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Posted: Tuesday April 20, 1999 05:42 PM

Throwing Pains  

The Dodgers are still counting on Todd Hundley's surgically repaired arm

By Jeff Pearlman

Ever since they traded for Todd Hundley last December, the Dodgers have insisted that the former All-Star catcher is fine. Sure, Hundley, who'd hit 41 home runs and driven in 112 runs for the Mets in 1996, was recovering from September '97 surgery on his right elbow. Sure, he caught just two games last season. But the Dodgers kept saying Hundley would be O.K.

Hundley says he's fine, but opposing base runners have shown that he's still struggling. Peter Read Miller

Well, he's not O.K., and anyone who has watched him try to throw out base runners or swing the bat knows it. Hundley might have his strength back, but his confidence is another matter. "It's like Todd's been frozen for a year and a half," says Dodgers third base coach Rick Dempsey, a former big league catcher. "He's thawing out, but it takes time."

In a game last week against the Diamondbacks, Dempsey clocked Hundley's throw from home to second in 1.94 seconds, plenty fast for a big league backstop. The problem is not speed, but mechanics. Where once Hundley's throwing sequence was fluid, now it's jerky. That, says Hundley, is why he failed to nail the first 12 runners who tried to steal against him. (He threw out his first two runners of '99 on Sunday.)

"I need to stop worrying and just play," says Hundley, who has struggled at the plate as well, hitting just .189 with one home run at week's end. "I have to be patient, but it's not always that easy."

That the Dodgers' pitchers know. One of baseball's best staffs got even better last December with the addition of Kevin Brown. But since the start of last season that staff has worked with a conga line of catchers. First Mike Piazza was dealt last May in a blockbuster trade with the Marlins. Among the five players arriving from Florida was Charles Johnson, one of the game's best defensive catchers. Johnson departed in the three-team trade with the Orioles and Mets that brought Hundley from New York.

When Hundley was unable to catch for most of spring training, the Dodgers maintained their no-panic stance. "I'm going slow on him," says manager Davey Johnson. "Just making sure he's fine." Rookie Paul LoDuca started four of L.A.'s first 12 games, throwing out two of three base runners but going 0 for 11 at the plate.

"Everyone here knows what Todd's fighting," Dempsey says. "He's a very good defensive catcher, but there's a lot of rust."

Piniella on Pitching:  
Does He Know His Stuff?

Lou Piniella sat in the visiting manager's office at Anaheim's Edison Field last Saturday, a smoldering Marlboro Light in one hand, a ham sandwich in the other. There were bags under his eyes, and his words were interrupted by a hacking cough. "Look what losing does to me," he said, only half joking. Then, getting serious, he added, "It's been tough, these past few days."

After losing to the Angels on Friday, the Mariners, who entered the season expecting to contend in the American League West, had dropped four in a row and were in the cellar at 4-7. Piniella's resolve had weakened. "We need these young pitchers to mature quickly," he said. "If they can...."

The unfinished thought was clearly an uncomfortable one: Lou Piniella counting on his pitching staff to save a season? The Mariners aren't the offensive juggernaut of 1996-98, a span in which they hit 743 home runs, a record for three consecutive seasons. Nowadays, with shortstop Alex Rodriguez sidelined four to six weeks after surgery on his left knee and rightfielder Jay Buhner recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Seattle can't just bash its way to wins. Says veteran lefthander Jeff Fassero, "The only way we'll win is if our staff comes through."

Easier said than done. In Piniella's first six years in Seattle, the Mariners finished higher than 10th in the league in ERA just twice. Last season the Seattle bullpen saved only 31 games, the second-lowest total in the league. Vice president of baseball operations Woody Woodward cleaned house in the last nine months, returning only two pitchers from Opening Day '98. The new staff features two rookie starters (righthanders Freddy Garcia and Brett Hinchliffe), a rookie reliever (lefthander John Halama) and three inexperienced relievers (righties Mel Bunch, Jose Paniagua and Mac Suzuki). So far, only Garcia (2-0, 3.54 ERA) has shone. At week's end the Mariners (6-7) had a staff ERA of 6.79.

Yet all the pitching woes over the years can't be blamed on the quality of the arms. Piniella's questionable handling of pitchers dates to 1988 when, as a third-year manager with the Yankees, he pressured lefthander John Candelaria, New York's ace, to either pitch or have surgery on an injured knee. Candelaria vowed never to play for Piniella again. Four years later, when Piniella was managing the Reds, he engaged in a clubhouse wrestling match with closer Rob Dibble, who accused him of misleading the media by telling them that Dibble's shoulder was injured.

Those incidents faded from memory, but Piniella's reputation for having little patience with pitchers and no understanding of their psyche remains. Two years ago an anonymous player in the Mariners' organization told Tacoma's News Tribune that Piniella, who as a player was known for his hitting, would never understand how to handle pitchers.

In last Friday's 9-5 loss at Anaheim, Piniella hesitated before removing starter Jamie Moyer, who had cruised through five innings but had struggled in the sixth. With the Angels leading 5-2 in the seventh, Moyer gave up singles to Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson, then plunked Troy Glaus to load the bases. Todd Greene, a righthanded hitting DH with pop, came to the plate. Piniella, who had the righthanded Bunch warming up, stuck with Moyer, a lefty. On a 2-and-1 changeup, Greene homered.

"I give my pitchers the opportunity to prove themselves," Piniella says. "As long as my pitchers throw strikes, I'll have patience. But when they start walking people and getting behind -- I don't need that."

Neither do the Mariners.

Japanese Imports:  
No More Heat, No More Nomo?

In May 1995, when the baseball world was caught up in Nomomania, a Dodgers official was asked about the alarmingly high pitch counts that Japanese pitchers register in their homeland. In 134 starts for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Japan's Pacific League, for example, Hideo Nomo -- who in his first two years in the U.S. would win 32 games for Los Angeles and reach 500 strikeouts faster than any other pitcher in major league history -- had thrown more than 140 pitches in a game 61 times. Twice he went over 190. "You wonder how much he has left," said the official.

Four years and 784 1/3 innings later, the answer may be cruelly clear. Nomo's heater only rarely clocks in the 90s, his forkball no longer has hitters flailing, and as his 20-24 record and 4.54 ERA over the past two seasons show, his cyclonic delivery no longer fools many batters. Released by the Mets last month, Nomo is now with the Cubs' Triple A affiliate in Des Moines trying to prove that his arm isn't shot. He's also trying to prove that Japanese pitchers can be more than flashes in the pan on major league mounds.

On the latter front, he's getting little help from his countrymen. Hideki Irabu's inconsistency and loss of velocity have cost him his spot in the Yankees' rotation, the performance of the Mets' Masato Yoshii (1-1, 5.25) has steadily declined since he was signed last year, and Tigers rookie righthander Masao Kida has been shelled for 10 runs in five relief outings this season.

Still, most big league clubs continue to view Japan as a rich source of talent. "At the Asian Games [in December] I saw more major league scouts than Asian scouts," says Dodgers director of Asian operations Acey Kohrogi.

Increased scouting should lead to the signing of more young pitchers before they're subjected to those killing workloads. It could also turn up more players with the outgoing personality of the Angels' Shigetoshi Hasegawa, who since the beginning of 1997 (11-10, 3.67) has been the most consistent Japanese import -- perhaps in part because he speaks English so well. "The [talent] ceiling on Nomo and Irabu might be higher," says Angels G.M. Bill Bavasi, "but when you consider the total package, which includes getting along with teammates and others, Shigetoshi has the best chance for success over the long haul."

As for Nomo, the Cubs will give him one more start in the minors before deciding whether to call him up or release him. He gave up three runs, including a homer, in five innings in his first outing on April 11, and in his second, last Saturday, he gave up two runs and struck out 10 in six innings. He says he's concerned about getting back to the majors himself, not about spoiling that opportunity for other Japanese players. "There are a lot of good players over there," says Nomo. "If the major leagues want them, they'll get them."

-- Stephen Cannella

Despite the Phillies' thin staff, the club says it isn't considering calling up hard-throwing Randy Wolf from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Don't expect that to last. Wolf, who at week's end was 17-7 in less than two years of pro ball, was 2-0, had not given up a run and had 15 strikeouts in 14 innings this year. "It's two games," says Phillies manager Terry Francona . "Don't start." ... The Yankees talked to the Mariners about swapping disappointing pitchers, New York's Hideki Irabu (10.38 ERA in 4 1/3 innings through Sunday) for Seattle's Jeff Fassero (7.50 in 18 innings). The Mariners' response? Maybe if you throw in Derek Jeter. Says Seattle VP of baseball operations Woody Woodward, "First of all, I'm not moving Fassero. Second of all, I don't want Irabu. I've got enough problems." ...

By beating the Mariners last week, Rangers righthander Mike Morgan entered the major league record book: He had last defeated Seattle on Aug. 4, 1979 -- 19 years, 252 days earlier -- in his second big league win. That's the longest any pitcher has gone between victories against one team, breaking the mark set by righthander Cal McLish , who went 18 years, 59 days from 1944 to '62, between wins over the Pirates ... On April 13 White Sox batters struck out seven times against the Red Sox -- all on called third strikes ... Blue Jays righthander Joey Hamilton , who gave up 10 hits and eight runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Devil Rays on April 13, shaved off his beard and mustache after the game. "It's a new start," said Hamilton, who was 0-2 with a 19.29 ERA through Sunday. "If this keeps up, you might see me without any body hair." ...

Is there still resentment around the National League toward the free-spending Diamondbacks? Consider the Giants' Charlie Hayes , who scuffled with Arizona righthander Todd Stottlemyre last Friday: "Did you see it snow again in Scottsdale?" Hayes had said earlier this month. "That's God's way of telling the Diamondbacks it will snow in hell before they win." ... Scott Boras, the agent for Oakland lefthander Kenny Rogers , says six teams are interested in trading for his client. The Cubs, Indians, Mets and Rangers have pursued the 34-year-old Rogers, and the Orioles and Red Sox are sniffing around. The A's will not deal without receiving at least one Grade A prospect in a package of young players that includes a promising arm ... White Sox righthander John Snyder has thrown 19 2/3 scoreless innings in three lifetime starts against Boston. Excluding the Red Sox, Snyder's career ERA is 5.83 ... The Cubs had to place a fence around the new statue of Harry Caray after fans repeatedly placed cans of Budweiser in his open hand.

Issue date: April 26, 1999

 

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