Baseball Guru
03-04-2004, 04:55 PM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news.jsp?ymd=20040303&content_id=644719&vkey=spt2004news&fext=.jsp
Former first-round pick in competition for fifth starter
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com Ticket information
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Aaron Heilman was presented with an opportunity Wednesday afternoon and the Notre Dame product didn't waste it.
The Mets are hoping that Heilman will begin living up to the expectations that come along with being a first-round pick. He took some baby steps in right direction at Holman Stadium, pitching a pair of scoreless innings in a 13-4 loss to the Dodgers in the exhibition season opener.
Heilman got the start and allowed two hits and struck out two, showing improved consistency in his delivery while demonstrating better location with his pitches. Still, it's too early to tell whether his effort will have a significant impact on the race for the fifth starter's spot.
"I could have struck out six straight on three pitches each," Heilman laughed when asked if he could have had a better outing. "But I felt good. I think I accomplished what I wanted to. My main focus was my fastball and its command to both sides of the plate. And I worked the changeup well. I felt good. I just tried to forget about everything and just compete today.
"I feel like I'm right where I need to be. I just need to continue to make these improvements. I'm looking at my progress as more incremental. I don't feel like I've had to overhaul my delivery or my mindset at all."
Heilman certainly showed against the Dodgers it might be too soon to discount his candidacy in a race that includes Scott Erickson, Jeremy Griffiths, Grant Roberts, Tyler Yates and James Baldwin. In fact, if you stack Heilman's maiden effort this season up against those of Griffiths and Erickson, he appears to have put himself in a much better position.
Erickson lasted only a third of an inning in Tuesday's intrasquad game, while Griffiths was equally ineffective Wednesday, allowing six earned runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch in a third of an inning. Roberts is scheduled to pitch on Thursday, while Yates and Erickson will go Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Heilman, who was 2-7 with a 6.75 ERA last season, has benefited from the presence of new pitching coach Rick Peterson. The two have worked on Heilman's arm slot, attempting to keep him from dropping too low in his delivery, which caused many of his pitches to simply flatten out.
"Rick's helped me out in a lot of regards," Heilman said. "It's not one little thing. It's several things. I don't want to pin down anything specific. It's more of a broad range and a whole approach. It's big stuff and it's little stuff."
General manager Jim Duquette stressed that he wasn't going to put too much emphasis on a first start, whether it was Erickson getting shelled or Heilman looking good. But that was before Heilman took the mound Wednesday.
"We opened that position to competition and the evaluating stage of Spring Training starts today," Duquette said. "I feel like [Heilman] has made strides [since last year]. But we all recognize that we pushed him through the system quickly. Under normal circumstances, he doesn't get as many starts as he did [last year]. But we feel last year was beneficial to his learning curve."
Despite Duquette's contention, Heilman, 25, said he doesn't feel like he was rushed through the system. He never put a timetable on his arrival time in the Major Leagues even though he was a four-year college player and spent nearly two full seasons in the minor leagues.
"I really don't think about it," Heilman said. "I wanted to get to the big leagues as quick as possible and stay there. I don't know how much quicker I could have gotten there. It's just a matter of staying now.
"I don't have any control over what other people's expectations are. That's a very subjective thing. I don't think there's any more pressure on me, though. Everyone is under the same pressure to perform and do well. Everyone puts pressure on himself. I think the important thing is that it doesn't really matter what anyone expects. You just have to be able to go home and look at yourself in the mirror."
Heilman may be looking at himself but he said he isn't paying attention to what the other candidates are doing, a sentiment echoed by Griffiths, who also acknowledged he had more important things to worry about after Wednesday's outing.
"The control on my fastball was a little off," Griffiths said. "It's been that way. I haven't found my groove or my arm slot. Some years the arm slot just happens and some years it doesn't. My speeds are down, too, and that affects your control a little bit.
"It's discouraging but it's early. I get to go out there again. There's only one way to go and that's to improve."
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/03/03/KIRfnXvE.jpg
Former first-round pick in competition for fifth starter
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com Ticket information
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Aaron Heilman was presented with an opportunity Wednesday afternoon and the Notre Dame product didn't waste it.
The Mets are hoping that Heilman will begin living up to the expectations that come along with being a first-round pick. He took some baby steps in right direction at Holman Stadium, pitching a pair of scoreless innings in a 13-4 loss to the Dodgers in the exhibition season opener.
Heilman got the start and allowed two hits and struck out two, showing improved consistency in his delivery while demonstrating better location with his pitches. Still, it's too early to tell whether his effort will have a significant impact on the race for the fifth starter's spot.
"I could have struck out six straight on three pitches each," Heilman laughed when asked if he could have had a better outing. "But I felt good. I think I accomplished what I wanted to. My main focus was my fastball and its command to both sides of the plate. And I worked the changeup well. I felt good. I just tried to forget about everything and just compete today.
"I feel like I'm right where I need to be. I just need to continue to make these improvements. I'm looking at my progress as more incremental. I don't feel like I've had to overhaul my delivery or my mindset at all."
Heilman certainly showed against the Dodgers it might be too soon to discount his candidacy in a race that includes Scott Erickson, Jeremy Griffiths, Grant Roberts, Tyler Yates and James Baldwin. In fact, if you stack Heilman's maiden effort this season up against those of Griffiths and Erickson, he appears to have put himself in a much better position.
Erickson lasted only a third of an inning in Tuesday's intrasquad game, while Griffiths was equally ineffective Wednesday, allowing six earned runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch in a third of an inning. Roberts is scheduled to pitch on Thursday, while Yates and Erickson will go Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Heilman, who was 2-7 with a 6.75 ERA last season, has benefited from the presence of new pitching coach Rick Peterson. The two have worked on Heilman's arm slot, attempting to keep him from dropping too low in his delivery, which caused many of his pitches to simply flatten out.
"Rick's helped me out in a lot of regards," Heilman said. "It's not one little thing. It's several things. I don't want to pin down anything specific. It's more of a broad range and a whole approach. It's big stuff and it's little stuff."
General manager Jim Duquette stressed that he wasn't going to put too much emphasis on a first start, whether it was Erickson getting shelled or Heilman looking good. But that was before Heilman took the mound Wednesday.
"We opened that position to competition and the evaluating stage of Spring Training starts today," Duquette said. "I feel like [Heilman] has made strides [since last year]. But we all recognize that we pushed him through the system quickly. Under normal circumstances, he doesn't get as many starts as he did [last year]. But we feel last year was beneficial to his learning curve."
Despite Duquette's contention, Heilman, 25, said he doesn't feel like he was rushed through the system. He never put a timetable on his arrival time in the Major Leagues even though he was a four-year college player and spent nearly two full seasons in the minor leagues.
"I really don't think about it," Heilman said. "I wanted to get to the big leagues as quick as possible and stay there. I don't know how much quicker I could have gotten there. It's just a matter of staying now.
"I don't have any control over what other people's expectations are. That's a very subjective thing. I don't think there's any more pressure on me, though. Everyone is under the same pressure to perform and do well. Everyone puts pressure on himself. I think the important thing is that it doesn't really matter what anyone expects. You just have to be able to go home and look at yourself in the mirror."
Heilman may be looking at himself but he said he isn't paying attention to what the other candidates are doing, a sentiment echoed by Griffiths, who also acknowledged he had more important things to worry about after Wednesday's outing.
"The control on my fastball was a little off," Griffiths said. "It's been that way. I haven't found my groove or my arm slot. Some years the arm slot just happens and some years it doesn't. My speeds are down, too, and that affects your control a little bit.
"It's discouraging but it's early. I get to go out there again. There's only one way to go and that's to improve."
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/03/03/KIRfnXvE.jpg