MVN: Most Valuable Network

After Raul Ibanez swung through a vintage Francisco Rodriguez breaking ball for strike three, the talented kid they call K-Rod dropped to his knees to relish in his record-breaking 58th save.

Bobby Thigpen's record held up over 18 seasons, and in doing so established itself as one of those feats likely to stay on the books.

But Rodriguez racked up save after save over his 64 innings, missing out on only six occasions. Unlike Thigpen, he has not pitched more than an inning at any time this season. Thigpen pitched in the day when closers might be asked to throw two innings to get the save (though Mariano Rivera still manages that from time to time).

Rodriguez benefits from pitching in front of a usually strong bullpen that pitches in front of a usually strong starting rotation. The starters often go into the sixth of seventh, allowing manager Mike Scioscia to set up his late-inning guys just the way he wants them.

But no matter how you slice the numbers, Rodriguez comes away with the biggest piece of all. And, with free agency just over the horizon, K-Rod will very likely use this new record -- which will surely grow over the rest of the regular season -- to ride off into the sunset with a very fat wallet.

Rodriguez has already said that he will enter free agency and see what the market will pay him. He'll find that the few teams that could afford him (both New York teams and the Cubs, to name a few) have closers and may not want to spend that kind of money.

However, when it comes to landing a player of this caliber, a team just might be willing to bet the bank.

It's unlikely the Angels will enter a protracted bidding war for Frankie, especially with Mark Teixeira, Garret Anderson, John Garland, and Juan Rivera hitting the market. There is only so much money to play with, even with Arte Moreno signing the checks and the possibility of a financial largess in October very real.

Congratulations to Francisco Rodriguez and the Angels. This is a great way to wind down the regular season and prepare for the playoffs. Whatever happens this winter, it was a great addition to Angels history.