rockin500
02-26-2003, 10:48 AM
MESA, Ariz.--Luck never should be underestimated. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry went looking for a closer when Tom Gordon was injured last March and found so much more than he was trying to get.
Hendry got his closer, Antonio Alfonseca, who was a failure in 2002. But the Florida Marlins also dangled a debatable pitcher who raised so many questions, the Cubs had to ponder long and hard before accepting.
No one knows better than Matt Clement all the issues that tarnished his image. Let him tell you some of the reasons Hendry initially hesitated.
"Potential can be a tough word to live up to,'' said Clement, 28, who came to the Cubs with Alfonseca for pitcher Julian Tavarez and three minor-leaguers at the end of spring training. "I was always close. For years and years, all I heard about was potential. They said his ball moves and his slider is good, but he can't throw strikes, he's behind in the count and he can't do this or that. I heard those stories for years.''
The story has changed dramatically after Clement struck out 215 batters last season, fourth in the National League behind Randy Johnson (334), Curt Schilling (316) and Kerry Wood (217).
Clement is suddenly part of the Cubs' Big Three. He finds it flattering to be mentioned with Wood and Mark Prior as the rotation foundation that has manager Dusty Baker hoping for a quick turnaround with the Cubs.
"Woody has probably the best live arm I have ever been around, and the scary part is he had [elbow] surgery on it,'' Clement said. "And I've never seen a young pitcher as good and polished as Prior. He knows that he is good, but he doesn't have to run around and tell people. To command both sides at the plate at 21 ... who knows where I'd be if I could have done that?
"It's an honor to be included with Woody and Prior. If we can all go out there 30-some times, including [Carlos] Zambrano, we are going to have a fun year. If we can get to that point, that's how we will jump as a staff. But that's also hard to do.''
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has a better fix on Clement than he did before they met. Getting to know him last season told Roths-child two essential facts about why Clement just now might be maturing as a pitcher and why people might have been presumptuous about his delayed emergence.
"He pitched very little in high school,'' Rothschild said of Clement's prep career in Butler, Pa. "He was more of a basketball player [who turned down Division I scholarship offers]. He really didn't start playing baseball until later. That's a pretty significant fact.
"Plus, he had a liver problem going back to San Diego [his team from 1998 to 2000]. The medication he took for his liver was pretty strong [after being traded from the Padres to the Marlins]. It affected his balance and a lot of things. I just hadn't been around him, but Matt's work habits are as good as anybody we've got.
"Like any young pitcher with high expectations, the expectations tend to be unreasonable. In his case, that's what happened. They get labeled, and that's not right. Sometimes it's a longer development time.''
Clement has learned to filter out criticism.
"At the beginning of my career, people's perceptions of me meant a lot,'' he said. "Now, I guess it means something. I don't want to say I don't care, but to be good, I don't think you can care. People said I couldn't pitch in day games, couldn't pitch on the road. Before last year, I guarantee you I was one of the worst road pitchers in baseball. Then last year, I was way better on the road than I was at home. You get those perceptions, and I'll be honest, it's nice to destroy some of those.''
With the 2000 Padres, Clement walked 125 and struck out 170. He walked just 85 last season.
"You hear people say [Greg] Maddux and [Kevin] Brown and all these people took four years before they had a good year,'' Clement said. "I'm not saying I'm them, but hopefully I can be mentioned in the same breath with them someday.''
Clement said the Cubs would make him feel better with a fast start.
"That's what buried us last year, a bad start,'' he said. "We have brought in people who know how to act, how to be professional and how to play the game. That and bringing in Dusty should change the whole attitude. The whole overall picture of the team has changed. You've got character and everything.'
http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub26.html
Hendry got his closer, Antonio Alfonseca, who was a failure in 2002. But the Florida Marlins also dangled a debatable pitcher who raised so many questions, the Cubs had to ponder long and hard before accepting.
No one knows better than Matt Clement all the issues that tarnished his image. Let him tell you some of the reasons Hendry initially hesitated.
"Potential can be a tough word to live up to,'' said Clement, 28, who came to the Cubs with Alfonseca for pitcher Julian Tavarez and three minor-leaguers at the end of spring training. "I was always close. For years and years, all I heard about was potential. They said his ball moves and his slider is good, but he can't throw strikes, he's behind in the count and he can't do this or that. I heard those stories for years.''
The story has changed dramatically after Clement struck out 215 batters last season, fourth in the National League behind Randy Johnson (334), Curt Schilling (316) and Kerry Wood (217).
Clement is suddenly part of the Cubs' Big Three. He finds it flattering to be mentioned with Wood and Mark Prior as the rotation foundation that has manager Dusty Baker hoping for a quick turnaround with the Cubs.
"Woody has probably the best live arm I have ever been around, and the scary part is he had [elbow] surgery on it,'' Clement said. "And I've never seen a young pitcher as good and polished as Prior. He knows that he is good, but he doesn't have to run around and tell people. To command both sides at the plate at 21 ... who knows where I'd be if I could have done that?
"It's an honor to be included with Woody and Prior. If we can all go out there 30-some times, including [Carlos] Zambrano, we are going to have a fun year. If we can get to that point, that's how we will jump as a staff. But that's also hard to do.''
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has a better fix on Clement than he did before they met. Getting to know him last season told Roths-child two essential facts about why Clement just now might be maturing as a pitcher and why people might have been presumptuous about his delayed emergence.
"He pitched very little in high school,'' Rothschild said of Clement's prep career in Butler, Pa. "He was more of a basketball player [who turned down Division I scholarship offers]. He really didn't start playing baseball until later. That's a pretty significant fact.
"Plus, he had a liver problem going back to San Diego [his team from 1998 to 2000]. The medication he took for his liver was pretty strong [after being traded from the Padres to the Marlins]. It affected his balance and a lot of things. I just hadn't been around him, but Matt's work habits are as good as anybody we've got.
"Like any young pitcher with high expectations, the expectations tend to be unreasonable. In his case, that's what happened. They get labeled, and that's not right. Sometimes it's a longer development time.''
Clement has learned to filter out criticism.
"At the beginning of my career, people's perceptions of me meant a lot,'' he said. "Now, I guess it means something. I don't want to say I don't care, but to be good, I don't think you can care. People said I couldn't pitch in day games, couldn't pitch on the road. Before last year, I guarantee you I was one of the worst road pitchers in baseball. Then last year, I was way better on the road than I was at home. You get those perceptions, and I'll be honest, it's nice to destroy some of those.''
With the 2000 Padres, Clement walked 125 and struck out 170. He walked just 85 last season.
"You hear people say [Greg] Maddux and [Kevin] Brown and all these people took four years before they had a good year,'' Clement said. "I'm not saying I'm them, but hopefully I can be mentioned in the same breath with them someday.''
Clement said the Cubs would make him feel better with a fast start.
"That's what buried us last year, a bad start,'' he said. "We have brought in people who know how to act, how to be professional and how to play the game. That and bringing in Dusty should change the whole attitude. The whole overall picture of the team has changed. You've got character and everything.'
http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub26.html