K-Rod or Mo? Close call on best closer
The early season success for Francisco Rodriguez, coupled with Mariano Rivera's struggles, may mean there's a new king of the ninth inning in New York. Credit: Jim McIsaac (left), John Dunn (right)
Between Mariano Rivera and Francisco Rodriguez, who is the best closer in New York right now?
Think about it for a minute.
One has converted 14 straight save chances and thrown 18 consecutive scoreless innings.
The other went into Thursday night with three blown saves in 16 chances.
Historically, ya gotta go to Mo. But statistically, right now, as the 2011 Subway Series dawns, it's K-Rod.
What odds would you have gotten for that when Rodriguez was sitting in a cell at his home ballpark last August after attacking his girlfriend's father? How about after he admitted to injuring his thumb in the incident and the Mets tried to tear up his contract?
"I don't know what happened in the past," Mets manager Terry Collins said after Rodriguez closed out the Mets' 1-0 victory over the Nationals Thursday.
"But I'll tell you one thing: This guy has done nothing but been a first-class citizen, a first-class professional about everything. He comes every day to pitch. That's all he's done."
Since blowing his first save chance of the season, K-Rod has been imperfectly perfect. He still allows too many baserunners, but he has been finding a way to get out of trouble on the mound while staying out of trouble off it.
"I'm surprised a little bit," Collins said. About the pitching stuff, he meant, not the off-the-field stuff.
Rodriguez got a clean slate on that from the new management team of Sandy Alderson and Collins. But it's telling that K-Rod wasn't officially taken off the disqualified list until March 31, the day before the Mets' season opened.
It was smart for the Mets to be wary. Unfortunately, you can only be a successful redemption story if you've first done something dumb enough to require redeeming.
So far this year, the only undercurrent of controversy surrounding K-Rod has been whether the Mets will try to keep him from finishing 55 games, thus preventing an above-market $17.5-million contract option for 2012 from kicking in.
That option hangs over the Mets' future finances like that guy who has a sword hanging over his head. (Right, Damocles. Thank you, Google and Wikipedia.)
But to their credit, Alderson, Collins and Rodriguez have not made it an issue. Thursday's game finished was his 17th in 43 games.
Rodriguez got the save despite allowing a one-out double to Laynce Nix in the ninth. He got an assist from umpire Phil Cuzzi, who didn't see Daniel Murphy's foot get pulled off first base on a throw from Justin Turner on Jayson Werth's grounder for what incorrectly was ruled the second out.
"They say out? It was out," K-Rod said after getting Adam LaRoche to ground to second to end the game and punching the air -- harmlessly.
A safe call on Werth's grounder would have left runners on first and third with one out, the very situation Rivera couldn't escape with a 1-0 lead against the Orioles on Wednesday.
The Yankees went on to win in 15 innings, managing to overcome Rivera's blown save and the questionable decision by Joe Girardi to remove a dominant Bartolo Colon after 87 pitches because that's how it's done these days.
Yes, yes, we know, Rivera is the greatest closer of all time, so you have to go to him whether you need to or not. If the Yankees have a suitable lead in Friday night's Subway Series opener, Rivera will be on the mound in the ninth inning.
"He's the best," Rodriguez said, ending any notion of a Great New York Closer Debate. "The best, period, and he's always going to be the best."
Historically? Sure. Right now? Not so sure.
