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Spring at last! Rain and temperatures in the 40’s! Not supposed to happen in the Valley of the Sun. But that’s how it was yesterday for my first day of spring training. Needless to say, there were no games. After a 143-day draught, the clouds opened up yesterday and dumped up to an inch of rain in some areas of the Valley. It snowed on the mountaintops in Scottsdale also. Now that has to be one for the ages. To top it off, the weather in Virginia was bright and sunny yesterday. I drove to Surprise today to see the D’Backs play the Royals. Even though it wasn’t raining, it was cold and the ushers were wearing gloves and scarves. Denny Bautista started for the Royals. Denny carries the distinction of being Pedro Martinez’s cousin. A former top prospect, Bautista is entering his second full season as a candidate for the Royals rotation. Kansas City is his third organization. He began with the Marlins who traded him to the Orioles along with Don Levinski for Jeff Conine in a trading deadline deal during the 2003 season. Miraculously, after being traded to the Birds, Bautista aged two years. Instead of getting a 21-year-old pitcher who dominated AA, the Orioles ended up with a 23-year-old pitcher who, although he had a mid to high 90s fastball and hard curve, had issues with his control. At the time, the deal was heralded as a good one for the Orioles. Levinski had a live arm and reportedly had exceptional stuff. Only problem is, his labrum tore shortly after the deal was made and it is doubtful he will ever pitch again. Bautista was the future ace for the Birds. In a much debated move, the Orioles recalled Bautista from their AA Bowie affiliate during the 2004 season. The Orioles were hovering near .500 at the time and were in desperate need of some relief pitching. Bautista got the call and responded by pitching to an ERA of 36.0 over two innings of relief work. Reportedly, owner Peter Angelos saw the game and walked away most disappointed. The Orioles organization immediately soured on him and sent him packing shortly thereafter, sending him to the Royals for Jason Grimsley. It was a move which was again heralded as one-sided. According to pundits, the Royals had stolen a top prospect from the Orioles for a journeyman relief pitcher. Oriole fans were livid. Grimsley did not help his case; he pitched to an ERA of 4.21, almost a full point higher than he had in Kansas City. During one unforgettable game in Baltimore, he was brought in to relieve Matt Riley, who had pitched a terrific game to that point. Grimsley came on with runners on first and third, induced a ground ball which he fielded himself, turned to second so he could start a double play and end the inning. He then proceeded to throw the ball into center field. The Braves came from seven runs behind that day to beat the Birds. Grimsley finished the year with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow. After returning at the end of the 05 season, Grimsley became a free agent and is trying to catch on with Arizona. Apparently, Grimsley is a marked man. In 2005, an airplane smacked into his home in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Bautista was having problems of his own. Following his return to Camden Yards, where he lost to his former team, Pedro’s cousin came down with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder….his rotator cuff to be precise. He finished the year in the minors. Control seems to be Bautista’s nemesis. In today’s game, he brought his upper 90s fastball to bear against the D’Backs. Although he was hitting 98 mph (based upon the radar gun at Surprise Stadium) he had problems hitting the strike zone with any consistency. He did not throw a first pitch strike to any of the hitters he faced. In fact, he opened the second inning by throwing seven straight balls. He went into several of these streaks during the four innings he pitched. The fact that he walked only one hitter is very surprising. He finished the day giving up one run and struck out three hitters; the D’Backs touched him for four hits. The game ended with the D’Backs winning 5-1. Ex-Athletic and Oriole Eric Byrnes hit a 3-2 pitch off the left field foul pole for a home run which gave the Backs a 2-1 lead which they never surrendered. Casey Daigle closed the game for Arizona. I ended the game sitting in the sun in the right field seats. After a long winter, it felt good. --- John
Kazlo |
