Francisco Rodriguez may be setting up for the Brewers, but he hasn’t given up closing.
Nor, shockingly, has he ruled out pitching again for the Mets.
“I understand this is a business,” Rodriguez said. “They did what they needed to do and feel what they need to early in the year to trade me, [but] the door is still open. I’m not the type of person that is going to burn bridges and say, ‘No, I’m not coming to this place because they traded me’ or whatever.
“I’m open-minded and open to come here to New York once again in the future.”
Rodriguez made headlines last August when he punched the grandfather of his children inside the family room at Citi Field and tore thumb ligaments that forced him to miss the remainder of the season. He was fined, suspended and ordered to undergo anger management counseling. Rodriguez said yesterday he expected he might get traded by the Mets, but thought it would be closer to the July 31 non-waiver deadline than it proved to be.
Rodriguez held court in the visitors’ dugout at Citi Field last night before the Brewers’ 6-1 victory — his first game against the Mets since being traded to Milwaukee minutes after the end of last month’s All-Star Game. He said he did not blame the Mets for not being able to come to an agreement with his representative about eliminating his $17.5 million vesting option.
“Both sides tried to do it,” Rodriguez said of the option that would have kicked in for 2012 if he finished 55 games this season and which the Brewers paid him $500,000 to get rid of, making him a free agent at the end of this season. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done. I felt it was becoming a distraction.”
And Rodriguez, who saved 83 games in his 2½ seasons with the Mets, including 23 this season before the trade, had some advice for the Mets and his potential replacement, Bobby Parnell.
“The kid has great stuff,” Rodriguez said of the hard-throwing but inconsistent righty. “Unfortunately, he’s not getting the job done. He’s leaving the ball up. He’s not making quality pitches when he needs to, so he’s getting hit around.”
Nevertheless, Rodriguez said he believes the Mets should keep using Parnell as their closer.
“The only way to find out if he’s capable of doing it in the ninth inning is to throw him out there,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a tough situation to let him get experience, but that’s the only way to find out if he’s capable to do it or not. He has the tools, he has the mentality. He has to get mean and bust people in and get a little angry out there.”
When that message was relayed to Parnell, he smiled and said: “He’s been telling me that for a while.”
Rodriguez said he still is dealing with his own transition from closer in Flushing to setup man in Milwaukee.
“I have not accepted it yet,” he said. “I’m still trying to make that transition as far as preparation. People say it’s three outs, but in the eighth it’s not the same as far as preparation. . . . I’m not used to it.”
He will likely have to get used to it — at least in the short term.
“When I came [to Milwaukee], I was told I was closing, but [closer John Axford] has been terrific” said Rodriguez, who was 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 14 appearances with his new team as play began last night. “I wish I had a crystal ball to let me know what’s going to happen two or three months from now. I’ll be a free agent and I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I can just sit tight and wait and see what happens.”
Rodriguez said he intends to be a closer for whatever team he signs with and is not concerned his current foray into setting up will hurt his value.
“I did it for so many years by now that teams would know what I’m capable of doing,” he said.