RMJ 174 August 8

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 ● New York, vs Mets

I alarmed myself awake at 9 a.m. because I had a message to call Gerry. He is in town now, and I thought he might have something important to tell me – like, we had made a deal, or he wanted to bring up another outfielder.

It was only about pitching: whether to bring up Hudek and send Lima through outright waivers, in which case we might lose him. We agreed to talk to Vern about it.

 

I got a muffin and some coffee and came back upstairs to write. I called Judy, but she wasn’t home. I looked at the box scores for prospects — otherwise known as suspects in this business.

I watched a little ESPN and it occurred to me that they were running a special on me when we were in Miami on Monday, right at the start of the losing streak. It also occurred to me that Rick and Susan had abandoned their vigil by the television in Oxnard, selfishly seeking their own pleasure at Hanalai Bay.

The ESPN jinx should fade fast. But if this is because of Rick and Susan, well, they have their own place there. And they are planning to stay for six weeks. I hope this doesn’t get so bad that I have to request their return to mainland duty.

 

The Mets kicked our butts 6-1 tonight. They routed Shane Reynolds and shut us down with their fifth starter, Brian Bohanon. I’m happy for him; he pitched a good game. I know he’ll have bragging rights this winter, when he tells his friends how he struck out Jeff Bagwell.

Bagwell is in a major slump now. I fear the team is looking into his bewildered eyes and they are losing faith. If we can’t win without Bagwell, we can’t win with him. I know that doesn’t make sense, but think about it:

It’s not like the Rockets with Hakeem Olajuwon; we can’t go to Bagwell every inning when he gets hot. We have to wait for him to come up to bat.

In baseball, you need stars, but you can’t go all the way without a good supporting cast.

 

The Mets made a major trade today to shore up their bullpen. They gave up a lot in futures, but they addressed a current need, picking up Turk Wendell and Mel Rojas from the Cubs.

They are only a few games behind the Marlins now. We could see them again in October; you never know.  

I’ve always felt a certain sense of rivalry with the Mets, because of the early days. They came into the league the same time we did: 1962. That was back when I was getting started as a pitcher.

The Mets have had some glory years; we have not. Though we have beaten them in the all-time series, they won the only series anyone will remember: the 1986 LCS. They won the World Series that year; we have never been to the World Series.  We haven’t even been in the playoffs since we lost to the Mets.

 

On the way back from the ballpark, Gerry and I talked about Shane Reynolds. It seemed like the Mets were hitting some pretty good pitches: splitters and curve balls around the knees.

“I just wonder if it’s a velocity thing,” Gerry said. “He just doesn’t seem to be throwing hard enough.”

“I actually thought he was throwing harder tonight,” I said. “But I agree with you. It wasn’t his fastball that beat him; it was the offspeed pitches. But it still comes back to the fastball. They didn’t seem to respect his fastball. They just sat on the splitter and curve, and figured they could fight the fastball off.”

“I’m going to get some readings from last year,” Gerry said. “Then we can see if he’s lost velocity, or if it is just location.”

I think it is a little of both.

Tonight, he started getting defensive when they hit him.  After that, it was all over. He was behind in the count constantly, pitching without confidence.

 

Billy Wagner came in to finish up tonight. I hate to use him in a losing game, for two reasons: First, if he happens to get hit, it might affect his confidence. Second, he throws so many pitches per inning that he may not be at full strength tomorrow.

I told Vern to get Martin ready.

“I’m not going to let him go more than 20 pitches,” I said.

It took Billy 22 pitches to get them out. At least he put a zero on the board. The only hit was a single on a curve ball by Rey Ordoñez.

It baffles me that so many hitters are able to handle his curve. Not that it’s the greatest curve in the world, but with a 98 MPH fastball, any curve should do.

I made a mental note to have Gene Coleman check the records to see what the league is hitting against his curve and his fastball. We have encouraged him to throw more curves, and I wonder if we are missing something.

 

When I got back to the hotel, I called Vern. We talked about Shane. Vern said he was throwing 87-89 MPH tonight, which is adequate. Vern thinks it’s a matter of pitching inside more often. If he can make the hitter think quick he can get him out with slow. If he stays away with his fastball, there is no reason for the hitter to think quick.

On Wagner, I suggested to Vern that we call Nolan Ryan when we get home. Early in his career, Nolan had the same kinds of struggles that Billy is having now. Perhaps Nolan has noticed something in Billy’s delivery, or he can say something to Billy about the mental side of the game.

It’s not an emergency situation, but in Billy’s role, he needs to be more efficient with his pitches, so that I can use him more often.

I had one closing thought for Vern to consider:

“Who is the only other lefthanded pitcher who can throw as hard as Billy?” I asked.

“Randy Johnson.” he said.

“Where is his arm slot?”

“A little to the side.”

“What type of breaking ball does he use?”

“Kind of a slurve, or a big slider.”

“This is my point,” I said.

“Billy has to cast his curve up in order for it to come down in the strike zone. The hitters might be able to ‘read’ it early, for that reason. If he threw a faster pitch that sweeps across the zone like Johnson’s does, it would probably come out of his hand at the same angle as the fastball. It may be harder for the hitters to read.”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me about that,” he said. “I have had those same thoughts — all the way back to winter ball. But we have to think about what is going to be best for Billy and the team.”

Reading between the lines, I knew that Vern was thinking that a slider or slurve-type pitch might be hard on his elbow. I know; I have the elbow to prove it. But I also know that it would be an easier pitch to master than the curve.

We’re going to work with Billy in the outfield during batting practice, to see if he has any aptitude for a faster, flatter breaking ball.

 

In the meantime, I am going to think about a little speech for tomorrow night. I can’t watch the losing much longer without saying something.