fluffy 4.27 and he did blow 8 saves, he does have the experience to close. I'm not advocating returning Escobar to the closer's role, he's a very important part of the Angels' rotation, or I should say he could be an important part. His ability to return from shoulder surgery will be the big question he needs to answer next year. The surgery he had included stabilizing the labrum with staples and repairing a slight tear in the back of the shoulder and the expected recovery time is nine month to a year. The Angels should expect him back sometime around the All-Star break next season. A half season in the pen might not be such a bad thing before easing him back into the rotation. Arredondo has been excellent in his set-up role. He's allowed just 36 hits in 52 innings, while striking out 47 and issuing just 18 walks. Bulger has pitched just 11.1 innings for the Halos this year, and over his last 5 appearances has allowed just 1 hit over 6.2 innings. I realize 6.2 innings is a microscopic sample size, but he had a 0.63 ERA over 43 innings this year at Triple A Salt Lake. Most importantly, he hasn't allowed a home run this year. In fact, he's only allowed 7 home runs in over 356 innings in the minors. Bulger's strike out totals are pretty impressive also, he's struck out 428 of the 798 batters he's faced. That's 1.20 strike outs per innings pitched. Bulger will be 30 years old before opening day 2009, which is old for a player at this point in his career, but it's better late than never. As I wrote, there are always relievers out there who might be able to perform the job. Here are some stats to compare:
| IP | H | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | |
| Player A | 63.1 | 49 | 31 | 72 | 2.42 | 1.26 |
| Player B | 66.1 | 45 | 18 | 56 | 2.17 | 0.95 |
| Player C | 56.1 | 41 | 15 | 65 | 2.72 | 0.99 |
| Player D | 59.1 | 43 | 18 | 72 | 2.73 | 1.03 |
Pretty comparable group of relievers. Some may be having career years, and some may just be getting started, but either way they're a good group of pitchers. Here's who they are:
Player A - Francisco Rodriguez, LAA
Player B - Taylor Buchholz, Col
Player C - Mike Adams, SD
Player D - Matt Thornton, CWS
The casual fan probably wouldn't recognize three of those guys. Buchholz ranks 5th in the NL in Holds (21), Adams is Trevor Hoffman's set-up guy in San Diego, and Matt Thornton is a 31 year-old lefty reliever who came up through the Seattle organization. I'm not saying these players are as good as K-Rod. I'm not even going to suggest they can close. There's no way anyone can tell how a pitcher will handle the pressure of the closer's role until the player is put in there. My point is there are pitchers out there who might be able to do the job, who are a whole lot cheaper.
Daily Notes:
- The Angels still have the best record in baseball, and I'm still pissed about Rob Neyer's column on ESPN and so is O.C. Register's Bill Plunkett. I'm not going to get into it again, I'm just going to say regardless of (or in spite of) the Angels Run Differential number, their record is still the best. And that's what counts in the race for home field advantage.
W L Pct GB Angels 89 57 .610 - Tampa Bay 87 57 .604 1.0 Boston 85 60 .586 3.5 Chicago 81 65 .555 8.0
- According to an article in the L.A. Times, Howie Kendrick, Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar are about ready to return. Kendrick and Aybar have been out for a couple weeks with leg injuries, and Figgins is nursing a sore elbow. There hasn't been any hurry to get the players back, as the goal was to give them enough time to be sure they were healthy for the play-offs.
- Once the play-off picture is set, and the Angels know who they'll be playing, I'm going to find a blogger for that team who'd be willing to debate which team is the best and why. As it looks right now, that team would be Boston, so if you know of a good Red Sux blog, please let me know.
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