Not such a tall order

In my continuing effort to improve as a human being and have a more positive outlook on events and developments, this is my view of the loss of Washington Nationals reliever Chad Cordero because of a torn muscle below his pitching shoulder.

The Nationals gained 11 inches in their closer role.

Jon Rauch will be the closer for the foreseeable future. Cordero will be sidelined for at least a month.

Cordero is listed at 6 feet. Rauch is the tallest pitcher in baseball history at 6-11.

Of course, as a result they lost a few inches in the setup role. Luis Ayala is 6-1, so that is a 10-inch change.

Overall, though, a one-inch gain is little difference — which may wind up being the case in the switch from Rauch to Cordero. The big man not only can fill the role but will flourish in it.

After all, if a baseball game were eight innings, Jon Rauch would have had 33 more saves last year — the number of “holds” he had when he came into the game and held the lead before Cordero entered in the ninth. He has the same velocity and control in the ninth inning that got batters out in the eighth inning.

It comes down to a mental adjustment in the role of the closer — finishing off a team. Rauch may have gotten off to a rocky start this season when he was thrust into the position when Cordero’s physical problems surfaced, but once he knew his role — being the “closer” — he has done the job.

Relief pitching is more about mental control than pitching talent. By the time most pitchers reach the major leagues, they certainly can go at least one quality inning most of the time. You watch Joel Hanrahan sometimes, and you wonder how he could not be the next Billy Wagner based on his stuff. But it requires a special level of concentration to do it consistently, to do it when the game is on the line and to leave it behind when you fail.

Rauch appears to have that concentration and consistency. Whether he can eat the failures or let them eat him still needs to be determined. Cordero has that mental teflon — the closer flaky-style mentality in which he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Rauch appears to be far more serious and intense.

Right now this is being portrayed as a temporary move. Cordero could be out until the middle of June, and he offered that it may be “early July” until he is back to his old self.

“I have all the confidence in myself to be able to get to where I was last year and the year before,” he said.

You have to wonder about Cordero’s judgment, though, based on how he struggled with his velocity throughout spring training and the beginning of this season with no real explanation from him or the club until he was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis. There may not be much confidence in his confidence these days.

“Hopefully we’ll get him good and strong, and he’ll have a strong second half for us,” general manager Jim Bowden said.

The “second half” is the kicker in that comment. Cordero likely will be with the Nationals, injured or not, through the second half of the season. The closer, who had 128 saves in just four major league seasons, was considered attractive trade bait last season.

Cordero likely would have been a trade target again this July because he will earn $6.2 million this year — as the highest paid player on the team, he takes up more than 10 percent of the Nationals’ entire payroll — and would be arbitration eligible for much more next year if he had been the Cordero of old.

His status certainly will create a lot of second guessing about whether Bowden should have traded Cordero in July — whether he was holding out for too much value and taking a gamble that has backfired in the process. But you can’t trade players on whether you think they will be hurt. Cordero had been durable in his young career with no indication he suddenly would break down like this.

Now the ball — and the game — will go into Jon Rauch’s hands for the foreseeable future. This should be a source of comfort for Nationals fans, based on what Cordero told The Washington Times about Rauch in spring training.

“It’s real comforting when he comes into a game,” Cordero said. “I know whenever we have a lead going into the eighth, it’s a great feeling.”

Why can’t it feel just as great going into the ninth?