The pitching held up again Wednesday night in Wrigley Field. That's no easy feat. Johnny Cueto was as good as ever, incredible, not enough can be said about his performance. But do not overlook the job being performed by the back end of the bullpen. It was Weathers in the 8th and Cordero in the 9th. Cordero picked up his 6th save in 6 opportunities this season, and his 100th save in the National League. Cordero is the 11th pitcher in Major League history to reach 100 saves in both the National and American Leagues. (117 in the A.L.)
More importantly is the way Cordero caps a devastating late inning parade of relief pitchers. Arthur Rhodes has not allowed a run yet this season, Weathers has been better than good, and Cordero has been a rock in the 9th. Too many times in the last several seasons the Reds have seen late inning leads get blown up by an inconsistent and young bullpen. That's no longer the case with these three veterans with late inning, high pressure experience.
I was on board with bringing Weathers back in the off season because of his leadership qualities and calming effect on younger guys. He's a been there-done that kind of guy. I really felt by the end of last season Cordero was a luxury the Reds could not afford. Teams with as many holes as the Reds appeared to have at the time don't need to spend $46 million over 4 years on a closer. But with the way the Reds are set up this year, Cordero could prove to be the hammer the Reds need to win games like the 3-0 affair Wednesday night against the Cubs. A very, very, expensive hammer, but a very, very useful one for a run-challenged team with good pitching.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment