Coffee Is for Closers

Washington Nationals closer Chad Cordero is on fire!

From ESPN:

Cordero earned his 15th save in June to tie a major league record set by Lee Smith in 1993 and matched by John Wetteland in 1996. Cordero wiggled out of a second-and-third, no-outs jam in the ninth inning for his 25th straight save and major league-leading 28th overall. He retired Ryan Doumit on a routine fly with the bases loaded for the final out.

Now, my admiration for Boston Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield has been well-documented in this blog, including here and here. But I gotta say that Cordero, a Cal State Fullerton grad, has been mighty impressive. Roger and I caught a recent save that was "typical Cordero".

According to the Washington Post's Tom Boswell:

[With last night's save against the Pirates,] Cordero completed a perfect and amazing month of June in which he had an ERA of 0.00, walked only one batter unintentionally and tied the major league record for saves in one month with 15. Only Lee Smith, the all-time saves leader, and former Yankee John Wetteland ever saved 15 in a month.

... Right now, the only thing in baseball more unexpected than Cordero's sudden stardom may be his team's first-place play. ... In the past 32 days, the Nats have gone 23-6, transforming themselves from a losing team (24-25) into the talk of the sport. In that span, Cordero has saved 18 games, including 11 by one run: 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 2-1, 4-3, 2-1, 3-2, 1-0, 5-4, 2-1, 3-2.

Read that again: June ERA 0.00

Here is my favorite part of the Boswell article:

... Back in May the Nationals were invisible nationally. ... [Now] the odds on the Nats to win the NL East - perhaps the toughest division in the sport - are down to 3 to 1. Chew on that with breakfast.

I don't know if it's the toughest division in the sport, but I like the way that man writes. And he certainly has a lot to write about these days with that little team that plays at RFK.