From closer to convert

Kim making strong bid to join Diamondbacks' rotation

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Arizona Diamondbacks are shaking up their pitching staff this spring, preparing to give their top-drawer closer, the whippet-armed Byung-Hyun Kim, a spot in the starting rotation.

It's a bold chance the D'backs are taking. Using Kim as a starter would leave them with Matt Mantei as the team's closer. And Mantei hasn't exactly been the picture of health in the past two years.

It's a complicated decision, and one that could rip the staff apart. Or not.

"We hope not at all," said manager Bob Brenly, the man who will make that decision. "This whole thing was predicated on Matt Mantei returning."

Mantei, coming off elbow surgery that knocked him out for most of the 2001 season and almost half of last season, seems to be back. The Diamondbacks report he's throwing in the mid-90s and has been clocked at 99 mph this spring.

So, with the luxury of two healthy closers, Arizona is willing to give Kim what he's always wanted -- an opportunity to start. Even though he saved 36 games in 42 chances last season, Kim never has been happy in the pen.

Kim's big chance isn't coming without some strings attached. Before the Diamondbacks agreed to let him earn his way into the rotation, Brenly and his coaching staff needed to see some things out of the 24-year-old Korean.

Byung-Hyun Kim has wanted to be a starter since he came to the Diamondbacks in 1999. AP

They wanted to see more consistent pitching mechanics from Kim, whose submarining, body-twisting, head-whipping style often led to a lot of long innings. They wanted to see him work his pitch count down. And they wanted to see him get quicker to the plate with a man on first base.

Kim has come through on all counts, and is now considered the front-runner for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, behind Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Elmer Dessens and John Patterson.

"The way he's been pitching," Brenly said of Kim, "he could be pushing the Big Two."

There are still plenty of questions. Kim never has thrown more than 98 innings in a season. Can he eat up 200?

Part of Kim's strength is his unorthodox delivery. Will that lose its mystery the more opponents see it? Can he be as effective a starter as he is a reliever?

"I think he's got a wide enough variety of pitches that familiarity won't be a problem," said Brenly.

If Kim makes the rotation, versatile righty Miguel Batista probably would be relegated to the pen. Batista started 29 games for the Diamondbacks last season, going 8-9 with a 4.29 ERA. In 2001, he pitched in 48 games, 18 of them starts, and added a start in the '01 World Series.

He's pitched well this spring, too, and he would like a spot in the rotation.

But Batista sees what's happening.

"BK's been throwing the ball great," Batista said. "The good thing about us is we have a lot of people who can do the job.

"I'm prepared to do anything. [But] you can't deny that [Kim] has had a successful career as a closer. You always take that into consideration. You can't ignore that."

For the Diamondbacks, it all comes down to this: By giving Kim something he wants, the Diamondbacks are hoping they get something big in return.

"I don't think he derived a whole lot of satisfaction from being a closer. It just didn't ring his bell," Brenly said. "We think giving him a job he wants, we think he could be something special."

Eastward bound

The Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's will take off for Japan on Wednesday, which is a lot easier said than done. The sheer logistics of getting all those people all that way are mind-bending.

When you take into account the political uncertainties in the world, the whole trip is a bit unsettling.

"It's just kind of bad timing right now, with the Iraq situation and all," Mariners second baseman Bret Boone said. "But [Major League Baseball] has been working on this thing for months. If they thought there was even a slight risk, I don't think they'd allow us to go through with this."

Many A's and Mariners players, and members of both team's staffs, plan to bring their families with them for the two-game series in Tokyo, which officially opens Major League Baseball's regular season. The games will be played on March 25 and 26, beginning at 5:10 a.m. ET.

Before those games, both teams will play exhibition games against Japanese teams on March 22 and 23.

"I'd rather play games here that count than games over there that don't, but that's part of the schedule," said the Mariners' Mark McLemore. "I'll do what I've been doing for years. Adjust."

Says Boone: "It's a wrench in our schedule, without a doubt."

Still, most players say they're looking forward to the trip despite a 14-hour plane ride from Arizona and the long haul back. Right after they return, the two teams have a couple more exhibition games before their regular seasons pick up again.

It's a difficult trip to prepare for, especially at the start of a grueling season. McLemore, for one, has a way of dealing with it.

"Sleep," he said.

Camping out

No way of getting around it: It's just plain weird seeing two-thirds of the Giants' World Series outfield of last season -- Kenny Lofton in center, Reggie Sanders in right -- in Pittsburgh, of all places … Two years ago, Brenly walked Sammy Sosa during an exhibition game in Mesa, Ariz. Asked if he'd do the same for Barry Bonds before a game against the Giants last week, Brenly joked "He needs to work on his intentional walk trot." … Brenly didn't call for the intentional pass, though, and Batista served up one of Bonds' trademark line-drive homers to right-center at Scottsdale Stadium. "That was one of the best pitches I threw. I would throw that pitch any time," claimed Batista … Under the heading of meaningless spring stats: The A's started the spring 6-1. They went 3-7-2 over the next 12 … And this one: Every year since 1993, when the Mariners have had a winning spring, they've had a losing regular season. And when they've had a losing spring, they've had a winning regular season. Through Sunday's rainout, they are 9-10-1 this spring … Alex Rodriguez said Saturday from his Dallas home that he feels stronger and expects to be back soon from the inflammation in his neck. Let's hope he's right. How bad would the Rangers be without A-Rod?

The Buzz appears every Monday and Thursday until Opening Day.

 

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