Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker

It's going to happen to me soon. For another player.

Wish they could all stay young and healthy forever.

11/16/2008

Free Agent Report: Pudge

Click here to see video and learn about Pudge's future....

Duquette all but says Pudge is NOT a leader.

I love how the highlight clip shows MAGGS running around the bases!! lol

Msggs can't run quite as well, but he should give us 100 RBI's again this year.

Pudge so far has no takers!

That vid sure made it look like Magglio is another Curtis!

Pudge draws Marlins' interest
Florida reportedly a suitor for veteran catcher at right price
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

MIAMI -- For the right price, the Marlins have interest in catcher Ivan Rodriguez, a league source said on Thursday.
Cost, however, is key.

The Marlins are pretty much at their budget, in the neighborhood of $33 million. Whether the club is willing to guarantee about a $1 million contract and add incentives to the deal remains to be decided.

Internally, the organization has been weighing how heavily to pursue the veteran catcher, who was a standout on the 2003 World Series championship team.

Rodriguez finished up 2008 with the Yankees, with whom he appeared in 33 games.

Pudge broke in with the Rangers in 1991, and he signed as a free agent with Florida in 2003. In his lone season with the Marlins, he appeared in 144 games and batted .297 with 16 home runs and 85 RBIs. Rodriguez was a major contributor in Florida winning the franchise's second championship.

The 18-year veteran signed with the Tigers in 2004. Now with 2,267 big league games under his belt, his skills are naturally declining.

Rodriguez, however, is regarded as having value playing two to four times a week, the league source said. The source adds that the veteran's bat speed has slowed, and his arm is not the cannon it once was, but it is still above average.

The Marlins are prepared to go into the season with John Baker as the primary catcher. Mike Rabelo, who backed up Pudge with the Tigers, is the front-runner to be the No. 2 catcher as Spring Training approaches on Feb. 14.

Rodriguez would provide a right-handed-hitting alternative to the lefty-batting Baker.
Even if they sign Rodriguez, the Marlins still anticipate Baker receiving a great deal of playing time.

With such a young pitching staff, the Marlins would like as much experience behind the plate as possible.

Well, field trips to Florida are much more appealing than New York!!!!!!!!!

Friday, February 6, 2009
Tom Gage: Covering the Bases
Team after team passes on former Tiger Pudge

He's 37 and sitting home, hoping for the phone to ring. Waiting to find out if he'll ever put on the gear in a major league game again.

At a time when pitchers and catchers are packing their bags for spring training, if indeed they aren't already there, Pudge Rodriguez is in the unique position of not having a job.

It's unique because he has always had one by now.

It's unique because someone has always wanted him.

But it's also unique because Rodriguez is coming off perhaps the most damaging blow to his reputation he has ever faced.

Being a New York Yankee -- or more precisely, flopping as a Yankee in the final two months of the 2008 season -- might have done him in.

There he was on baseball's biggest stage, and he came up empty. After the Tigers traded Rodriguez to New York for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, a deal that also didn't work out on the Tigers' end, Rodriguez hit .219.

Rodriguez hit .295 for the Tigers last season but struggled to knock in runs. Even so, the batting average indicated he had something left. So did the fact that he'd thrown out 18 of 50 runners, a better percentage than when he won his most recent Gold Glove in 2007.

The bottom hadn't fallen out yet.

But it did in New York.

Fading in pinstripes

Maybe Rodriguez was trying too hard, or was too eager to impress. We've all seen Rodriguez too eager. We've seen it in the pitches he should have taken, but swung at instead. We've seen it in his refusal to walk.

The Yankees saw that and more that produced less. In the first of his two months as a Yankee, Rodriguez hit .196. By the time September rolled around, it was apparent Rodriguez wasn't going to help them nearly as much as they wanted, needed or thought he would.

Compounding the problems at the plate were problems behind it. Rodriguez as a Yankee threw out only 7 of 27 runners. Basically, he didn't do anything as a Yankee. Now he's paying the price.

Finally showing some age, he could be done. He's a 14-time All-Star, a 13-time Gold Glover and a likely Hall of Famer, to be sure. He still wants to play, still feels he can, but general managers haven't exactly beaten a path to his door this winter.

There've been teams needing a catcher, but they've turned elsewhere, such as the Baltimore Orioles, who instead signed Gregg Zaun.

However, Rodriguez believes those overlooking him are making a mistake.

"Whoever gets me, it's going to be like hitting the lottery," Rodriguez told Danny Knobler of CBS Sports last month. "I'm back in the shape I was in 2004 (when he hit .334 in his first year as a Tiger)."

Whether he sheds weight or adds it over the winter -- he always doing one or the other -- it seems Rodriguez prides himself on his condition. There's no doubt he'll be ready to play.

But can he play?

And more than that, can he play in an affordable manner?

Adjusting to a lower tier

Rodriguez isn't accustomed to being paid anything but first-string bucks. He's made more than $115 million in his career. He hasn't made less than $6 million in any season since 1996.

Would he sign for less than that? It depends on how much he's still driven to compete. But he also has to determine just how happy he would be if a team signed him and he played less than full-time. Rodriguez is not accustomed to sitting, and there are those who think (actually, there are those who know) it wouldn't be an easy adjustment for him.

For the first time in 10 years, Rodriguez played in the Puerto Rican winter league in the offseason, hitting .370 with a home run in six games. He's also playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

If he hasn't signed with a major league team by then, his appearance in the WBC could also serve as an audition.

Will someone sign him? Will a team "hit the lottery" by signing him? Or did his final two months as a Yankee turn Pudge into too much of a gamble?

The spirit is willing, though, and his will has never been weak. Something says not to count him out.

You can reach Tom Gage at tom.gage@detnews.com

Friday, February 13, 2009
Tony Paul: Covering the Bases
What about Pudge?

Another possible landing spot for ex-Tiger Pudge Rodriguez is Houston, where it's a four-man race (with no clear favorite) for the starting catching job.

Here's the kicker that makes Rodriguez, at age 37, a seemingly good fit: The club probably only needs a one-year stop-gap until Jason Castro, 21 -- the 10th overall pick in last summer's draft -- is ready for the majors.

But like the Marlins, the other team Rodriguez has been linked to, the Astros, have little cash with which to play with, making it almost inevitable the future Hall of Famer is in for a pay cut of at least $11 million if he's to avoid early retirement.

I still say the Tigers should have signed Pudge

And it may come back to haunt them

Nice thought, but he doesn't want to come back here!

laprimamirala wrote:

Nice thought, but he doesn't want to come back here!

Which is a shame


I don't understand it either


Fans in Detroit loved Pudge

In 2005, he was on top of the Tiger heap!

Sunday, February 15, 2009
Baseball
Pudge wants to play ball, avoid past
Associated Press (from the Detroit News)

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. -- Former Tiger Pudge Rodriguez looked as feisty as ever, explaining why he's physically and mentally ready to play baseball.

The 14-time All-Star catcher, though, is still looking for a place to play.

Rodriguez said he might sign soon with the Florida Marlins, Houston Astros or New York Mets.

Or, he might need to stay patient.

"I don't know where I'm going to play, but a team is going to win the lotto when I sign," Rodriguez said Sunday night in an interview with The Associated Press. "I still feel I can play three or four more years, to be honest, because of the way I take care of myself."

The way Rodriguez took care of himself in the past has been questioned, most notably by former teammate Jose Canseco.

Rodriugez's mood changed when that subject was broached during a wide-ranging interview in his 44th-floor apartment overlooking Miami Beach.

Is the 37-year-old star known as Pudge on the list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids during baseball's 2003 survey?

"Only God knows," Rodriguez said softly.

Canseco, a former teammate in Texas, has alleged he injected the steroids into Rodriguez.

Another former teammate, Alex Rodriguez, recently said he used performance-enhancing drugs while with the Rangers.

"Alex is a great guy, he's the best player in baseball and he's going to be OK," Ivan Rodriguez said. "People don't know how hard he works."

Alex Rodriguez said the culture of the game was different when he used drugs to improve his performance.

Ivan Rodriguez begrudgingly agreed.

"It happened and everybody has to move forward," he said.

Looking back, no one can match some of feats that Ivan Rodriguez has accomplished since his career began in 1991 with the Rangers.

He is the only player in baseball history with at least 13 Gold Gloves -- earning one as recently as 2007 -- and a career .300 average or better.

He has three more Gold Gloves than Johnny Bench and almost double the total by Bob Boone, who is third on the list. Among position players, only Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson has more Gold Glove awards.

Rodriguez has caught 2,173 games, trailing only Carlton Fisk (2,226) and Boone (2,225) in terms of longevity behind the plate.

"Absolutely, I'd like to break Mr. Fisk's record," he said. "And, another goal is 3,000 hits.

"But really, my love of the game of baseball is what motivates me to work out five days a week to stay ready."

Rodriguez, who has 2,605 career hits, would likely have to play a few more seasons to join the 3,000-hit club.

And he'd have to play much better than he did last season.

Rodriguez hit .295 in 82 games last season for the Detroit Tigers, then finished with a .276 batting average after struggling at the plate with the New York Yankees.

The Tigers dealt Rodriguez, who sparked the turnaround when he signed with them in 2004 after helping Florida win the World Series, and didn't re-sign him because they didn't think he was a No. 1 catcher and knew he disagreed.

"I still think I'm an everyday catcher and that's one of the things that disappoints me when I hear people say I can't play every day or I'm a part-time player," Rodriguez said with piercing eyes as the Atlantic Ocean crashed on the beach and dusk led to orange, yellow and shades of gray to fill the sky. "People don't know how hard it was on me to go through a divorce from my wife of 15 years and how much that drained me physically and mentally.

"But now, I've been happily married for two years to a great woman, my kids are great, my ex-wife is good. I just want to play baseball because I know I have a lot left in me."

While Rodriguez can't hit like he did in the past, his play behind the plate is still strong. His caught-stealing percentage ranked third in the AL last season after ranking fifth and first the previous two years, among catchers with a minimum of 600 innings behind the plate, according to STATS.

Rodriguez is excited to play for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic next month, but he's eager to join a Major League Baseball team.

"It's hard to be sitting here at home a few days after pitchers and catchers reported," Rodriguez said. "I hear Florida, Houston and the Mets are trying to do some things to sign me.

"I would love to be with any team right now, but I can get ready quick because of the way my body and mind are prepared to play right now."

laprimamirala wrote:

In 2005, he was on top of the Tiger heap!

And 2006

"I don't know where I'm going to play, but a team is going to win the lotto when I sign,"

Thats not an ego or anything.

Naw!

LoL. I dont think we really need him, since weve got Treanor, Laird, and Dusty.

he would hafta take a huge pay cut, and he doesn't want to come back here anyway.

I don't wanna say good, but I think it is a good thing. Even though he was a fan favorite, he didn't really love the fans. Wait till he's unemployed and we're winning =]]

gdennis59 wrote:

LoL. I dont think we really need him, since weve got Treanor, Laird, and Dusty.

I hope so

I still like Pudge though

He did a lot for the Tigers

02/16/09 8:26 AM EST
Marlins still have interest in Pudge
Catcher not sure where he'll sign; Florida prepared to go with Baker

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Pudge watch continues.

The Marlins continue to discuss whether to pull the trigger on a deal to sign catcher Ivan Rodriguez. The 37-year-old is sitting back waiting for something to happen.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday night, Rodriguez noted that he has interest from the Marlins, Astros and Mets.

"I don't know where I'm going to play, but a team is going to win the lotto when I sign," Rodriguez told the AP. "I still feel I can play three or four more years, to be honest, because of the way I take care of myself."

For months, the Marlins have been going back and forth on how seriously to pursue Rodriguez. Money is the deciding factor.

Already at their payroll budget, the Marlins have not been looking to pay more than the minimum. The veteran catcher, meanwhile, is seeking around $3 million.

Rodriguez was a standout on the Marlins' 2003 World Series championship team.

He told the AP that he could either sign a contract soon, or he may sit back and wait.

The Marlins are prepared to go with John Baker at catcher. Florida's position players are slated to take their physicals on Tuesday, and the first full-squad workouts will be in the afternoon.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Egos these days...

gdennis59 wrote:

Egos these days...

Yep, even though he had a bad year last year.... and has been declining yearly, he still thinks he is as great as ever... the lotto ticket winner.

gimme somea that kool-aid everybody seems to be drinkin' nowadays!

laprimamirala wrote:

gimme somea that kool-aid everybody seems to be drinkin' nowadays!

I will stick with beer