How many games will K-Rod finish next season?

[batmagadanleadoff]

How many games will K-Rod finish next season? He needs to finish 55 games for his 2012 $17.5M contract to vest. The Mets have a vested interest in preventing this, not only because it makes financial sense to them, but also to increase their chances of trading him. What team in their right mind would trade for K-Rod if he's on pace for 55 finishes?


I say 49 games.

[metirish]

51


what would be considered average for him?

Would MLB suspect collusion by the Mets here is he got close but didn't get the required #?

[Vic Sage]

you can't collude with yourself.

me: do you think we should screw K-Rod?
myself: Absolutely!
I: Me, too!

[Vic Sage]

Sandy should let him get no further than 54... release him, if necessary.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It really could be that simple. What could the Mets be accused of? Releasing a player because they don't want to have to pay him? That's totally legitimate.

Where that can go wrong is if the Mets are contending and they feel that losing Rodriguez could hurt their pennant push. I think it's unlikely, however, that the Mets will have this problem.

[Ceetar]

It depends on how big a deal the Mets consider it, and if they're in it.

There's a lot that goes unsaid that we'll likely never know. Supposedly K-Rod likes to work regularly, but is that just a way to get his option to vest? Manuel never took the guy out, even after he'd blown a save. Will the new guy adhere to the 'get back on the horse' philosophy or when he blows one and they need another pitcher will he (or she) make a move?

Sometimes you get into 'big games' where you're tempted to bring in the closer for a 4-run lead.

The biggest swing decision will probably be the 'closer on the road' thing of tie games. if the new guy is going to hold out K-Rod for if/when they get a lead, it's more likely than if he pitches the 9th or 10th of the tie game.

[batmagadanleadoff]

You expectin' a woman manager?

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

63

He redeems himself by returning with something to prove, and makes us proud to have him in our uniform. Bite me, Mariano, you're the second-best closer in New York.

[HahnSolo]

He finished how many games this year, 46? And that was in an injury shortened year where there were not that many save opportunities. If the Mets expect to be decent next year, then they can expect to have plenty of opportunities to save games, meaning I expect KRod to be over the 55 games finished mark.

I also think that with Beltran, Castillo, and Perez coming off the books, the bump in KRod's contract from 11 mill to 17 mill will be easier to swallow.

Having said all that, I hope he never pitches another game for the Mets.

[G-Fafif]

The Cult of the Closer received quite a boost from the performance (in more ways than one) of Brian Wilson in this World Series.

[Centerfield]

What does finishing a game mean?

Does that mean, he's the last pitcher on the mound? (save, walk-off loss)

Or does that mean he's the last pitcher for the Mets? As in he pitches the top of the ninth, then the Mets win it in the bottom?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that it means he's the last pitcher for the Mets. Each game has two finishing pitchers, just like it has two starting pitchers.

[Theoldmole]

What does vesting mean?

[Guest Edgy DC]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: 63 He redeems himself by returning with something to prove, and makes us proud to have him in our uniform. Bite me, Mariano, you're the second-best closer in New York.

How he can redeem himself is giving a ton of money to the Fred Wilpon Home for Abused Elders and makes sure his wifeling and her father live like royalty ever after without ever having to see him again.

[batmagadanleadoff]

TheOldMole wrote: What does vesting mean?

It's the act of putting on a sleeveless garment.

Or, in this context, the clause in K-Rod's contract that entitles him to receive $17.5M as compensation for the 2012 season will have vested when he reaches 55 "finishes" for the 2011 season. The Mets obligation to pay K-Rod $17.5M in 2012 is conditional, and predicated on the number of games K-Rod finishes. If K-Rod finishes less than 55 games in 2011, the clause will not have vested and the Mets would not be obligated to pay him $17.5M in 2012.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/vest.html

[batmagadanleadoff]

In light of yesterday's news, I'm doubling down on the under 55 on this one.

[Willets Point]

0

Inspired by Gil Meche, he returns all his salary to the Mets on the condition it's used to upgrade the offense. He spends the season meditating at an ashram at hopes of becoming a better person.

[Ceetar]

I don't think Frankie's as lazy as Meche.

I'm sticking with 65.

[Gwreck]

Ceetar wrote: as lazy as Meche

That's a strange definition of "lazy" that you've got there.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Ceetar wrote: as lazy as Meche That's a strange definition of "lazy" that you've got there.

Nah, he said himself his heart wasn't in it to rehab

[Guest Edgy DC]

If I'm lazy, I think $12 million to get my shoulder repaired and rehabbing it with just enough wholeheartedness to be healthy enough to play after my contract runs out --- well, that's easy money for my lazy self.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: 63 He redeems himself by returning with something to prove, and makes us proud to have him in our uniform.

Yeah, no.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"That's the best darn douchebag I've ever met. I'm proud he's dating my daughter. I'm proud he's pitching for my tea... Ow, stop hitting me, you stupid douchebag!"

Easy to forget in the face of the fight and arrest --- the sort of moment of douchebaggery that eclipses others ---- is how much other crap has gone down in this guy's brief tenure. And that's just the crap we know of.

And not to hit the point too hard, but with the culture of the modern closer --- with the pampering and the pimping, and the heavy metal and the looking the other way --- we help make these fucking monsters.

[Fman99]

54 games and then he gets mysteriously beaten in an alley in Yonkers. And I am conveniently 200 miles away, with relatives, and an airtight alibi.

[Gwreck]

Ceetar wrote: Ceetar wrote: as lazy as Meche That's a strange definition of "lazy" that you've got there. Nah, he said himself his heart wasn't in it to rehab

That's not what he said. The accurate quote is "If it�s not in my heart to keep playing, to keep pushing to pitch, I had to do what I had to do."
I guess you can spin that as "laziness" but it's a strange definition, particularly when considering -- as he so clearly did -- both the money he had already made and the likelihood (ie. low) of him ever being an effective major league pitcher again.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: In light of yesterday's news, I'm doubling down on the under 55 on this one.

Que?

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: In light of yesterday's news, I'm doubling down on the under 55 on this one. Que?

Jamon con huevos. La cucaracha.

�Que que?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Yesterday's news?" About Rocky Ball-Throwa?

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: "Yesterday's news?" About Rocky Ball-Throwa?

Yesterday's news about Fred Will-Ponzi.

[smg58]

It depends on how well the Mets are doing. I don't see anybody forcing him out of the closer's role like Benitez did to Franco in 99, although I'm hoping to be wrong. Otherwise, sabotaging a pennant run just to keep a contract from vesting would be a tough sell to the fans regardless of what the union thinks.