K-Rod Is Butter On A Roll

By picking up his 30th save of the season Sunday night, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim closer Francisco Rodriguez widened the gap between first and second place in saves in all of baseball. Baltimore's George Sherrill is second in the majors with 25 saves. The fact that Rodriguez is mowing down hitters is not surprising since he has at least 40 saves a season for the past three years. However, K-Rod could set a new Major League record for saves in a single season as he is on pace for 64 saves. If Rodriguez can reach that mark, it would shatter Bobby Thigpen's mark of 57 saves in 1990.

Rodriguez has been downright filthy this season. He has converted 30 out of 32 saves, and has recorded a save in 65% of the Angels wins so far this season. Opponents are hitting just .178 off of him (1.18 WHIP), and although Rodrigues is not close to striking out the number of hitters he normally does (career K/9 of 11.52), he is still averaging a respectable 7.94 K/9. K-Rod's ERA has summed up his dominance so far, as it is a tiny 2.12. Without him, it is safe to say the Angels would be nowhere close to having the best record in the American League at 46-30.

If the Angels can keep winning, Rodriguez could end up being baseball's new single season saves leader. As of now, he is more than halfway there. Winning could also mean more good consequences for the Angels. By having K-Rod lurking in the ninth inning could help the Angels finally reach their goal of reaching the World Series. For now K-Rod will just do what he does best and shut down opposing teams in the ninth inning. His ninth inning magic could make it a special year for the Angels.