Brewers Catcher Jonathan Lucroy urges K-Rod to throw more strikes.
PHOTO: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

This should come as no surprise to anyone, anywhere, at any time, in any universe, during any solar event.  It goes without saying that this man single-handedly cost us a playoff spot in 2012.  And while many of you will immediately scoff at that claim, I have the stats and evidence to back it up.  The man I am referring to is Fracisco Rodriguez, K-Rod, or as my dog knows him…el Bastardo. 
 
Let’s start from the beginning which, as I understand it, is a very good place to start.  In 2011, the Brewers went out and acquired the MLB single season saves record holder. And they did not just do it at the All-Star Break…they did it 10 seconds after the All-Star GAME!! 

He was added to the team as a blanket to help get the ball to John Axford in the 9th inning.  It should be no secret that I never wanted the guy, but I was more than happy to reap the benefits of what came next. 
 
K-Rod and the Ax-Man where the most diabolical late inning 1-2 punch in all of baseball.  It was their chemistry that lead to the Brewers second half surge towards their first NL Central Division title.  When the Brewers were escorted from the postseason by those disgusting Missouri Red Pigeons, I just assumed that was the end of a beautiful partnership.  If you read this site, you know that…I am wrong a lot. 
 
In a move that defies all forms of logic, the Brewers offered the Lens Crafters Kid arbitration.  As it was later explained, this move was designed so that the Brewers could get an additional compensatory pick in the draft, not even considering the possibility that another team would not want a sub-par closer with a history of assault, heading farther and farther north of 30 years old… 

As the deadline to accept arbitration loomed, the Brewers had offers out to LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito.  Who had both been sensational out of the bullpen in 2011.  As the clock slid closer to 12am EST, word began to circulate that Mr. Rodriguez would be accepting the Brewers arbitration offer.  Once that became official, the Brewers had to withdraw both of the offers out to Saito and Hawkins.  Not because they wanted too, but because we are not the Yankees (or is it the Angels and Dodgers now?) and can’t afford everything our hearts desire.

The final dollar amount was $8MM…which is an absurd amount of money to pay a set-up pitcher, but the Brewers management took that foolish risk and we, the fans, had to live with it.  Especially when you consider that the remainder of the bullpen did not make a combined $8MM this season, but I digress from my point. 
 
As opposed to yesterdays article, today I find the stats very telling of this players value: 2-7 record, 4.38 ERA (worst in his career), 65 hits (2nd most in career), 35 earned runs (most in career), 8 HR’s (2nd most), 72 K’s (2nd lowest in career), 3 saves (2nd lowest) in 13 games finished.  Without question, the worst season of his career. 

Even when he finally got the opportunity to be the teams closer, the role he had coveted and bitched about all of 2011…he crumbled.  It got to a point where he was being booed off of the mound.  He was nothing more than an $8MM batting tee. 
 
K-Rod was the least valuable pitcher in 2012 because he cost us winnable games and deprived us of having a decent bullpen in the middle innings which, as it turned out, we needed very badly.  He was the least valuable because he was a selfish little brat who cried and complained, then finally got his way…and peed his pants.  We only missed out on the final Wild Card spot by 5 games, which I wholeheartedly believe could have been made up without el Bastardo and with Saito and Hawkins.
 
I will not miss Frankie Rodriguez.  In fact, **Spoiler Alert**, I can almost guarantee you he will be a nominee for the 2013 edition of “The Hall of Brewers We Won’t Miss”. 
 
If you are the fan of another team and you have found your way here, I pray you never have to deal with this washed up cry-baby.  Any dollar amount your team spends on him, will be too much.  When I think back on his time as a Brewers, I will remember the 2 weeks that he was the closer this season.  Unlike Nyjer Morgan, there is nothing endearing about Rodriguez worth remembering.  That man was a drain on the teams wallet and a drain on the fan base.  Good riddance to bad rubbish.

After closer Francisco Rodriguez’s terrible outing last night in Philadelphia, he issued an apology via his Twitter account, @El_kid_rod57. Here’s what he said (split into two tweets):

First tweet: “I so sorry guys I do want to apologize for the performance the I did today from the bottom of my heart I will get better bcuz”

Second tweet: “You guys deserve better then that am sorry”

If you didn’t already know, English is not K-Rod’s primary language. He also posted the tweet in Spanish.

Anyway, this is sort of a classy move, I suppose. Not that it puts him off the hook for what truly was a very hard inning to watch, but it’s good to see he at least cares.

If you didn’t see the end of last night’s game, though, let me attempt to paint the picture. K-Rod started off the inning fine, striking out former Brewer Laynce Nix on a nasty curveball down and in. After that, however, he completely lost it. He proceeded to walk Jimmy Rollins, then give up a single to Juan Pierre. K-Rod also walked Chase Utley to load the bases. At first, I thought these were just more of his “20 minutes of terror” antics, but when he gave up a two-run single to Ryan Howard, it was obvious that wasn’t the case. K-Rod still had a one-run lead at that point, but not for long, as he went on to give up the game-tying single to Carlos Ruiz. He then walked Hunter Pence, and the last few pitches of that at-bat weren’t even close. K-Rod was flying and falling all over the place with his delivery and follow-through- towards the plate, towards first base, back at the mound- everywhere. Anyway, then the inevitable happened: he gave up a walk-off sacrifice fly to Ty Wigginton.

K-Rod’s final line? 0.2 innings, three hits, four earned runs, three walks, and one strikeout. It marked the second straight appearance that he walked three batters.

But the circumstances surrounding this game made the blown save that much worse. First off, K-Rod was given a three-run lead to work with going into the ninth, and managed to blow it before recording two outs. Second, the Brewers had just been swept in Cincinnati and were looking for a great win over Roy Halladay and the Phillies. Also, the bullpen blew yet ANOTHER lead for Randy Wolf; he’s got to be on the verge of breaking some sort of record for the most blown saves by his relievers behind him after exiting the game. Lastly, K-Rod’s ERA ballooned to 4.47, and his trade value has easily plummeted.

Even after that rant, though, it was good that he apologized. Again, not saying that it by any means lets him off the hook; nothing- including apologies- can fix the way this awful season has gone.

But now we need to hope that K-Rod won’t go down the road of John Axford and continue blowing more critical games. The Brewers are already basically out of contention, but this season doesn’t need to be any more painful than it already is.

K-Rod may find himself on the trading block as the trade deadline looms. (Image: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE)

beginning to look like “sellers” as the date approaches. As we have seen with Milwaukee in their two playoff campaigns of 2008 and 2011, front offices convinced their team has a shot at October are willing to dish out prospects for veteran pitching, of which the Brewers have a lot to offer.

The Randy Wolf rumors have not yet surfaced, but it would almost make too much sense for the Brewers to trade Wolf. The veteran lefty  has a team option for 2013 worth $10 million, an awfully high price to pay for a pitcher with a 5.06 era and 4.82 xFIP. Wolf will be gone next year regardless and his veteran presence and postseason experience could easily lure a team to loan the 35-year-old for two months. With Mike Fiers, Tyler Thornburg, Jed Bradley, Taylor Jungmann, and Wily Peralta all in waiting for the starting rotation, there is no need to use up $10 million on a middle of the rotation guy.

Possible suitors: Baltimore, Cleveland (AL), Detroit, Boston

Brewers fans hope GreinKKKKKKe will still be wearing that jersey in 2013. (Image: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE)

In all honesty, I pray that Doug Melvin and Mark Attanassio do whatever is needed (well…almost whatever is needed) to keep Zack Greinke in Milwaukee. The 2009 Cy Young winner is set to become a free-agent this off-season and all the “trade him or keep him?” talk would require an entire separate column and 1,250 more words. So I’ll put it at this: if Melvin does not feel that the Brewers can resign Greinke, they could get a load of prospects from one of the contenders. Even if the Brewers trade him, it does not mean he can’t resign with Milwaukee. Under new CBA rules, a Type A free agent can be traded away and signed without any penalty to the team. Greinke has said he loves Milwaukee and Miller Park, so he might be open to returning.

Possible suitors: Atlanta, Boston, New York (AL), Chicago (AL), Texas

RtB Senior Writer Lou Olsen has started the #TradeKRodTonight movement on The Twitter to trade reliever Francisco Rodriguez and it only makes sense. Sure, the Brewers won’t get a top-class prospect, but they could furnish a good package from another team. He  will become a free agent at season’s end and Brewers fans wouldn’t mind seeing his 0-4 record, 4.34 era, and 1.517 WHIP be shipped to another city. Contenders are seemingly always looking for relief help and K-Rod could be for another team in 2012 what he was the for the Brewers in 2011.

Possible suitors: New York (NL) (Call me crazy but their bullpen has a league-worst 5.48 era), Philadelphia, New York (AL), Detroit, Los Angeles (NL), Washington

Some thought the move would prove invidious and create a bullpen drama within the team; instead, Rodriguez surprised everyone by accepting the Brewers $13 million arbitration offer. K-Rod is easily the highest-paid eighth inning reliever after accepting what may have been a bluff from the Brewers.

The right-hander posted a 1.86 era and held a 4-0 record in 31 games for the Brewers in 2011. His K/9 rate was the second-lowest of his

Oct 7, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez reacts after retiring the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth inning of game five of the 2011 NLDS at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

career, but Rodriguez found his success more so in his command–his BB/9 rate was the lowest of his career. He and Axford formed one of the more lethal one-two combinations at the back of any bullpen. Manager Ron Roenicke noted it was like having two closers to choose from.

While in Chicago, Houston, St. Louis, and, to a degree, Pittsburgh are still looking for the answers in the back end of the ‘pen, the Brewers have two record holders to close out games. The rest of the bullpen may lack depth, but if Rodriguez and Axford can repeat their 2011 successes, that depth can be made up easily.

August 10, 2011; St. Louis, MO. USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (57) celebrates after closing out the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Milwaukee defeated St. Louis 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The 30-year-old Rodriguez may have faded off some people’s radars after failing to post foofaraw numbers from 2009-2011 with the New York Mets and may still be best remembered from his flame-throwing days with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the West Coast of Angel Stadium of the Landing Place of Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson. Those days are gone and Rodriguez is relying much more on his concupiscible changeup and curveball. He threw the change 23.3% of the time with the Brewers last season after not using it more than 2% of the time until 2007.

Generally accepted talk last season was that Rodriguez was proving himself to still be a viable closer and receive a multi-year free agency deal. He utilized a typical three-pitch repertoire of most closers. K-Rod’s consisted of the fastball, change, and curve. His vulpine Uncle Charlie worked slightly better in 2011, posting a positive wCB for the first time since 2008. Once again, his wCH was impressive, coming in at a 6.4 mark. Those two off-speed pitches have become much more prominent for Rodriguez. In 2008, his last season with the Angels, he combined to throw the two 17.8% of the time; that number was up to 39.8% last season.

Staying healthy is not much of a concern for Rodriguez–in ten Major League seasons, he has only landed on the DL twice. As do many pitchers, K-Rod’s velocity has come down with age. He averaged a career-low 90.3 mph on his fastball in 2011.

The 1.86 era may not be repeated again in 2012, but K-Rod and Axford should prove to be one of the league’s top bullpen duos.

2012 RtB Predictions: 67 G, 2.79 era, 4 SV, 78 K, lots of bottles of lens cleaning solution

To read the rest of Curt’s player-by-player season outlook series, go here or here. Follow him on Twitter@CurtKnowsBest and “like” RtB on Facebook.

For the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers possess a division crown.  It could not have come in a more dramatic fashion.  Ryan Braun launches a monster 3-run homer to the center field scoreboard in the bottom of the 8th inning, to give the Crew a 4-1 lead.  Gallardo was amazing, Fielder socked another bomb, K-Rod looked like he loved pitching that 8th inning, and Braun is going to be the NL MVP on a count of that home run to essentially clinch the division.

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