Since the dreadful yet predictable end to that sorry ball game today, I've spent the better part of an hour studying the splits on Fernando Rodriguez, who, although two of you apparently so objected to me calling him the Angel of Doom that you put me on ignore, seems to wear that title very well. I was going to come in here guns blazing with all sorts of splits, but I've opted not to do that in favor of Sir Winston Churchill's famous line about the USSR at the outbreak of WWII: FeRod is "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
I like FeRod's stuff. I really do. He's got two plus pitches, when he can get them over the plate (19 walks in 32.2 innings, versus 34 strikeouts). His stranded runners stat is actually pretty good. However, when he comes into tie ballgames, and he's been in ten of those this season, his BAA goes from his regular BAA of .244, which isn't great but isn't terrible either, up over 100 points to .370! However, it's the combination of his hits allowed in tie games, ten in 27 official at-bats, together with his walks allowed, six, to 35 batters faced, that is killing him and not doing any of us any favors either.
My preliminary conclusion is that FeRod suffers from an apparent abject lack of confidence. It's almost like he's pitching expecting to lose in close games, which has happened a lot, eight times in fact, given his number of appearances, 37, and it's even worse when you consider that he's lost eight times in just ten tie ballgames. FeRod is now second on the club in losses, eight, which isn't easy to do as a reliever, trailing only J.A. Happ's nine losses. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: until FeRod gets himself to a sports psychologist guru and works out his kinks in the psyche, he shouldn't be put into another close game because he falls apart. The Angel of Doom? Well, the numbers speak for themselves. For me, I'll be very glad to see Wilton Lopez back later this week.
