After last night’s disheartening 5-4 loss to the Dodgers, the Giants must face the reality that Felix Rodriguez isn’t going to blossom into the reliever they are hoping he will, at least not with the Giants. He failed again, unable to simply throw a strike; and more importantly, he is perhaps the only valuable chip they have in their efforts to improve the team.
Brian Sabean must realize that they have given Rodriguez more than enough time and coaching and whatever else they should to help him get himself together. It’s time to give up. It’s time to get whatever real value they can for all their efforts, because no matter how hard he can throw, no matter what his apparent talents; he is a failure at his job. Last night’s broadcast featured a trivia question; “Who has the most relief wins in baseball since the start of the 2000 season?” Felix Rodriguez. Relief wins are one of the most misleading stats out there. Most of the time, to get a relief win, the reliever must give up a lead first; in other words, a lead that means a win for a starter.
Felix is good at that. He’s also good at throwing the same pitch over and over to a batter, usually until the batter gets a handle on his velocity, and hammers him (a la, Scott Speizio). He’s good at shaking off his catcher, ignoring his pitching coach, infuriating his manager…. Enough said. It’s time. Anyone who can regularly hit 98 mile per hour on a radar gun will generate interest. Go find a team that has one too many starters, home run hitters, whatever; and GET SOMETHING FOR HIM. His run with the Giants needs to end.
