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Sunday, May 09, 2004 |
Sermon On The Mound
One of the principle drawbacks to life in Arkansas is that the pest control people will not take calls concerning Baptists. Churches here are more commonplace than McDonalds', big as banks, frequently as rich, and better attended. Some even hire off-duty policemen to keep traffic in and out of their day-long seances flowing steadily. While I've never been much on the "my invisible friend is better than your invisible friend" questions that fuel all theology, neither have I been especially eager to ridicule those who pursue them; such questions are imponderables, and no man may say with authority (though many try) what lies beyond the wormy end awaiting us all.
Baseball, too, has its prophets; "scouts", they are called, and their annual bible is the Baseball America Prospect Handbook. I picked up a copy in Little Rock at the local Barnes & Noble. Reading therein, I found the following interesting passage on Rafael Rodriguez:
Rodriguez earned a $780,000 bonus after impressing Angels scouts in a private workout in 2002. He evokes comparisons to Ramon Ortiz and Ervin Santana, though he has been wildly inconsistent and isn't as polished at the same stage. Rodriguez was torched for a 10.17 ERA in five starts last June, then he followed up with a 5-1, 1.86 July. Rodriguez' lightning-quick arm was the first thing that caught scouts' attention. He can dial his fastball up to 97 mph and sits at 90-96. His hard slider has out-pitch potential. Rodriguez has a high-maintenance delivery that instructors have to keep close tabs on. The ball jumps out of his hand, but his command is erratic because he tends to get out of whack with his full-effort mechanics. He shows a feel for a deceptive changeup but needs a more effective weapon against lefties. He has yet to mature physically or emotionally. The Angels believe he'll turn the corner when he masters English. Rodriguez spent his first full season in low Class A at age 18, so he's ahead of schedule. He'll join the high class A rotation in 2004.Looking at his stats on the Cedar Rapids web page, his K/9 is a strong 9.00 in 13 IP... but his BB/9 is a not-so-encouraging 6.92. His 7.62 ERA in early action doesn't bode well, either, but (a) the season is young, and (b) there's plenty of time for him to figure things out. 19? Man, that's young. Hopefully it's not another Dominican youth movement. But what bugs me most is the comparison to Ramon Ortiz... and sadly, it looks like he's earning it. With Jenks and Santana both on the DL, he's now the highest ranked active pitching prospect in the Angels' system. And that, my friends, is a problem.
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