GaryMrMets
03-20-2004, 04:00 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/8233936.htm
Posted on Sat, Mar. 20, 2004
Coggin making strong pitch to catch on in 'pen
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
LAKELAND, Fla. - It's all about steps for David Coggin - steps, then validation.
Coggin is coming off shoulder surgery, again. He is fighting for the 11th and last bullpen spot, again.
He is proving himself worthy. Again.
"Anybody that goes through rehab twice shows mental toughness," manager Larry Bowa said, referring to Coggin's other successful comeback from shoulder surgery in 1999, when his right labrum was repaired. The same injury sent the righthander back to the operating room at the end of 2002, and it cost him last season. "Some guys are, like, 'I don't need this,' and move on."
Once a power pitcher with a pedigree in the minors, Coggin isn't moving on: He's trying to latch on. Amaury Telemaco seems the probable No. 10 pitcher. That means Coggin's competition is lefty Bud Smith, who also is coming back from surgery, and Ryan Madson. If he doesn't stick with the big club, Madson essentially will be the sixth starter, cached in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he stood out last season.
Unlike Madson, Coggin, 27, is out of options. And he's far from winning the competition.
The Phillies have to make sure Coggin, the 30th pick in the 1995 draft, can endure a season of intermittent use as a long reliever. His first journey into the bullpen worked out: He went 2-2 with a 2.71 ERA and had a 20 2/3 innings scoreless streak in 2002.
He hasn't given up an earned run in nine innings this season and is holding batters to a .103 average, better even than Telemaco and Madson, who are similarly impressive. It's just that the club wants to be assured Coggin will hold up.
"His durability will be an issue," Bowa said.
That's why the next couple of weeks are so important for Coggin.
He's been pitching every other day, fighting through a dead-arm phase that he thinks ended yesterday. His fastball's velocity is improving, inching from the 88-mph range to around 90. His slider is working. His location on both is good, though the slider will be better when the arm speed increases. The shoulder problems mean he won't throw his curveball this spring, if at all this season - a fact that ranks low on Coggin's wish list.
"My No. 1 goal is to answer that bell every time they ring it for me," Coggin said.
There have been no setbacks so far. He said he is at 80 percent of capacity, normal for this time of the spring. With life ever increasing in his arm, he expects no setbacks.
"I don't see any problem with that," Coggin said. "I think I have a lot more."
He'll never have the mid-90s stuff that once made him a top prospect. He might never again have the power curve that complemented it. That he can pitch effectively without those pitches again speaks to Coggin's value.
"A lot of pitchers have to do that - power pitchers have to make that adjustment," Bowa said. "The guys who make the adjustment stay in the big leagues."
Phillies 9, Tigers 1
Homers, homers everywhere, but the starter was the story.
Second baseman Placido Polanco extended his hitting streak to six games with his first homer of the spring, a two-run shot in the third and his second hit in the game. Lou Collier smoked his second home run of the spring, a three-run shot in the fourth, and Jason Michaels cranked his first in the seventh, also a three-run shot. Tomas Perez's solo shot in the eighth tied him for the team lead, with three.
Starter Vicente Padilla, the most efficient Phillies starter this spring, allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts in five innings, lowering his ERA to 1.93.
"Padilla's probably been more focused on spring training than I've seen him before," said Larry Bowa, who, like Padilla, has been with the Phillies for spring training since 2001. "Running. Preparation. Work ethic. Everything."
Why?
"I think he liked his raise, and he wants to make more," said Bowa, referring to Padilla's $2.6 million contract after earning $425,000 in 2003. "That's how you're judged by your peers. And he could make a lot of money."
Padilla, who came to the Phillies from Arizona midway through 2000 in the Curt Schilling trade, looks around and sees Kevin Millwood making $11 million and Eric Milton making $9 million in their seventh seasons and knows he could be like them one day.
"When Padilla works, when he prepares, he's got as good a stuff as anybody," Bowa said. Anybody on the team? "Anybody in the league."
Posted on Sat, Mar. 20, 2004
Coggin making strong pitch to catch on in 'pen
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
LAKELAND, Fla. - It's all about steps for David Coggin - steps, then validation.
Coggin is coming off shoulder surgery, again. He is fighting for the 11th and last bullpen spot, again.
He is proving himself worthy. Again.
"Anybody that goes through rehab twice shows mental toughness," manager Larry Bowa said, referring to Coggin's other successful comeback from shoulder surgery in 1999, when his right labrum was repaired. The same injury sent the righthander back to the operating room at the end of 2002, and it cost him last season. "Some guys are, like, 'I don't need this,' and move on."
Once a power pitcher with a pedigree in the minors, Coggin isn't moving on: He's trying to latch on. Amaury Telemaco seems the probable No. 10 pitcher. That means Coggin's competition is lefty Bud Smith, who also is coming back from surgery, and Ryan Madson. If he doesn't stick with the big club, Madson essentially will be the sixth starter, cached in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he stood out last season.
Unlike Madson, Coggin, 27, is out of options. And he's far from winning the competition.
The Phillies have to make sure Coggin, the 30th pick in the 1995 draft, can endure a season of intermittent use as a long reliever. His first journey into the bullpen worked out: He went 2-2 with a 2.71 ERA and had a 20 2/3 innings scoreless streak in 2002.
He hasn't given up an earned run in nine innings this season and is holding batters to a .103 average, better even than Telemaco and Madson, who are similarly impressive. It's just that the club wants to be assured Coggin will hold up.
"His durability will be an issue," Bowa said.
That's why the next couple of weeks are so important for Coggin.
He's been pitching every other day, fighting through a dead-arm phase that he thinks ended yesterday. His fastball's velocity is improving, inching from the 88-mph range to around 90. His slider is working. His location on both is good, though the slider will be better when the arm speed increases. The shoulder problems mean he won't throw his curveball this spring, if at all this season - a fact that ranks low on Coggin's wish list.
"My No. 1 goal is to answer that bell every time they ring it for me," Coggin said.
There have been no setbacks so far. He said he is at 80 percent of capacity, normal for this time of the spring. With life ever increasing in his arm, he expects no setbacks.
"I don't see any problem with that," Coggin said. "I think I have a lot more."
He'll never have the mid-90s stuff that once made him a top prospect. He might never again have the power curve that complemented it. That he can pitch effectively without those pitches again speaks to Coggin's value.
"A lot of pitchers have to do that - power pitchers have to make that adjustment," Bowa said. "The guys who make the adjustment stay in the big leagues."
Phillies 9, Tigers 1
Homers, homers everywhere, but the starter was the story.
Second baseman Placido Polanco extended his hitting streak to six games with his first homer of the spring, a two-run shot in the third and his second hit in the game. Lou Collier smoked his second home run of the spring, a three-run shot in the fourth, and Jason Michaels cranked his first in the seventh, also a three-run shot. Tomas Perez's solo shot in the eighth tied him for the team lead, with three.
Starter Vicente Padilla, the most efficient Phillies starter this spring, allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts in five innings, lowering his ERA to 1.93.
"Padilla's probably been more focused on spring training than I've seen him before," said Larry Bowa, who, like Padilla, has been with the Phillies for spring training since 2001. "Running. Preparation. Work ethic. Everything."
Why?
"I think he liked his raise, and he wants to make more," said Bowa, referring to Padilla's $2.6 million contract after earning $425,000 in 2003. "That's how you're judged by your peers. And he could make a lot of money."
Padilla, who came to the Phillies from Arizona midway through 2000 in the Curt Schilling trade, looks around and sees Kevin Millwood making $11 million and Eric Milton making $9 million in their seventh seasons and knows he could be like them one day.
"When Padilla works, when he prepares, he's got as good a stuff as anybody," Bowa said. Anybody on the team? "Anybody in the league."