Rotation

January 30, 200422 yr

oops I forgot

:hat The Champ = :disguise2 The Chump

January 30, 200422 yr

Rotation should be in better hands with Redmond catching. Redmond is better handler of pitchers than Pudge. Knock on Pudge is he isn't much for handling pitchers. Staff is in better hands now that Pudge is bye bye bye.? :hat The champ

Pudge seemed to handle the pitchers pretty well last year. And you think Redmond will start over Castro (assuming his legal troubles are behind him)? Redmond has the inside edge. Both will get about 80 starts. Maybe an 85-75 breakdown. Pudge wasn't much of a factor handling the pitchers. They were in good hands with Rosenthal/McKeon. :hat The champ If Pudge wasn't a factor, why do you think the pitchers "should be in better hands with Redmond catching"? McKeon and Rosenthal, who you credit more than Pudge, are still there. Because Redmond actually attends pitchers meetings, something Pudge didn't do. You don't understand how much Pudge was into being a STAR. Redmond actually talks pitching with the pitchers. Pudge talks about being Pudge. :hat The champ http://www.canoe.ca/Slam031019/mlb_ws1-sun.html

2003: The year Pudge changed

By BOB ELLIOTT -- Toronto Sun

NEW YORK -- You never really know who will show in the World Series. Well, we knew as early as the 11th inning of Game 7 -- when Aaron Boone put his name alongside the likes of Joe Carter, Bill Mazeroski and Todd Pratt with a walk-off homer, ousting the Boston Red Sox 6-5 in 11 innings -- that the New York Yankees would be attending.

But go back a year ago today. Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez was as welcome in the Texas Rangers clubhouse as a herd of Brahma bulls. He did not think he'd be hitting third in the Florida Marlins lineup, standing along the third base line, during the pre-game introductions.

A year ago today, Jack McKeon was home in Elon, N.C., watching the World Series on television like every other former manager and general manager. Last night, as manager of the Marlins, the 72-year-old shook hands with Yankees manager Joe Torre at home plate.

This is the 100th World Series, with the tradition-rich Yankees, going for their 27th championship against the Florida Marlins, the best in baseball no one knows, looking to win their sixth consecutive post-season series.

A year ago, the Rangers had zero interest in bringing free agent Rodriquez back on a long-term contract or a month-long contract.

Rodriguez didn't regularly attend the pitchers meetings, where all teams have to go over opposing hitters before each series.

He didn't call a good game, showing a preference for fastballs in running situations. He was selfish.

Those were some of the things Rangers people, who liked Rodriguez, would say.

Free agent Jim Thome joined the Philadelphia Phillies and Tom Glavine, another free agent, signed a New York Mets contract long before Christmas. Both were long-term deals. Rodriguez should have been in the same group -- as the best catcher since Gary Carter.

Yet, the Chicago Cubs backed away. So, did others.

On Jan. 22, 2003, less than a month before pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, Rodriguez signed a one-year, show-us-if-you-have-anything-left $10-million US deal with the Marlins.

Since the Rangers' ERA climbed as high as the peak of the Six Flags roller coaster near the Ballpark in Arlington, it became an issue that Rodriguez wasn't much for meetings. Backups Bill Haselman and Todd Greene formulated game plans with starting pitcher.

"It was not so much a matter of how much he went to meetings, but how attentive he was," another Ranger said. "He didn't seem interested in getting that extra edge anymore."

With the Marlins, he has been at meetings, he has stayed awake and he has been a one-man show this post-season helping Florida to upset playoff wins over the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs. And he attended one meeting with the Marlins and pitching coach Wayne Rosenthal to go over Yankees hitters.

Rodriguez won the National League Championship Series most valuable player award hitting .321 (9-for-28) with two homers and 10 RBIs. Rodriguez has a hit in all 11 post-season games.

"I was injured in my final year in Texas," Rodriguez, 32, said. "Finally, I'm healthy, I played over 150 games, all the games in the playoffs performing the way I wanted."

Rodriguez is nicknamed Pudge, after Carlton Fisk, the former Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame catcher.

"He's one of my heroes as a child and I respect him a lot, my nickname belongs to him," Rodriguez said.

The day Rodriguez signed with the Marlins, he predicted his new club could make the post-season. "I'm not a negative person," he said, "I wanted to show the world that Ivan Rodriguez is healthy and has a lot of years left."

Not to mention a contract for next season.

McKeon thought his baseball days were done. He had been the GM of the San Diego Padres, who lost the 1984 World Series to the Detroit Tigers. He had not managed since he was with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000.

"A year ago, I was sitting at home, watching guys ask questions of the managers and the players," McKeon said in a pre-game news conference. "Now, here, a year later, I don't have to tell you, it's a tremendous thrill to be here.

"These are the best young guys I've ever had anything to do with. I managed, I don't know, 13, 14 years. Whenever I've been in the big leagues, I've never had a team I enjoyed more. That's the reason we're all in Yankee Stadium."