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Good article on Pudge!

 

Worth the risk

Paying Pudge $10 million for a one-and-done season doesn't seem silly now

COMMENTARY / JEFF MILLER

[email protected]

 

 

WALTER MICHOT / HERALD STAFF

 

Marlins catcher Iv?n Rodr?guez

 

 

The move was called silly, odd and stupid. OK, maybe not stupid exactly, but ''not smart.'' Yeah, ''not smart.'' That's how this newspaper labeled the Marlins' decision in January to sign catcher Iv?n Rodr?guez.

 

Six months later, we stand by our story. All except for that ''not'' part.

 

With the Marlins 10 games over .500, with them close enough in the wild card to make out the Phillies' faces, with Rodr?guez locked in the middle of the lineup and everywhere else, the arrival of August is the perfect time to acknowledge that, you know, this deal is working out just fine after all.

 

''Everything is going the right way,'' Rodr?guez said. ``I'm enjoying every moment here. We're having so much fun.''

 

Six consecutive wins, two sweeps in a row and more occupied seats than empty ones will spike the fun meter for sure. Same with being close to a .400 hitter the past 40 games to help turn a season from swirling to sterling.

 

After an 0-for-5, four-strikeout non-performance May 30, Rodr?guez was batting .239, nearly 70 points below his career average. He then hit .367 in June and climbed even higher to .376 in July.

 

That has him at .312 now, and all the statistics can become somewhat numbing, so we'll stop right here. (Though it also must be noted Rodr?guez leads the National League in hitting with runners in scoring position, not exactly a throwaway fact.) Beyond all that, just understand that no catcher in the majors has been more productive than the Marlins' catcher this season.

 

The offense, of course, was expected, just like the defense, where Rodr?guez has been as solid as each of the 10 Gold Glove trophies he owns. The issues with this guy never have been the facts found on the back of a trading card.

 

But what about the things that can't be quantified and stacked in neat columns? What about those aspects of the game where Rodr?guez wasn't even considered the equal of someone like former Marlin Steve Decker, to note an anonymous example? You remember the scouting report from Texas, right? Can't call a game. Doesn't go to meetings. More concerned about himself than his team.

 

''I want all my team to be selfish like this guy,'' third base coach Ozzie Guill?n said. ``You don't win the MVP without being a little selfish. This is an individual game played by a team. You have to have some of that in you to succeed. But Pudge is concerned about this team, too. Watch us, and you can see that.''

 

Rodr?guez helped keep Ugueth Urbina in the game Monday in a tight eighth-inning situation after the reliever disagreed with a call by home plate umpire Mike DiMuro and so did with the animation of a comic book character. Had Rodr?guez not acted as Urbina's counsel -- ''I just talked professionally to the umpire,'' he explained -- that Marlins 3-2 victory could have exploded before the ninth inning even arrived.

 

He also has helped Braden Looper develop the kind of confidence where he rebounded from a blown save against Atlanta to protect consecutive one-run leads against Arizona, not bad for a guy who thought he might be losing his job just three weeks ago when the Marlins acquired Urbina.

 

Looper is an 85 to 90 percent fastball pitcher who never fully has confided in his slider or splitter. But seeing Rodr?guez call for those pitches in sweaty-palm situations has bolstered his once shaky beliefs.

 

''I heard the rumors about Pudge just like everyone else,'' Looper said. ``But I've worked as well with him as any catcher I've had. I wouldn't want to trade him for anyone.''

 

So everything's as sweet and fluffy as cotton candy. Bring on those Astros and let the fantasy continue. Sorry, but baseball is a business, which is why everyone works on a contract, and for Rodr?guez, his expires after this season.

 

Then what? South Florida is indisputably home for Rodr?guez, his giant five-bedroom masterpiece docked behind his nine-bedroom, 11-bathroom palace in Miami Beach. Is he actually going to want to leave his wife, three children, nanny, maid, house-sitter, chef, pool, media room, billiards room, spa, gym and guest quarters for a condo in, say, St. Louis?

 

''For now, I'm here two more months,'' Rodr?guez said, not sounding terribly committed to anything Marlin.

 

``I'd love to stay. If they keep this team together, we could do some good things. But I'll try free agency and see what happens.''

 

And that's it -- cold, plain and simple. Apparently, the fuzzy concept of the home team discount won't be much of a factor in this case. There also is other chilling nugget to consider. Rodr?guez has changed agents since coming to South Florida and now employs Scott Boras, who rarely gets less than every available penny for his clients.

 

The Marlins' history with spending suggests now is the time to enjoy Rodr?guez, while we can. So cherish those ''Pudge'' bobbleheads the team will distribute Saturday.

 

Waiting until next year could be disappointing. It also could be, to quote past reports, ``not smart.''

 

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already posted

  • Author

already posted

Ummm...where. This article just came out. :confused

Ummm...where. This article just came out. :confused

ummm, at the bottom of the boards

  • Author

ummm, at the bottom of the boards

Did i ask you? I was talking to Willis#1.....

Did i ask you? I was talking to Willis#1.....

who cares who you asked?

 

dont get your panties in a bunch dude

  • Author

IS that he gave me an attitude...my bad

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