K-Rod's Bizarre Season

Bizarre may be the best way to describe the 2009 New York Mets season. As we went over in my previous post, this team has found new and intriguing ways to lose games this season. The one everyone remembers is the fiasco at Yankee Stadium, and the picture many have in their minds from that game is K-Rod with his hands on his head in disbelief as the Yankees celebrate. Looking back, that is only one of many strange moments in the Mets' closer's season.

After his 2008 record-setting year, there were high expectations in free agency and Rodriguez signed his three year $36 million in December with the Mets. However, what could have been taken as an omen were two differences - Rodriguez had a different uniform number than he wore the rest of his career, as his usual #57 was already taken by Johan Santana, and Rodriguez announced he no longer wanted to be known as "K-Rod," instead choosing the nickname "Frankie."

So it began for sportscasters across the country, especially in New York, fumbling around with the new name. However, "Frankie" delivered, shutting the door on his first 16 save opportunities, winning a game, and posting a paltry 0.61 ERA in 28 games. His secondary stats were good as well - 9.4 K/9, .154 BAA, .453 OPS - and it seemed that the Mets had the best closer in baseball.

Strange things started happening for the Mets; players started dropping with injuries all over the place. Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, seemingly everyone had a nagging injury here or there. But in a bizarre case, Rodriguez was taken to a local Boston hospital after collapsing outside the visiting clubhouse on May 24. He would return, even pitch the next day, and things seemed to be OK.

Then came "that game." Save #17, Rodriguez's dominance, and in truth, the Mets season, fell out of Luis Castillo's glove. The next day, as I was in Trenton catching the Binghampton Mets-Trenton Thunder AA game, Brian Bruney made comments about Rodriguez after his rehab start. In short, Bruney said Rodriguez has "got a tired act" and that the Castillo error "couldn't happen to a better guy on the mound."

After K-Rod, er, Frankie, responded, saying, "If it was coming out from somebody big, like Mariano (Rivera) - somebody who's been around and is good at what he does - I will respect that comment. I might pay attention to it. But somebody like that, it doesn't bother me."

Clearly, he was bothered by it, as the next day Rodriguez confronted Bruney in the Yankee Stadium outfield in pregame warm-ups. Rodriguez needed to be restrained by teammates, and the strange season continued.

Less than a week later, Rodriguez blew his second save, this time in Baltimore (see that game recap below), and the Mets were in free fall with their closer leading the way. Starting with that fateful June 12 game, Rodriguez has seen his stats plummet. In 21 games, he has pitched 19.1 innings, going 1-3 with 8 saves and 5 blows saves. Batters have hit .253 against him through this stretch, and most alarming are his 18 walks and 7.45 ERA.

The old saying is that statistics don't lie, but they don't tell the whole story, either. Rodriguez is a microcosm of that adage, as everyone can see Rodriguez struggling. Watching games, it's obvious hitters are laying off his power curve, sitting on his fastball- if he is throwing it for strikes- or his changeup.

The newest media mantra for Rodriguez has been his "lack of work." True, he hasn't had many opportunities to close out games with the team struggling, but when he has appeared, the results have been less than stellar. What's next? This year, fans can only wonder. But don't think too hard, you might get hurt.