Rodney's tortured ways ...
I understand when people go nuts over Fernando Rodney. He is a better pitcher -- or, rather, has better pitches -- than the guy who constantly puts his Tigers team through emotional trauma when he threatens to blow ninth-inning leads.
But the key word there is "threatens." He still manages to get the job done, which is more than coincidental when he has 35 saves on the season.
Tigers fans aren't easily assuaged by those 35 saves. They want a 1-2-3 closer who mows down hitters the way Joe Nathan does at Minnesota.
But those pitchers are tough to find.
The Tigers have a couple of guys who potentially can do the Nathan, Mariano Rivera thing, in the presence of Ryan Perry and Joel Zumaya, either of whom might -- might -- get Rodney's job next season when Rodney likely will be pitching elsewhere because of his free agency.
But remember a couple of things: closing is difficult, much more so than any other relief role. It is a punishing emotional and physical task. It requires special people, which makes Rodney's case so interesting.
He is not a prototypical closer, for sure. You can see that his personal psychology is not quite conventional for a closer's role. He over-throws on occasion, which gets him into holes, and is often a bad bet when the Tigers have more than a one-run lead.
In those situations, he tends to give up runs, which suggests his mental approach is different depending upon the circumstance.
But what saves him is the quality of his two pitches: high-90s fastball, and an elite change-up. And those pitches are why he will be able to sign a two-year deal for a significant sum of cash during the coming off-season.
I wouldn't be surprised if a team signs him as a probable set-up man, because that's where Rodney tends to pitch more comfortablly and effectively.
But you cannot argue with his numbers. He has saved the Tigers in 35 games this season, and blown only one save situation. For all the crises he can generate, he tends to finish the job, all because of his superb pitches.
That's why he'll cash in this off-season. And why the Tigers will absolutely miss him in 2010.
