FRANCISCO CORDERO PAGE
Francisco Cordero #31 closer

Born: Aug 11, 1977  Dominican Republic
Height:6'2"  Weight 200
MLB Debut: Aug 2, 1999
Contract Status: Signed through 2006
2005 Season
Somewhat dissapointing from their amazing 2004 season 2005 was full of letdowns and this included Fransicisco Cordero.  Although there is still no question whatsover that he is the Texas Rangers closer he just didnt have a good year.  The bullpen fell apart early in the year and Cordero hardly ever got the save oppurtunites he did in 2004.  He still managed to get 37 saves, 6th in the American Leauge.  The 2005/2006 offseason has landed the Rangers with a whole lot of new pitchers and the bullpen should be back to great form, look for a big season out of this all-star closer.

2006 Outlook
Cordero signed a multiyear extension with the Rangers in 2004, and providing he's healthy, he'll be the closer for the foreseeable future. And that's as it should be. In less than three full seasons as the Rangers' closer, he's evolved into one of the top two or three closers in the AL.  Look for this trend to continue.
Pitching
Cordero's fastball, which jets up to 98 MPH, is what always has made him a scout's favorite. What's made him a dominant big league pitcher, though, is his evolving command of a tight slider. He made huge strides with it in 2003, and it looked simply unhittable for most of 2004. He could throw it in any count, and that kept hitters from picking up any significant trends. Because of it, he's averaged better than a strikeout per inning over the last two years.
CARLI   OS  TAKE--

  Coco, very crisp, very good for ya, has a nice ring to it, no I don't mean Coco Crisp the Cereal or Coco Puffs, this is Francisco Coco Cordero, the Texas Rangers All-Star closer.  And he has proven it too, in recent memory, this guy was basically unhittable, no one cought up to his blazing fastball or his breaking strike-em-out pitch on the inside corner. Cordero made a run of just racking up save after save after save, you get what I mean.  This season, he's adding yet another career out of what he has right now, still throwing the fastball, and I do mean fast, and he's still throwing the breaking ball and a few other pitches in there as well. My take, he's gonna continue to impress ESPN, impress Buck Showalter, impress the media (excluding ESPN) and many many others.  He had 49 saves two years ago, he's got his bullpen back so whenever the Rangers have the lead and they call on Coco, you can pretty much go ahead and tally up another win for the rangers and a save for Mr.Cordero.
Season-  Saves- 0   ERA- 0.00    K's-0
Career-  Saves- 111  ERA- 3.26   K's-358
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