Tagged: Burnett

K-Rod: A lap dog

Off the top of my head … 
Francisco Rodriguez may be on his way to lapping the historical closers’ field. By the time K-Rod is done, Trevor Hoffman, who right now has 69 more save than anyone else, might need a Hubble telescope to see the new career leader.
It’s all about consistency (not a staple in the closers’ community) and age. K-Rod was precocious when he ambushed the field in the 2002 postseason, and he has used that youth to pave his record track.
The basics:
Rodriguez, who turned 27 in January, entered this season with 208 saves. The current career Top Ten, from Hoffman (554 saves) to Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers (341), began their age-27 season with an average of 32.5 saves.
The breakdown of saves entering the season in which they were/turned 27:
  1. Hoffman (554): 25
  2. Mariano Rivera (485): 5
  3. Lee Smith (478): 80
  4. John Franco (424): 77
  5. Dennis Eckersley (390): 3
  6. Billy Wagner (385): 32
  7. Jeff Reardon (367): 16
  8. Troy Percival (354): 3
  9. Randy Myers (347): 32
  10. Fingers (341): 52. …

New Yankee Stadium: So what’s keeping the ladies? When are Destiny and Aura moving in, or are the Bombers on their own now? …

CC Sabathia / A.J. Burnett: Money is money, I know, but do you suppose these guys at least might’ve thought a little harder about signing with the Yankees had they known they’d now be playing home games in the moon’s atmosphere? … 
Sabathia: Hey, CC, pinstripes are supposed to make you look slimmer, not make your pitches look fatter. …
Carlos Quentin: Seven homers by April 19? Spin it all you want, he could have made the postseason difference for the White Sox, had he not snapped in early September and broken his wrist slapping his own bat. … 
Top 3, Carlos Edition: Santana, Delgado, Pena. … 
Jason Giambi: There is something symmetrical about his career. He began this season having split his career between the A’s and Yankees, seven seasons with each. And he is No. 10 on the homer lists of both teams (though his 187 places him closer to Mark McGwire’s 363 than does the 209 to Babe Ruth’s 659). … 
Randy Johnson: Guess the one-time fireballer wasn’t kidding about re-learning to pitch in an age-relevant style. The 45-year-old consistently topped out at 87-88 MPH while carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning Sunday against the D-backs. …
Sorry, I’ve reached the bottom of my head. Later …