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 Inside Baseball
Posted: Tuesday June 22, 1999 03:25 PM Sportswriter's Son | Tony Fernandez Redux The Hot Corner By spending more, the Pirates have amassed the talent to be a spunky wild-card contender By Jeff Pearlman and Stephen Cannella
The 1997 Pirates were spunky, but they finished 79-83. "You know the difference between then and now?" says Martin. "That team was loads of fun, but we stunk. Now we're pretty good." Indeed, while Pittsburgh still may be no match for Houston -- after losing three straight to the Padres last weekend, the Pirates (34-33) trailed the Astros by seven games -- it appears to have the ability to hang with the crowd (Cubs, Giants, Mets, Phils, Reds and Rockies) in the run for the National League wild card. One bright sign for the long haul is that Pittsburgh, which hiked its payroll from $13.7 million in 1998 to $22.2 million this year (27th in the majors), plans to raise it to $35 million next season and to $45 million in 2001, when the team moves into a new stadium. This off-season the front office showed it was serious by signing first baseman Kevin Young to a four-year, $24 million contract extension. A bigger budget also means that Pittsburgh can afford to make a mistake or two and not collapse. Last December general manager Cam Bonifay signed free-agent starter Pete Schourek to a two-year, $4 million contract in hopes that the lefthander would anchor the rotation. Through Sunday, Schourek was 2-5 and had been sent to the bullpen. Bonifay also dealt righty starter Jon Lieber to the Cubs for outfielder Brant Brown, who was to be the Pirates' everyday centerfielder; Lieber was 6-2, and Brown had played his way into a part-time role in right. What Pittsburgh lacks in starting pitching, it has made up for with credible middle relief and emerging closer Mike Williams, who had 12 saves and a 2.48 ERA. On offense the Pirates are no powerhouse -- outfielder Brian Giles led the team with 13 homers -- but they were sixth in the league in hitting (.274) and tied for fourth in doubles (138). Catcher Jason Kendall (.344, 19 stolen bases) has drawn most of the ink in Pittsburgh, but as Young goes, so go the Pirates. Seven years ago Young was Pittsburgh's top prospect, but after reaching the big leagues, he flopped. "Kevin had a little of the I'm-the-Pirates'-minor-league-phenom in him," says Martin. Young hit .236 in 1993 and over the next two years spent as much time in the bushes as he did in the bigs. Pittsburgh released him during spring training '96, and he was picked up by the Royals, then cut again after that season. The following spring the Pirates gave Young another chance, and he hit .300 with a team-high 18 home runs and 74 RBIs in only 97 games to lead Pittsburgh's run. Last season, as the Bucs wobbled to a 69-93 record, he led them again with 27 homers and 108 RBIs. "I learned you can't take anything for granted in this game -- especially your talent," says Young, who was hitting .323 through Sunday. "There are a lot of players here who have been through tough times and appreciate winning. It was like that in 1997, and it's like that again."
J. D. Drew Struggles: The preseason consensus pick for National League Rookie of the Year, Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew, sat in the clubhouse of the Triple A Memphis Redbirds on Sunday, insisting that adversity builds character. That was his way of dealing with a stint in the minors brought on by injuries that put him on the DL earlier in the season and by his ongoing fizzle at the plate. "It says in James to thank God for the trials," says Drew, who was batting only .230 with two homers and nine RBIs in 25 games before St. Louis sent him down on May 28. "If you never go 4 for 4, you don't know what to shoot for. If you never go 0 for 4, you don't appreciate the success." Drew, 23, who hit .417 in 14 games for the Cardinals last September, knows both extremes. Against the Dodgers in April he sprained his left thumb while colliding with L.A. righthander Darren Dreifort; Drew says the injury, his first in pro baseball, still hasn't fully healed. Then, against the Braves on May 3, he strained his right quadriceps rounding second; he played in six of the next 14 games but not effectively, and on May 20 St. Louis placed him on the 15-day disabled list. Drew originally went to Memphis on a rehab assignment, but even after that 20-day stint was completed the Cardinals left him there to work on his swing. At some point this season, Drew says, he started having difficulty locking in on the ball and beginning his stride. To compensate, he recently switched to a bat with a bigger barrel. "It's going slowly," says Drew. "But I feel like I'm getting back to where I should be." Through Sunday, Drew was hitting .278 in 17 games for the Redbirds, but in two outings against the Iowa Cubs last week he went 0 for 7 with five strikeouts. Otherwise, Drew doesn't seem all that bothered to be back in Triple A, where he played only 26 games last year, hitting .316 before moving up to St. Louis. "I'm less of a Hyatt guy, more a Motel 8 guy," he says. "A Motel 8 has more channels on the TV, and the air conditioner is usually better. I don't need the glamour. I don't need the hype. I just want to get back."
Sportswriter's Son: When the Padres called up second baseman David Newhan, 25, the son of Ross Newhan, national baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times, every ink-stained scribe suddenly had someone to root for. "I received so many E-mails from my colleagues," says Ross, a Timesman for 31 years. "They were all very proud." Though his stay will likely end when first baseman Wally Joyner returns sometime this week from a shoulder injury, David, a 5'10" converted outfielder, has made the most of his time in the majors: In 12 at bats through Sunday, he was hitting .250 with a double and a stolen base. In his first start, against the A's on June 8, he went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Ross calls it one of the most exciting days of his life. That said, David's success is the Times' dilemma. Ross has earned a reputation as a fair-minded reporter. He no longer writes about the Padres. He has not mentioned -- and insists he never will mention -- David in print. Still, can he objectively cover, say, the players' union? "It's a delicate situation," Ross says. "Blood is thicker than water and thicker than objectivity." Although he was a solid student while growing up in Yorba Linda, Calif., and later at Pepperdine, David never considered following in Ross's journalistic footsteps. "Playing seemed a lot more fun than writing," he says. "My dad writes at home, and one thing I've seen a lot of is his cussing up a storm, yelling at the laptop. I understand what the sportswriter goes through. I don't think anyone has to worry about me pulling an Albert Belle." He pauses. "Oh wait -- I don't know if you should write that." If anyone knows the rules, it's David. Sorry kid. Too late. He Works Hard For His Hitting There's no fat in Tony Fernandez's day. From the minute he arrives at the ballpark, Fernandez, the Blue Jays' soon-to-be 37-year-old third baseman, is either busy or rushing to someplace where he'll be busy. Running stairs hours before game time. Stretching. Taking BP. Hitting off a tee. Jogging to the indoor cage for pregame swings. Scurrying to a postgame lifting session. Says Toronto first base coach Lloyd Moseby, Fernandez's teammate with the Jays in the mid-1980s, "His preparation is unbelievable." Mapped out with all the flexibility of a military operation, the regimen, which the 6'2" Fernandez has followed throughout his career, has him playing at a wiry 195 pounds and in the best shape of his 16-year career. It also makes him all but inaccessible to reporters, a throng of which will be following his every move later in the season if he continues to hit at his current pace. Through Sunday, Fernandez had a 10-game hitting streak and was leading the majors with a .411 average. It's a bit early to entertain thoughts of his exceeding the hallowed 400 figure for the whole season, but Fernandez on Sunday surpassed another mark: His 1-for-1 performance in a 2-1 win over the Royals gave him 2,178 hits in his career, the most by a major leaguer born in the Dominican Republic (Julio Franco had 2,177). That record and his torrid streak are crests in a tumultuous sine curve of a career. A three-time All-Star shortstop by the time he was 28, Fernandez had his right cheekbone shattered by a fastball from the Rangers' Cecilio Guante in April 1989. He missed only 21 games and returned to hit .257 for Toronto that season. Over the next six years he would play for five teams and make another All-Star team, in '92, but would never finish above .279. When he missed the '96 season with a broken right elbow, his career appeared over. The Indians took a flier by signing Fernandez before the 1997 season, and he became their everyday second baseman. He put Cleveland in the World Series with an 11th-inning homer in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Orioles. Eleven days later he booted a grounder that opened the door for the Marlins' 11th-inning World Series-winning Game 7 rally. A free agent after the season, the switch-hitting Fernandez re-signed with the Blue Jays and has enjoyed a renaissance. A career .285 hitter when he returned to the Jays, he had batted .350 for them through Sunday. That improvement is partly a result of experience and a knowledge of the strike zone gained in his 16 seasons, but Fernandez's fountain of youth is his dizzying daily routine, which combines a Puritan work ethic with a mad scientist's resourcefulness. "We've always called him Professor Gadget," says Moseby. "You wouldn't believe the things he carries with him -- marbles, grips, broken bats he uses to do wrist curls. He'll turn anything into a strengthening or stretching tool." "He's so focused, on his workouts and on every at bat," says Jays manager Jim Fregosi. That concentration has meant increased run production for the gap-hitting Fernandez, who has spent most of this season in the fifth spot in the order. His .473 average with runners in scoring position led the American League, and with 49 RBIs he was on pace to eclipse his career high of 72 set last year. As for his possible run at .400, Fernandez won't say much. "Wait till September, when it means something," he said last Saturday. He had politely answered a few questions about the .400 barrier and was gulping a protein shake as he inched toward the weight room. "Now, I'm sorry, but I really have to go. I have work to do." Dodgers Manager Davey Johnson has told struggling catcher Todd Hundley that he will be used only as a pinch hitter while the team gives rookie Angel Pena a chance to win the job. Hundley's limited production at the plate (.230, seven home runs through Sunday) was concern enough, but it was his inability to throw out base stealers (only 11.7%) -- not to mention whip the ball to the third baseman after a strikeout -- that forced Johnson's hand.... Several Dodgers were miffed at $105 million righthander Kevin Brown , who, in an 11-1 loss to Pittsburgh on June 15, rang up the press box to argue that four of the six runs charged to him should have been deemed unearned. Brown was correct, but his teammates questioned his priorities.... Russell Branyan (.228, 23 homers, 50 RBIs for Triple A Buffalo) may be baseball's top third base prospect, but the Indians chose not to recall the 23-year-old Branyan to replace the injured Travis Fryman , who went on the DL on June 16th with muscle spasms in his lower back. "We don't think Russell is ready to play in the big leagues, much less for a contender," manager Mike Hargrove said. "It wouldn't be fair to him or us."... Outfielder Reggie Sanders , who rejoined the Padres last Friday after a stint on the 15-day DL for a strained rib cage muscle, has a novel theory to explain his injury-plagued career: He's not fat enough. Says Sanders, who has only 5% body fat, "I've heard that people with low body fat have a harder time staying limber. I'm hurting muscles I didn't even know I had."
Issue date: June 28, 1999
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