Apparently many Detroit Tigers fans are happy that closer Fernando Rodney was suspended for three days for throwing a baseball toward the seats following a game last week. (See the video at mlb.com)
Read comments on Detroit newspaper Web sites and you'll see fans saying they're glad Rodney will be replaced by Brandon Lyon while serving a suspension.
They might want to think again.
Rodney's save percentage -- he's 32-for-33 in save opportunities -- is second in the American League among pitchers with at least 10 saves. Only Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees has a better percentage, with 39 saves in 40 chances.
Bigger-name closers have more blown saves than Rodney. Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins has five blown ,as does AL-save leader Brian Fuentes of Los Angeles Angels. Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox has four blown saves.
Sure, Rodney often struggles to close out games, giving up a frustrating amount of walks. But he almost always gets the job done. He has allowed many of his baserunners and runs in non-save situations.
He's been a valuable member of the Tigers pitching staff. The bullpen would have been in deep trouble earlier in the season without him because Lyon and others were struggling.
There's another reason why it's foolish to say the Tigers are better off without Rodney. Even if you agree that Lyon is a better closer than Rodney, who's going to replace Lyon as the No. 1 set-up man while Lyon is pitching the ninth inning? Losing one key member of the bullpen has a ripple effect.
It's fashionable to criticize closers. They often get little praise when they do well, but when they blow a game (or even come close to blowing a game), they're the target of criticism. Todd Jones also was much-maligned by Tiger fans. So was Mike Henneman.
As for the suspension (which Rodney has appealed): At first blush, it seems a bit excessive, but it's not out of line with previous discipline for similar offenses.
Players frequently toss balls into the stands after the final out of an inning, although it's usually a soft lob to a fan nearby rather than the long throw that Rodney made that ended up in the press box.
Rodney says there was no "malice" intended and that he was simply celebrating a victory. That claim seems a bit dubious given that the victory came after one of Rodney's worst outings of the year. It seems that he was letting some anger (or stress) out rather than happily throwing the ball to some fans.
There is precedence. Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble was suspended four games for throwing a ball into the stands after a rough outing that also resulted in victory for his team. In that case, a fan was actually injured.
And a story on mlb.com notes that Chad Qualls, then pitching for the Houston Astros, was suspended for three games after heaving a ball into the stands after blowing a game in 2007.
Read comments on Detroit newspaper Web sites and you'll see fans saying they're glad Rodney will be replaced by Brandon Lyon while serving a suspension.
They might want to think again.
Rodney's save percentage -- he's 32-for-33 in save opportunities -- is second in the American League among pitchers with at least 10 saves. Only Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees has a better percentage, with 39 saves in 40 chances.
Bigger-name closers have more blown saves than Rodney. Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins has five blown ,as does AL-save leader Brian Fuentes of Los Angeles Angels. Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox has four blown saves.
Sure, Rodney often struggles to close out games, giving up a frustrating amount of walks. But he almost always gets the job done. He has allowed many of his baserunners and runs in non-save situations.
He's been a valuable member of the Tigers pitching staff. The bullpen would have been in deep trouble earlier in the season without him because Lyon and others were struggling.
There's another reason why it's foolish to say the Tigers are better off without Rodney. Even if you agree that Lyon is a better closer than Rodney, who's going to replace Lyon as the No. 1 set-up man while Lyon is pitching the ninth inning? Losing one key member of the bullpen has a ripple effect.
It's fashionable to criticize closers. They often get little praise when they do well, but when they blow a game (or even come close to blowing a game), they're the target of criticism. Todd Jones also was much-maligned by Tiger fans. So was Mike Henneman.
As for the suspension (which Rodney has appealed): At first blush, it seems a bit excessive, but it's not out of line with previous discipline for similar offenses.
Players frequently toss balls into the stands after the final out of an inning, although it's usually a soft lob to a fan nearby rather than the long throw that Rodney made that ended up in the press box.
Rodney says there was no "malice" intended and that he was simply celebrating a victory. That claim seems a bit dubious given that the victory came after one of Rodney's worst outings of the year. It seems that he was letting some anger (or stress) out rather than happily throwing the ball to some fans.
There is precedence. Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble was suspended four games for throwing a ball into the stands after a rough outing that also resulted in victory for his team. In that case, a fan was actually injured.
And a story on mlb.com notes that Chad Qualls, then pitching for the Houston Astros, was suspended for three games after heaving a ball into the stands after blowing a game in 2007.
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