|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Wild thing Beleaguer reliever can't find plate in return to majors
Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 03:33 PM
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- John Rocker talks! Well, at least for a few seconds, anyway. The oft-volatile reliever, who was exiled to the minor leagues earlier this month amid concerns about his control on and off the field, rejoined the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday following a three-outing stay in the minors. Rocker, speaking briefly but cordially to reporters, said he felt his time in the minors was worth it because he was able to throw strikes, something he couldn't do consistently before his demotion. Asked if his stay with Triple-A Richmond was helpful, Rocker said, "Oh, yeah." But back with Atlanta, his control troubles resurfaced. Brought in to pitch Wednesday night against Pittsburgh, he threw six pitches -- all balls -- and quickly was replaced. The Braves led 8-4 with two outs in the eighth when Greg Maddux was pulled with two runners on base. Rocker came in to mostly boos from the crowd of 16,972 at Three Rivers Stadium and walked John Vander Wal on four pitches, none of them close to the strike zone, to load the bases. Rocker threw two balls to Pat Meares, and Atlanta manager Bobby Cox then brought in Kerry Ligtenberg, who ended the inning without a run scoring. At Richmond, Rocker made three appearances, striking out six in two scoreless innings before allowing two hits and a run in one inning Tuesday night. The left-hander had one save. By his own count, Rocker threw 41 of his 55 pitches for strikes at Richmond. Prior to be being sent down following two precarious outings against the Yankees, Rocker walked 25 in 18 1-3 innings, a streak of wildness that temporarily cost him his job as the Braves' closer. He had 38 saves last season, one short of Mark Wohlers' 1996 club record. Before Rocker was sent down, Braves pitcher Terry Mulholland noticed he wasn't transferring his weight smoothly from his back foot to his front foot as he delivered the ball to the plate. "I had to refine that a little bit," Rocker said before breaking off the brief interview to get treatment on his arm. He did say he wanted to help "win some" games for the Braves, using the Spanish word for games. He didn't return to the clubhouse where most of his teammates were divided among three card games until just before the Braves took the field for batting practice. Upon reaching the field, he touched gloves with infielder Mark DeRosa and talked with pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Rocker had arrived at Three Rivers Stadium at 3:40 p.m., declined politely to talk to several TV reporters gathered outside and entered a clubhouse that wasn't opened to the media until about an hour later than normal. During that time, he met privately with Cox, who declined to discuss the session. However, the topics of discussion were obvious -- namely, Rocker's prior problems in throwing strikes and his run-in with the reporter whose off-season story detailing Rocker's disparaging remarks toward gays and minorities led to the pitcher's two-week suspension at the start of the season. Asked if Rocker would be his closer if necessary on Wednesday, Cox said, "Yeah, darned right." The Braves summoned Rocker after right-hander Rudy Seanez developed tightness in his right forearm while pitching Tuesday. The Braves' bullpen was already shorthanded with right-hander Greg McMichael on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. The Braves insisted Rocker's demotion was the result of his pitching and not because of his volatile relationship with the media, and his quick recall would seem to support that. "He got his stuff back, he threw strikes and he dominated, he really did," Cox said. Asked if Rocker had also adjusted his often confrontational attitude toward reporters during his brief stop in the minors, Cox said, "He doesn't know if he should talk or not. He really doesn't." Rocker was asked only about his pitching during his short interview, and it was clear that was all he would discuss. The reception Rocker received from his teammates, some of whom were critical of him following his run-in with the Sports Illustrated reporter on June 4, was difficult to judge. He had no interaction with any teammates during the 75 minutes reporters were in the clubhouse, spending most of that time in the trainer's room. If he spoke to teammates such as Brian Jordan, who called Rocker "a cancer" on the club, he didn't do so when the media was present. When Rocker was sent down, 1999 NL MVP Chipper Jones wondered if he would ever return. "He has to let all this other stuff go," Jones said earlier this month. "Unless he goes out and concentrates on his job, he's probably down there to stay." But while the Braves weren't talking much about Rocker, they certainly knew he was back. As Trenidad Hubbard walked through a runway leading to the field, he smiled and said, "Just another day in the life of the Braves. What's going to be next?"
| ||||||||||||||||||||
