I may have missed the post but I dont recall seeing this pitcher before and would like to know how good he is?
Any help would help
Any help would help
Clev Starter
- Thread starter pwine
- Start date
from official site
from official site
Rodriguez to make MLB debut
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez gets his first action in the big leagues Wednesday night.
Rodriguez??s debut was a long time in coming.
He spent six years trolling the minors in the Dodgers organization, but that trek through the bushes wasn??t a reflection on Rodriguez, whom baseball scouts had labeled as the top pitching prospect in the Dodgers farm system. It spoke more to the strength of pitching on the NL team??s Major League roster, not Rodriguez??s talent. That depth was the real reason for the 24-year-old right-hander??s slow ascent to the bigs.
??But they didn??t give me the opportunity,?? said Rodriguez before the Tribe??s 6-3 loss Tuesday night to the Athletics. ??I don??t know the reason. They didn??t say nothing about it, you know.??
So when the trade to Cleveland came last month, Rodriguez looked at it as an opportunity he never got with Los Angeles. It was a trade, though, that he thought would come, considering how things were going with the Dodgers.
??At the beginning of the season, I was talking to my mom, and I said: ??Don??t be surprised if I get traded,???? Rodriguez said as he dressed for the game Tuesday night. ??They have really good starting pitchers in the big leagues. They had to so something.??
That something was to ship Rodriguez and pitchers Francisco Cruceta and Terry Mulholland to the Indians for setup-man Paul Shuey, whom the Dodgers viewed as somebody who could shore up their bullpen.
Not that the Indians wanted to lose the veteran Shuey. They didn??t. But they were rebuilding, and a younger arm like Rodriguez??s had more currency, long term, than Shuey??s.
Still, the expectations of getting traded and the reality of it were two different things for Rodriguez. Sure, he wanted the chance to showcase his talents on a grander stage, but he didn??t necessarily want to break his ties with long-time friends in the Dodgers farm system.
So his was a bittersweet parting of ways. Yet if he had to go to another ballclub, he??d have picked the Indians, whom he described as his favorite team. Why the Tribe was his favorite, Rodriguez didn??t offer specifics. He just liked the Indians, he said.
And he likes them more now that they have plucked him from Triple-A and thrown him into the starter??s spot that rookie Ryan Drese??s demotion to Buffalo on Monday night opened.
Drese was to start Wednesday night??s game. Rodriguez gets that duty now. He??ll be showcasing the promise that the Dodgers had long seen in him. He??ll be doing so in Jacobs Field, not in Chavez Ravine.
He has a lot to showcase, though the specifics of his stuff weren??t easy to pin down.
??Know what??? pitching coach Mike Brown said. ??The first time you see him throw will be the first time I see him throw.??
Brown is looking forward to that first glimpse, too. From what he??s heard, Rodriguez comes armed with plenty of tools, including a mid-90s fastball and a competitiveness that might make him a long-term addition to the Indians rotation.
In a self-critique, Rodriguez saw much the same thing as Brown did, but the rookie right-hander wasn??t willing to go into specifics.
??That??s one thing I don??t like to talk about,?? he said. ??My thing is -- I want the people to see me out there and then they make their opinion about me.
??I don??t like to describe the kind of pitcher I am. For me, the only thing I do is work hard and do the best I can.??
If Rodriguez??s best is as advertised, it??ll be must viewing Wednesday night for fans at The Jake.
from official site
Rodriguez to make MLB debut
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez gets his first action in the big leagues Wednesday night.
Rodriguez??s debut was a long time in coming.
He spent six years trolling the minors in the Dodgers organization, but that trek through the bushes wasn??t a reflection on Rodriguez, whom baseball scouts had labeled as the top pitching prospect in the Dodgers farm system. It spoke more to the strength of pitching on the NL team??s Major League roster, not Rodriguez??s talent. That depth was the real reason for the 24-year-old right-hander??s slow ascent to the bigs.
??But they didn??t give me the opportunity,?? said Rodriguez before the Tribe??s 6-3 loss Tuesday night to the Athletics. ??I don??t know the reason. They didn??t say nothing about it, you know.??
So when the trade to Cleveland came last month, Rodriguez looked at it as an opportunity he never got with Los Angeles. It was a trade, though, that he thought would come, considering how things were going with the Dodgers.
??At the beginning of the season, I was talking to my mom, and I said: ??Don??t be surprised if I get traded,???? Rodriguez said as he dressed for the game Tuesday night. ??They have really good starting pitchers in the big leagues. They had to so something.??
That something was to ship Rodriguez and pitchers Francisco Cruceta and Terry Mulholland to the Indians for setup-man Paul Shuey, whom the Dodgers viewed as somebody who could shore up their bullpen.
Not that the Indians wanted to lose the veteran Shuey. They didn??t. But they were rebuilding, and a younger arm like Rodriguez??s had more currency, long term, than Shuey??s.
Still, the expectations of getting traded and the reality of it were two different things for Rodriguez. Sure, he wanted the chance to showcase his talents on a grander stage, but he didn??t necessarily want to break his ties with long-time friends in the Dodgers farm system.
So his was a bittersweet parting of ways. Yet if he had to go to another ballclub, he??d have picked the Indians, whom he described as his favorite team. Why the Tribe was his favorite, Rodriguez didn??t offer specifics. He just liked the Indians, he said.
And he likes them more now that they have plucked him from Triple-A and thrown him into the starter??s spot that rookie Ryan Drese??s demotion to Buffalo on Monday night opened.
Drese was to start Wednesday night??s game. Rodriguez gets that duty now. He??ll be showcasing the promise that the Dodgers had long seen in him. He??ll be doing so in Jacobs Field, not in Chavez Ravine.
He has a lot to showcase, though the specifics of his stuff weren??t easy to pin down.
??Know what??? pitching coach Mike Brown said. ??The first time you see him throw will be the first time I see him throw.??
Brown is looking forward to that first glimpse, too. From what he??s heard, Rodriguez comes armed with plenty of tools, including a mid-90s fastball and a competitiveness that might make him a long-term addition to the Indians rotation.
In a self-critique, Rodriguez saw much the same thing as Brown did, but the rookie right-hander wasn??t willing to go into specifics.
??That??s one thing I don??t like to talk about,?? he said. ??My thing is -- I want the people to see me out there and then they make their opinion about me.
??I don??t like to describe the kind of pitcher I am. For me, the only thing I do is work hard and do the best I can.??
If Rodriguez??s best is as advertised, it??ll be must viewing Wednesday night for fans at The Jake.
Not much to offer in response other than what I heard the radio announcers talking about yesterday. Their view was that the Tribes AAA team has four or five top line pitching prospects that were recently acquired during the fire sale, I mean rebuilding, with Rodriguez one of them. For management to select him above the others tells you that he's made good and quick progress. Of course if the other top line prospects actually blow, then one could assume so will Rodriguez.
