|
2008 Clint Hurdle issued the fourth most intentional walks in the majors last year, which means you have to consider the IBB column when evaluating his pitchers. Nearly 40 percent of Lopez's 21 walks allowed were intentional, meaning his true K/BB ratio was better than 3-to-1, and his walk rate was below two per nine innings. That would have been a nice hook for his free agent pitch this winter, but two surgeries on his arm-to repair a torn flexor tendon and his ulnar collateral ligament-will keep him out until 2009. 2007 Lopez led the AL in earned runs allowed last year, joining past winners such as Jose Lima, Sidney Ponson, and Tanyon Sturtze. When the slider doesn`t bite anymore, you`ve got problems; when you`ve always relied on it as your out-pitch, those problems potentially become career-ending. 2006 Although on the one hand it looks like Lopez has followed an up-down pattern for the last four years, his peripheral ERAs over that time have all been between 4.30 and 4.90. Fundamentally, he`s an average pitcher, reliant on off-speed stuff and heavily dependent on location. That isn`t all bad, of course. Often it`s quite handy. 2005 The Orioles elected to start 2004 with a young rotation that included rookies Ainsworth, Bedard, and Riley, with Rodrigo Lopez left in the bullpen. With some grumbling, Lopez did his job, first becoming their best reliever, then stepping into the rotation when injuries hit to become their best starter. Back on the mound at the start of games, his performance was reminiscent of his almost-Rookie of the Year 2002 season. He won't have to grouse this spring; Lopez and Ponson are the only two starters who can comfortably claim to be starting in Baltimore in '05. 2003 It is certainly possible that the Orioles’ late swoon cost Lopez the Rookie of the Year award. However, he was part of the problem down the stretch, going 1–4 with a 5.80 ERA after going 14–5, 3.36 beforehand. More basically, where did he come from? Mexico, and no, that’s not a joke. San Diego released him after an injury-plagued 2001, even though he’d pitched well at Portland. He then had one of the best Winter League seasons of 2001, going 10–2 for Culiacan in the Mexican Pacific League, which doesn’t reflect his 5–0 record in the playoffs. In all, Lopez threw about 110 innings in winter ball, followed by 197 more in the 2002 season, and simply wore out. He’s not supposed to pitch for Culiacan this year, although he did pitch for the All-Star team in Japan. 2001 Rodrigo Lopez took a couple of turns through the revolving door before getting booted, and he wasn’t really successful. Then again, we’re talking about three games, including one in which he pitched well and another in which a bunch of guys hit seeing-eye grounders and soft drives that fell in front of charging outfielders. Having to evaluate pitchers on the fly is a tough job.
|