If you listen closely, you can probably still hear the boos echoing within the walls at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Fernando Rodney was not a fan favorite while he was with the Angels–and especially not so in 2011. The right-hander endured his worst season as a veteran last season, pitching to the tune of a 4.50 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and career-worst 0.93 K/BB fueled by an eye-popping 7.9 BB/9. Rodney was worthy of the boos, however; to the fans’ credit, he was flat-out bad.
Yet despite the dismal performance, the Tampa Bay Rays threw Rodney a life-line, and signed him to a one-year, $2 million deal. With Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta in-tow as their closer and setup-man, respectively, it seemed as though Rodney would not get a sniff of save opportunities in St. Petersburg. But baseball has its way of surprising everyone. Farnsworth succumbed to an immediate injury–sidelining him for at least a month–and subsequently thrust Rodney and his suddenly valuable closing experience into the role. And to the surprise of everyone–perhaps Rodney included–the guy has done one hell of a job.
The more his cap is tilted, the more dominant he becomes.
Sure, the season is young, but the pitcher’s 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, zero walks, and three heart attack-free saves are certainly note and double-take worthy. In fact, the last time Rodney performed this well as a closer was 2009, when he maintained a beginning-of-the-season scoreless streak for his first five games and saving two in the process. Rodney went on to save another thirty-five games that season, but sported an ugly 4.40 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and 1.49 K/BB to go along with it.
Perhaps the more amazing aspect of this Rodney-phenomenon is how–oh, how–the Rays looked at his 2011 season, and wanted to sign him. For [St.] Pete’s sake, the guy walked more batters than he struck-out and had a 5.09 xFIP vs. 4.50 ERA. Even though his bad season is undeniable, it’s possible it was just that–Rodney had a bad season. His .272 BABIP (vs. .291 career BABIP) meant there should have been less batters off the bases (from hits), and his career-best 5.0% HR/FB kept more homeruns than usual inside the park. Apparently his only pitch hit hard was his fastball (-2.4 RAA) as his slider (0.7 RAA) and change-up (2.5 RAA) were two effective pitches.
So if most of his peripherals suggest that he should have been a decent pitcher in 2011, what happened? Only Ronald Reagan can answer that one. It was a control-fueled trickle down effect. Due to the high level of walks surrendered (7.88 BB/9), opposing hitters simply became more patient when facing him. Even though his career-second-best 30.5% O-Swing% (percentage of non-strikes swung at) would suggest otherwise, more importantly, opposing hitters stopped swinging at his pitches, in general. Rodney sported a career-low in swinging strikes (8.2%) and general swings (just 40.9%). Due to all his obvious pitches outside the zone, batters simply did not see a good enough pitch to swing at, as suggested by his career-low 41.9% Zone% (percentage of overall pitches a batter sees inside the zone).
Now, unlike looking to BABIP, poor defense, or other don’t-blame-me angles, bad control is one hundred percent Rodney’s fault. However, the Rays probably thought, “Hey, what if this guy just reverts back to his career average BB/9 [even though that rate still isn't particularly good]?” The reliever does own a superior though still bad 4.85 BB/9 in 432.6 career innings. And even though a 4.85 BB/9 would still put unwanted men on-base, it would be a heck of a lot less of them than he allowed in 2011.
With that in mind, the signing does make an inkling of sense. While Rodney was never truly a “dominant” closer, in his full-season as one in 2009, he did his job (97.3 Save%). However, in regards to his miraculous 2012 streak, it’s unlikely Rodney will continue to be a Mariano Rivera-clone. His history suggests there will be a [massive] fall-out. But heck, if he doesn’t walk batters at his 2011 rate, at the very least, the volume of boos certainly won’t be as loud in 2012.
Well this is another example of Andrew Freidman’s ability to pick the right players and make it all work, he added a good closer, and stayed in his element!
He’s one, if not “the,” best.
He is the best more than likely, who else mixes a stong farm system, hole plugging FA’s, wins their trades, and does it all on a small payroll? Bean used to but that has fallen apart.