Francisco Rodrguez

[gRYFYN1]

There was talk earlier of him garnering MVP or Cy Young votes, but we've seen for the 2nd night why he dosen't deserve conseration.

For the 2nd time in 2 nights he was unavailable to come in during the eigth inning for a 5 out save, contrast to other closers like Papelbon (6 of 33) or Rivera's ( 4 of 28) save totals of more than one inning.

[Red Sox Fan 734]

Does anyone know what the single-season record for saves is?

[DarthJaker]

Bobby Thigpen 57 in 1990

[BINGLEBOP]

You are on the internet. It's not that hard to look that up.

[koolzach1]

K-Rod is REALLY overrated; a very good closer, but not quite a Mo, or Nathan.

[DarthJaker]

You are on the internet. It's not that hard to look that up.

i didnt look it up on the internet i looked it up on mogul

[Red Sox Fan 734]

You are on the internet. It's not that hard to look that up.

Ya but im lazy

[justanewguy]

K-Rod is REALLY overrated; a very good closer, but not quite a Mo, or Nathan.

No way. He's not overrated, and he's definitely not "REALLY" overrated. He's one of the game's best, and has been one of the game's most consistent relief pitchers for six seasons now. Any overrating he's having this season is only because he's a threat to break the record, so he's getting a lot of airtime on ESPN.

Check out his ratios, his ERA+, his differentials, look at his stuff, he's easily a top 5 closer, probably top 3.

Closers are gonna blow games, it happens.

Also, if you question his ability to go more than one inning, seriously, take a look at his playoff performance. He averages over 1.5 innings per appearance in the postseason for his career.

[HoustonGM]

No way. He's not overrated, and he's definitely not "REALLY" overrated. He's one of the game's best, and has been one of the game's most consistent relief pitchers for six seasons now. Any overrating he's having this season is only because he's a threat to break the record, so he's getting a lot of airtime on ESPN.

Check out his ratios, his ERA+, his differentials, look at his stuff, he's easily a top 5 closer, probably top 3.

That he's being talked about in MVP and Cy Young discussions is a clear indicator that he's wildly overrated. Ignoring save chances, he's having what is easily the worst season of his career. His strikeout rate has "plummeted" from over 12 to 9.99. His walk rate has risen from an already high rate that fluctuated between 3.5 and 4.5 to over 5.

He's very good, and has been one of the top closers in the game, but he's a clear step below the top tier, simply because of his wildness. Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Jokiam Soria and Jonathan Papelbon, are all better than him overall.

Put any other top closer in K-Rod's situation with an abundance of save opportunities, and they'd have just as much, if not MORE, saves than he has. He has no place in the MVP or Cy Young discussion, in my opinion. The Cy Young in the AL begans and ends with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

[koolzach1]

That he's being talked about in MVP and Cy Young discussions is a clear indicator that he's wildly overrated. Ignoring save chances, he's having what is easily the worst season of his career. His strikeout rate has "plummeted" from over 12 to 9.99. His walk rate has risen from an already high rate that fluctuated between 3.5 and 4.5 to over 5.

He's very good, and has been one of the top closers in the game, but he's a clear step below the top tier, simply because of his wildness. Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Jokiam Soria and Jonathan Papelbon, are all better than him overall.

Put any other top closer in K-Rod's situation with an abundance of save opportunities, and they'd have just as much, if not MORE, saves than he has. He has no place in the MVP or Cy Young discussion, in my opinion. The Cy Young in the AL begans and ends with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

I 110% agree with everything you just said.

[justanewguy]

That he's being talked about in MVP and Cy Young discussions is a clear indicator that he's wildly overrated. Ignoring save chances, he's having what is easily the worst season of his career. His strikeout rate has "plummeted" from over 12 to 9.99. His walk rate has risen from an already high rate that fluctuated between 3.5 and 4.5 to over 5.

He's very good, and has been one of the top closers in the game, but he's a clear step below the top tier, simply because of his wildness. Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Jokiam Soria and Jonathan Papelbon, are all better than him overall.

Put any other top closer in K-Rod's situation with an abundance of save opportunities, and they'd have just as much, if not MORE, saves than he has. He has no place in the MVP or Cy Young discussion, in my opinion. The Cy Young in the AL begans and ends with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Who is saying he deserves an MVP or Cy Young? And why do these people have any stock put in what they're saying? A guy isn't overrated just because a few morons are blowing him out of proportion.

There's no way this guy deserves a Cy Young, let alone an MVP. Eric Gagne deserved a Cy Young, but Rodriguez clearly does not.

Also, save totals don't mean much of anything, so that's not my basis for praising K-Rod.

Rodriguez is having his worst season? Why hold that against him in terms of his quality when Rivera had one last season? Why assume this is him on the long-term decline?

I'll take him over Soria ANY day and I'll take him over Nathan in the playoffs.

If all MLB players are tossed into a draft pool next season and I'm a GM, I've got Rodriguez second on my list behind only Papelbon, as far as who I'd want closing games.

[HoustonGM]

Who is saying he deserves an MVP or Cy Young? And why do these people have any stock put in what they're saying? A guy isn't overrated just because a few morons are blowing him out of proportion.

A lot of guys in the media are...Numerous articles have been written about it, and there's been a lot of talk on SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight about it. I'm not saying I put much stock, personally, into what those idiots say, but, a lot of people do, which leads to the overratedness. Peter Gammons is actually the first guy I heard talk about K-Rod in relation to the MVP award, but since him, I've heard it multiple times.

There's no way this guy deserves a Cy Young, let alone an MVP. Eric Gagne deserved a Cy Young, but Rodriguez clearly does not.

Clearly.

Also, save totals don't mean much of anything, so that's not my basis for praising K-Rod.

I know. You're also being rational about your "praise" for K-Rod. I'm not saying YOU'RE overrating him. I'm saying he's BEING overrated in general, this season.

Rodriguez is having his worst season? Why hold that against him in terms of his quality when Rivera had one last season? Why assume this is him on the long-term decline?

I never said that he's in a long-term decline. I'm simply saying it's pretty silly to mention him in talk for the Cy Young and ESPECIALLY MVP (which you are NOT doing) when this is his worst season, and the most consideration he ever got before was a couple of 4th and 5th place votes.

I'll take him over Soria ANY day and I'll take him over Nathan in the playoffs.

To each his own. I'd take Soria and Nathan over K-Rod any day, regardless of playoffs or not.

If all MLB players are tossed into a draft pool next season and I'm a GM, I've got Rodriguez second on my list behind only Papelbon, as far as who I'd want closing games.

Well, as I said, to each his own. Personally, I don't like wildness from my closer, and K-Rod has always been wild. That he is somewhat signifcantly declined this season, while not at all meaning he's in a long-term decline, is something that should be taken into account if you're projecting forward. If the draft is only for next season, I'd take Nathan, Soria, Papelbon, and Rivera (not necessarily in that order) over him. If it's a "long-term" draft, I'd put him 4th behind Nathan, Soria, and Papelbon, with Rivera down to 5th due to age.

But, again, just for clarification, I'm not alleging that YOU are overrating him, because you're not. You're rationally evaluating him and you know what you're talking about. It's the media that's stupidly overrating him because of his save totals this year.