I'm done with Fernando Rodney

[Vanimal46]

 

Shocking. A 41 year old doesn't have it anymore to be a closer.

[gunnarthor]

Yeah, I liked the Reed signing and I think Rodney could be an arm in a bullpen but he's probably no longer a guy who you want to consider a top 4 guy in your bullpen. Hopefully the FO can figure out a way to straighten out the pen because it sure has the potential to be a dumpster fire this year.

[gunnarthor]

Holy crap. I posted and I didn't even realize we played already today. ****. Three runs in the ninth? Glad I missed this one.

[Vanimal46]

Holy crap. I posted and I didn't even realize we played already today. ****. Three runs in the ninth? Glad I missed this one.

I'd check out NASA's live webcam today and you'll find Gary Sanchez' walk off HR orbiting our atmosphere.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I'd check out NASA's live webcam today and you'll find Gary Sanchez' walk off HR orbiting our atmosphere.

Blackout restrictions apply!

[Danchat]

He's entering Kevin Jepsen territory... I would consider making Pressly the closer or at least transition him there with Reed as the closer. 

[bighat]

 

He's entering Kevin Jepsen territory... I would consider making Pressly the closer or at least transition him there with Reed as the closer. 

 

Yeeps, the Jepsen fiasco was awful. And yeah, Rodney's there. I was a big defender of his early and even kind of gave him a pass when he blew the game earlier this week. But dang. I think at this point, even Rodney fans have to be honest: he's pitched like garbage.

[rv78]

Wasn't a fan of signing him to start with and feel even more so now. Time to give him his unconditional release and move Reed or Pressly to the closer role. 

I would add Matt Crapps,, err Capps to the Jepsen comparison.

[adorduan]

To those young enough to not remember or get to see the '84 Ron Davis, that was a true dumpster fire...  Rodney is quickly catching Davis. 

[FormerMinnasotan]

Rodney has to go. At 41 he’s toast, we can’t keep sending him out in the 9th inning for a save because he’ll more than likely lose the game.

[twins_89]

Rodney in 8 appearances has 3 blown saves along with losing a tied game in the 9th. When your closer is a disaster in half his appearances it's time to think about making a change.

[Rosterman]

He is NOT getting the job done. Yes, he seems to be putting on a show, being a character and everything, but if the Twins want to win...this is not the guy to call upon.

 

Do we need a Fall Guy for this 8-game losing streak? I nominate.......

[jkcarew]

My mother told me, "If you can't say anything nice"...

[Oxtung]

This is partly a SSS issue and partly a change in his approach. Both of which seem fixable. Most of his peripherals are in line with career norms. He hasn't lost any velocity. His walk rate is actually down and his K rate is very strong. 

 

He has a .450 BABIP which will come down quite a bit (career .291) which will help.

 

The other difference seems to be his pitch selection. He is throwing his 2 seam FB significantly more this season, he's throwing it 20% more than his career norms, at the expense of his curveball mostly, which is down 16% in usage.

 

This change seems to have lead to an increase in fly balls. His ground ball rate has gone from 52% last year to 42% this year which in turn has lead to an increase in home runs allowed. 

 

To me you stick with him. Maybe tweak the ratio of his pitches. He will bounce back from this. We're only talking about 7 innings pitched at this point.

[Obsvr]

I think he's been great.

[drock2190]

 

I think he's been great.

 

I agree. He has some real potential that needs to be looked at more.

 

On a serious note, Pressley should be the one who slots into the fireman role that can go multiple innings in one game. Reed should be the closer because he has the experience. 

[KirbyDome89]

 

This is partly a SSS issue and partly a change in his approach. Both of which seem fixable. Most of his peripherals are in line with career norms. He hasn't lost any velocity. His walk rate is actually down and his K rate is very strong. 

 

He has a .450 BABIP which will come down quite a bit (career .291) which will help.

 

The other difference seems to be his pitch selection. He is throwing his 2 seam FB significantly more this season, he's throwing it 20% more than his career norms, at the expense of his curveball mostly, which is down 16% in usage.

 

This change seems to have lead to an increase in fly balls. His ground ball rate has gone from 52% last year to 42% this year which in turn has lead to an increase in home runs allowed. 

 

To me you stick with him. Maybe tweak the ratio of his pitches. He will bounce back from this. We're only talking about 7 innings pitched at this point.

His walk rate is significantly lower than previous seasons, so if we're counting on a dip in BABIP then we should also expect an increase in BB/9. 

 

Rodney just flat out allows too many batters to reach base. Getting burned is inevitable when that happens. Honestly, Idk if we're seeing a 41 year old declining, or just a "rough patch," because you're right, he's thrown fewer than 7 innings, but good lord I'm already tired of the automatic 1-2 baserunners every time he's handed the ball. 

[jun]

I think he's been great.

I think he's been great for the opponents and he gets paid by the Twins though

[jun]

It would be wonderful if the hated Yankees can take Rodney. Payback time!

[Jham]

His walk rate is significantly lower than previous seasons, so if we're counting on a dip in BABIP then we should also expect an increase in BB/9.

 

Rodney just flat out allows too many batters to reach base. Getting burned is inevitable when that happens. Honestly, Idk if we're seeing a 41 year old declining, or just a "rough patch," because you're right, he's thrown fewer than 7 innings, but good lord I'm already tired of the automatic 1-2 baserunners every time he's handed the ball.

Misuse of the stats. You have some control over bb rate, but not babip. But bb/9 and k/9 are garbage stats that are skewed by the number of batters faced. So the walk rate is more impressive but the k rate less because of the additional chances. Regression is likely to happen on bb rate. But it will unquestionably come back down on babip. I don't know whay to do with Rodney at this point. Today hurt, but Nathan and Glenn fared no better here.

[h2oface]

I hate watching Rodney on this team. Hell, I hate watching Rodney for any team. Always have. Always will. Hated the signing. Hate to see Molitor ever give him the ball. He is a cartoon. He is horrible. What a complete joke. Even if he has some success, I will hate to see him on the Twins. Take it elsewhere, if you can find any fools. One only needs to honor papa passed so much. That is all talk. That expired years ago. Now it is all ego. And for what?

 

8 pitches.

Eight Pitches.

 

EIGHT PITCHES!

 

Gibson says "Bite Me!"

[ashbury]

He's entering Kevin Jepsen territory...

I'd say that if he's entered Ron Davis territory, it's a given that he got his passport stamped in Jepsen territory very close to the outset of his journey.

[h2oface]

The worst part of this fiasco, it that he was horrible and messed up the start of Arizona's 2017 season. Absolutely dreadful. Like a 12.60 ERA or something like that for the first month. Then he pitched better. Enough to finish year at a forgettable 4.23  or something. But the damage is done. Because of that history, they are bound to let him blow up to 5 more games to see if they can be proven right. F&L were misguided. They are misguided. They need to smarten up. We don't need a player the fans don't want to see, even it he has some future success. Take it elsewhere. 

 

 

EIGHT PITCHES!

[jud6312]

 

Shocking. A 41 year old doesn't have it anymore to be a closer.

 

I'm pretty sure I compared Rodney to Ron Davis before the season started and some of the other posters here were trying to school me on why I was wrong. Glad someone they all probably think highly of has numbers to back it up.

[howeda7]

He can still be a decent 6th-7th inning reliever. He should not be the closer.

[h2oface]

 

He can still be a decent 6th-7th inning reliever. He should not be the closer.

 

... for another team, if they are foolish enough to let him.

 

Is it better to blow up the game in the 6th-7th, instead of the ninth? Maybe. For a different team.

[Mike Sixel]

He can still be a decent 6th-7th inning reliever. He should not be the closer.

Not sure I understand this. If he's a bad pitcher, it shouldn't matter when he pitches. I don't think the pressure is getting to him....

[howeda7]

 

Not sure I understand this. If he's a bad pitcher, it shouldn't matter when he pitches. I don't think the pressure is getting to him....

It might not, but if he's our 4th or 5th option it won't be in crushing situations. Obviously at some point you cut bait. I'd probably try him in another role first. 

[KirbyDome89]

 

Misuse of the stats. You have some control over bb rate, but not babip. But bb/9 and k/9 are garbage stats that are skewed by the number of batters faced. So the walk rate is more impressive but the k rate less because of the additional chances. Regression is likely to happen on bb rate. But it will unquestionably come back down on babip. I don't know whay to do with Rodney at this point. Today hurt, but Nathan and Glenn fared no better here.

How is that a misuse of stats? We'll disagree about about BB/9 and K/9 being garbage. I'm not arguing about the validity of a SSS if that's what you're getting at with numbers being skewed. The point I'm making is that we can't assume underperformance normalizes but overperformance doesn't. 

 

BABIP isn't completely out of the control of a pitcher. That 3 run shot was a rocket. Hard hit balls will inflate BABIP (ask Phil Hughes.) That doesn't mean I think it's staying north of even .310 but I certainly don't think we can simply brush off Rodney's current BABIP as just poor defense or bad luck. I'm also not convinced that Rodney, at 41, has suddenly discovered control and is going to keep his BB rate down. 

 

I'm not sure what a low BB rate w/ high BABIP vs. a higher BB rate w/ normalized BABIP looks like in terms of runners on a per inning basis. 

 

TL;DR: Rodney allows too many runners to reach. 

[h2oface]

 

It might not, but if he's our 4th or 5th option it won't be in crushing situations. Obviously at some point you cut bait. I'd probably try him in another role first. 

 

He is over 40 and at the end of the scary career. If he is on your team, and you are a fan, you will suffer. It is well known and consistent. Another role? How about on the White Sox, or Yankees. Wouldn't it be great for this team to get to hit off him in Yankee stadium?

 

Average against him is almost .400 this year! A whole team of .350 hitters. That is the only way I want to have to watch him.