Francisco Rodriguez

Former Angels star and current Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez was arrested in September on a domestic violence complaint that involved his girlfriend, a prosecuter said Saturday. Rodriguez has not yet been charged and any charges that might occur will be misdemanors, according to an email sent by Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel. Deputies responded to a 911 call from Rodriguez's girlfriend, with whom he lives inWales, Wis.,  along with their child, Schimel said.

PROSPER, Texas -- As Torii Hunter reflected on his five seasons with the Angels - a span in which he hit .286 with 105 homers and 432 runs batted in - two events, an individual accomplishment and a team achievement, stood out. The first came at the end of his first week as an Angel, on April 7, 2008, when Hunter hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and followed Francisco Rodriguez's blown save in the top of the ninth with a walk-off grand slam...

Reporting from Baltimore — Francisco Rodriguez was hurt by the placement of his hand. Then he was stung by the location of a pitch. By the time the Angels reliever completed a disastrous sixth inning Tuesday night at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Orioles had scored four runs on the way to a come-from-behind 6-3 victory. Rodriguez went into the game with the Angels holding a one-run lead and Ty Wigginton on first base after drawing a one-out walk against starter Trevor Bell . But before his second pitch to Luke Scott , Rodriguez pointed to his eyes with the ball in his right hand because he was apparently having trouble seeing catcher Mike Napoli's signs.

Former Angels star and current Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez was arrested in September on a domestic violence complaint that involved his girlfriend, a prosecuter said Saturday. Rodriguez has not yet been charged and any charges that might occur will be misdemanors, according to an email sent by Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel. Deputies responded to a 911 call from Rodriguez's girlfriend, with whom he lives inWales, Wis.,  along with their child, Schimel said.

He was a rookie in his first major league spring training camp. He didn't speak English. Who was Francisco Rodriguez to question what was written on the bulletin board inside the Angels' clubhouse in Tempe, Ariz.? Scheduled to pitch one inning that day in 2006 for the Angels against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale: Francisco Rodriguez. Looking at the name, Rodriguez was confused. After all, he had pitched three innings the previous day. That meant he was supposed to have the following day off. But there was no way he was going to say anything about it. "You know how the Latino player is, kind of shy when they don't speak the language," he said.

As a boy growing up in Venezuela, Francisco Rodriguez played baseball because he enjoyed it. Then he got good at it. Really good. And as a result, he says, baseball's not so much fun anymore. "It's not sad," he says, looking sad. "But it makes you realize a lot of things." It made Rodriguez realize that, at the major league level, baseball is a business, not a game. Made him realize that loyalty doesn't always follow a player from the field into contract talks.

Graciano Ravelo's baseball school is a long, long way from the pristine diamonds of Edison Field and PacBell Park. It is a patch of yellow dirt enclosed by a rusty chain-link fence. Towering concrete apartments squeeze from all sides. Busted cars, drunks and dog waste fill the cracked asphalt parking lot.

Rookie Everth Cabrera hit a grand slam in the ninth inning off closer Francisco Rodriguez to give the San Diego Padres a 6-2 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night. Cabrera, who struck out three times, connected on a 3-and-2 pitch from Rodriguez (2-3) into the right-field stands to give the Padres their 11th win over New York in 14 games. The Padres tied the game in the ninth at 2-2 after Kyle Blanks led off with a walk and scored on fellow rookie Will Venable's double into the right-field corner off Rodriguez.

It was completely out of, well, left field. Instead of letting Peter Bourjos replace lumbering left fielder Juan Rivera, the Angels on Tuesday inserted the speedy 23-year-old prospect in center field, where they happened to have a nine-time Gold Glove winner. But Torii Hunter fully endorsed a move in which the All-Star center fielder will start in right field and Bobby Abreu will play left for the foreseeable future, saying it was his decision to help change the Angels' sagging fortunes.

Eric Gagne's fastball hit 98 mph during the peak of his Cy Young Award-winning 2003 season, but it was his 84-mph changeup, which had the look of a fastball but was equipped with rip cord and parachute, that made the Dodger closer so devastating.

Torii Hunter remembers the scene in the Metrodome clubhouse on Oct. 5, 2002, when the Minnesota Twins watched on television as shortstop David Eckstein caught Nick Johnson's popup to close the Angels' 9-5 American League division series-clinching victory over the New York Yankees. "We were all jumping up and down because we thought, 'Yeah, we're going to get the Angels!" said Hunter, the former Twins center fielder who is now in his fifth year with the Angels. "The Yankees owned us in the playoffs, and we had done pretty well against the Angels that year.

SEATTLE -- The term "closer by committee" is usually a misnomer, a phrase managers use when their struggling ninth-inning specialist is demoted and there is no other reliever in the bullpen dominant enough to fill the role. But when Manager Mike Scioscia uses the term these days, it might actually be true, which is stunning considering the state of his bullpen in April, when the Angels blew six of their first seven save opportunities and had only one reliable reliever, veteran left-hander Scott Downs . The arrival of Ernesto Frieri , who was acquired from San Diego for two minor leaguers on May 3, and a return to form by Jordan Walden , who lost his closing job to Downs on April 27, has changed everything.

MILWAUKEE — The Dee Gordon effect was evident in the eighth inning Wednesday night, as Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez could attest. With the score tied and Gordon having just stolen second base, Rodriguez spun three times and threw behind Gordon to second baseman Rickie Weeks, just to keep the speedy Gordon — the potential go-ahead run — closer to the bag. Milwaukee defeated the Dodgers, 3-2, in 10 innings, but the moment reaffirmed how Gordon's blazing speed can rattle opposing teams, and why it's crucial to the Dodgers' hopes this season that Gordon, their leadoff batter, get on base.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. — For much of the Angels' success from 2002 to 2009, when they reached the playoffs six times and won a World Series, their bullpen offered the security of a maximum-security prison on lockdown. Whether it was Francisco Rodriguez to Brendan Donnelly to Troy Percival, or Donnelly to Scot Shields to Rodriguez, or Darren Oliver to Shields to Rodriguez, Manager Mike Scioscia's key relievers routinely held late-inning leads. But sometime in 2010 — or maybe it was the end of 2009, when closer Brian Fuentes threw an ill-fated up-and-away fastball that Alex Rodriguez drove for a pivotal 11th-inning home run in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium — the back of the Angels' bullpen, so sturdy for so long, began to buckle.

More deals brewing? The Milwaukee Brewers got a big jump on the rest of baseball when they traded for New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez nearly three weeks before the trade deadline. Don't expect the Brewers to stop there. With MVP candidate Prince Fielder unlikely to be back after this season, the Brewers are under pressure to win now and will probably continue tinkering with their roster in an effort to make that happen. One preseason trade that's gone all but overlooked has contributed mightily to making the Brewers contenders.

It was the thrill of a lifetime for Tyler Chatwood to stand on the Angel Stadium mound Monday night, with dozens of family members and friends in the house, an experience the 21-year-old right-hander described as "great, awesome. " There was one little problem, though. "I couldn't feel my body in that first inning," Chatwood said after his major league debut. "There's a lot of adrenaline going through you. You try to control it. " By the time Chatwood found his bearings, the Cleveland Indians had scored four runs and hit two home runs in the first two innings.

Francisco Rodriguez capped a spectacular month Monday by pitching 2 2/3 innings of perfect relief, and his resurgence has moved him back into the Angels' mix of setup men for closer Troy Percival. Rodriguez compiled a 1.15 earned-run average in 10 June appearances, lowering his season ERA from 4.85 to 3.46. The right-hander has not given up a run in 8 1/3 innings dating to June 16.

The new president of Panama met with government officials to start forming a Cabinet after calling for better U.S. ties. However, provisional President Francisco Rodriguez ruled out elections until Washington lifts economic sanctions. In a speech before his first day in office, Rodriguez said he will lead Panama to "a new democracy as soon as American aggression ceases and the funds arbitrarily withheld by the United States government are returned."

Angels 7, Arizona 2 AT THE PLATE: More than half of the Angels' 10 hits were for extra bases in the team's most one-sided win of the spring. One of their six doubles came from Bobby Abreu, who keyed a four-run third inning with a two-run hit. Vernon Wells followed a batter later with a two-run double of his own. Torii Hunter, two for 10 coming in, had a double and a single in three at-bats. The Angels also stole three bases, giving them 17 in 19 tries. ON THE MOUND: Jered Weaver, the Angels' probable opening day starter, gave up three hits but struck out three in three innings.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. ? It began with Troy Percival , who passed the baton to Francisco Rodriguez , who passed it to Brian Fuentes , who passed it to ? To be determined. Since he took over as Angels manager in 2000, Mike Scioscia has entered every season knowing exactly who his closer is, but that is not the case this spring. Scioscia made it clear Tuesday that Fernando Rodney , who had a 5.65 earned-run average and four blown saves after replacing Fuentes for the last month of 2010, is not his clear-cut closer entering 2011.