I was watching Sunday Night Baseball tonight to be reminded of what a baseball team that isn’t a complete train wreck looks like (I think Mike is posting about the Mark DeRosa trade, so I’ll leave the state of the Indians to him). However, the game ended up being Mets-Yankees, and there were certain points in the game where the Mets played a whole lot like Wedgie’s boys.
I’ll ignore the various offensive and defensive blunders they made to focus on the most unforgivable moment. The Mets were down 3-2 in the top of the ninth. They hadn’t managed to score any runs since the 4th. However, they’d definitely threatened the Yankees offensively the past couple of innings, so you felt like if they could keep it to a one-run deficit they would have a chance to tie or win in the bottom of the 9th.
To try to keep that hope realistic, Jerry Manuel decided to bring in the great Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, even though it obviously wasn’t a save situation.
Before I continue, a disclaimer: I strongly dislike K-Rod. I know he’s gotten a ton of saves over the course of his career, and some of those have come in big-time playoff games. That said, he is in my opinion one of the most arrogant, irritating players in baseball thanks to the out of control gesturing and screaming he does after every out. It looks like the end of the sword fight scenes in HIGHLANDER, where the winner absorbs the soul of the loser in some kind of bizarre lightning storm. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him set the single season save record only to have the Angels get murdered in the divisional round of the playoffs, then refuse to sign him in the off-season. There’s no better indicator that you’re overrated than getting unceremoniously told to get the fuck out of town by a team that you just had a record-setting season with.
At any rate, the great K-Rod puts runners on second and third with two outs. (Granted, this is partially because the Mets’ middle infielders and center fielder miscommunicate on a routine fly ball hit to shallow center field.) Derek Jeter steps to the plate. First base is open. Batting behind Jeter? Since the game is being played at the Mets’ stadium, it’s Mariano Rivera, who was brought in with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th to shut the door on the Mets.
First, Jerry Manuel’s time to shine: he directs K-Rod pitch to Jeter. That’s right, in a move Eric Wedge is undoubtedly jealous of, Manuel tells his closer to pitch to a future Hall of Famer rather than intentionally walk him to get to Rivera. After the first pitch strike, Jeter gives one of the great in-game facial expressions I have ever seen in my life in any sport. Total wide-eyed, smiling shock, followed by an exaggerated look back toward the on-deck circle to signal to Rodriguez, “You DO realize who’s coming up if you walk me, right?!” K-Rod goes on to throw two more pitches that miss outside. At that point, Manuel’s meds kick in and he gives K-Rod the sign to do two pitch-outs and put Jeter on.
Rivera comes to the plate with the bases loaded. When he steps in the batter’s box, it increases his life-time number of regular season plate appearances to…3. What happens? K-Rod walks Rivera on six pitches. The resulting RBI doubles the lead, and the Mets lose the game.
So here’s the deal: if you want to be considered an elite closer, you can’t walk in runs. And you certainly can’t walk in runs when the batter you’re facing is a pitcher. And you REALLY, CERTAINLY, ABSOLUTELY can’t walk in runs when the batter is a pitcher from the American League.
So as of tonight, Francisco Rodriguez drops out of the upper class of MLB closers into the Kerry Wood All-Stars, or relievers being wildly overpaid to fail. I also move to revoke that ridiculous nickname. My proposed substitute? That’s right: “Highlander.” (See below - and look forward to Shapiro trying to trade for this guy in the off-season when he’s run out of New York.)
-T
