RMJ 188 August 22

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 ● Houston, vs Colorado

This is another Fox weekend. The Friday game starts at 7:00, and in this case ends at 10:15. At 9:30 the next morning, we leave for the ballpark.

Because there is no time to write between games, I must catch up on Saturday night. Ordinarily this is not a problem, but in this case, the mood swing was so great that it is hard to get into a “Friday mood” right about now.

 

Before the game, Gerry and I discussed the various possibilities for the playoff roster again.

It seems we may be able to make a deal with the Cubs: José Lima for Dave Clark. This would solve the Lima problem. If we put him on waivers to get down to ten pitchers for the playoffs, we will most likely lose him. If we trade him for Clark, we have a lefthanded pinch-hitter for the rest of the season.

I feel we should do it, because we have some promising pitchers at AAA New Orleans. We can probably replace Lima, and we need another lefthanded bat.

Fox’s Jeff Torborg was talking to our coaches while Gerry and I talked. He needed to interview me for tomorrow’s Fox telecast. When I finished his interview, I was asked to do a quick sound bite on Darryl Kile.

 

I went back to the clubhouse, and there was Nolan Ryan, sitting in Dennis Liborio’s office, shooting the bull with Biggio.

When Bidge was a rookie catcher, Nolie was one of our starting pitchers. What a challenge and a treat for a young catcher! If Bidge hadn’t become a second-baseman, he would have been catching Billy Wagner these days.

Somehow, I don’t think handling a young, raw, lefthanded version of Ryan would be such a treat. That is why I asked Nolan to come out to the Dome; I’d like to see Billy become easier for catchers and more-difficult for hitters.

Of all people, Nolan can probably identify with Billy the best. It is difficult to be billed as the fastest gun in the West, only to be beaten to the draw. This happened to the young Ryan, just as it has been happening lately to Billy the Kid.

The obvious reason for Wagner’s slump is control. If he throws his fastball on the corners, he will seldom get hit. If he mixes up his speeds with a few curves and changeups, he will not get hit. If he develops a slider, he will not get hit. But right now, he doesn’t have real good command of his fastball, let alone his other pitches. He is getting behind and then throwing the fastball over the plate.

In this league, that doesn’t always work — even when you throw 98 MPH.

Nolan and Billy visited in the bullpen during batting practice. Vern and I played catch nearby. I would have liked to have heard their conversation, but Billy wanted it to be one-on-one, and that was fine with me.

I just want him to know that it is OK to have bad days — that even the great Nolan Ryan had some — and for Nolan to tell him how he became more consistent with his control. I’m sure they covered that ground, and more.

 

After batting practice, we called all of the pitchers over to meet Nolan, and I asked him some leading questions so he could share some of his ideas with the whole group. I asked if any of them had questions. I know they did, but they were too shy to ask.

Gene Coleman told me that Shane wanted to visit with Nolan one-on-one. I think Nolan really enjoyed talking shop with the guys, and I’m pretty sure we can arrange a session with Shane.

           

Tonight’s game had good news and bad.

D.K. pitched well and won his 17th ballgame, which tied him with Greg Maddux atop the league. He got a scare in the third inning when Ellis Burks hit him on the outside of his right tricep with a sizzling line drive.  We all breathed a sigh of relief when Darryl was able to continue pitching. Still, it could flare up overnight and cause him to miss his next start.

The offense was explosive again, with Bell in the two-hole. We scored ten times and won easily. But even this took a toll.

With no outs in the sixth inning, Berry was on first and Gonzo on second. I called for a hit-and-run. Carr hit the ball to first, and Andrés Galarraga rushed a throw to second and threw the ball away. Gonzo scored, but Sean blew out a calf muscle on the play and had to crawl into second.

We scored six runs in the inning, but after the game we had to put Sean on the disabled list and call up Russ Johnson. Seems like every time Sean starts to swing the bat well, he gets hurt. This was especially irksome because his defense has improved, and I was about ready to start playing him regularly.

 

I forced myself into bed early, hoping The Mask of Apollo would cast a spell of slumber on me. It worked, and I turned the lights out at 12:30 — perhaps my earliest bedtime of the season.