While it may be tempting for some fans to bid Ryan Franklin a not-so-fond farewell, I think it better to look at his time with the Cardinals as a whole. After all, the good came with the bad, and the collective sum is much more impressive than the most recent part. With that in mind, here is a statistical look at Franklin from 2007-2011.
- Record: 21-19
- ERA: 3.52
- Games: 285
- Games finished: 161
- Saves: 84
- Innings: 312 1/3
- Earned runs: 122
- Walks: 82
- Strikeouts: 198
- ERA+: 117
- WHIP: 1.242
- H/9: 8.8
- HR/9: 1.0
- BB/9: 2.4
- SO/9: 5.7
- SO/BB: 2.41
- Estimated total salary: $12.3M
At his best, he was a slam dunk closer who blew only 7 saves in 2 full seasons (2009-2010) and was an All-Star in 2009. When you consider just that alone, the $12.3M seems a pretty reasonable price to pay for a shutdown closer. He wasn’t flashy, and he didn’t throw 101 mph, but he did get the job done for an extended period of time. If you don’t mind, that’s the way I’d like to remember the guy.
TIDBIT: Imagine what the Cardinals would be willing to pay for the promise of only giving up 7 blown saves for the span of 2 full seasons now.
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I thought this quote from TLR to be the perfect postscript to this post:
“A lot of times on the negative side what you did last overwhelms what you did earlier,” La Russa said. “And that would be a shame in Ryan’s case, because he’s been outstanding for us.”
I wholeheartedly agree.
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