Fernando Mania?

I was supposed to post a Michael Brantley custom this morning, but recent actions have required me to get this 'Fernando Rodney as a Twin' custom out of my system before it comes anymore outdated. And naturally, this gives me the opportunity to talk about two pressing matters.

Firstly...Fernando Rodney, as beloved as he is, may be one of the more inconsistent closers in recent memory. He's just insanely streaky. He'll be an All Star one season, blowing 10 saves the next season. And yet, he's 41, he's still employed by a major league roster, AND he just got traded to the Oakland Athletics, a team that's making a run at the playoffs. Rodney, so far this year, is working with a 3 ERA, 25 saves, and 6 blown saves. That's not THE WORST numbers he's done, as he had 7 blown saves in a half-year with Seattle in 2015, but at least here, you can tell that the problem is less Rodney and more his team. The Twins have been disappointing this season, and especially now that they've lost a lot of their better players, Rodney's been finding it more difficult to keep leads without his team blowing it.

He's also a 41-year-old closer, with a tendency to blow saves. So...Craig Kimbrel he is not. In fact, in a MATTER OF DAYS, I bet Kimbrel is gonna lap Rodney as the active saves leader. Rodney will likely be working long relief in Oakland, setting up Blake Treinen, so...I don't think he'll be saving many games. Meanwhile, Kimbrel is at 324 career saves, 1 less than Rodney, and...Kimbrel is not 41 and setting up Blake Treinen, so it's gonna happen.

Also, let's talk about the A's for a moment. In the past week, they've traded for Mike Fiers from Detroit, Shawn Kelley from Washington, and now they've traded for Rodney. They also traded for Jeurys Familia a little while ago. They currently have a stranglehold on the second Wild Card spot, which is very hard to believe, considering that they started the season in 4th place. Yes, Seattle could still steal it, but...Seattle's been on the downslope in the last few weeks, and didn't make as many deadline moves as the A's did.

The A's augmented an already strong team, and they've been absolutely solid since the ASG break. They're also one of the most HR-friendly rosters not named the Yankees, which is nice. Even with the inconsistency of Fernando Rodney, I still think the A's are gonna go on a tear. Which is a nice phrase to say in 2018.

Coming Tonight: Speaking of closers, the guy responsible for saving games in Pittsburgh. The offensive has gone down a bit since last month, but that isn't stopping them from fighting.