GaryMrMets
08-04-2004, 05:45 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/9315049.htm
Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004
Worrell is calm amid the storms
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
SAN DIEGO - As the bullpen is depleted because of injury and use, as the team fades amid angst and anger, Tim Worrell retains his equilibrium. More has been asked of no Phillie this season. No Phillie has responded better. If not...
"We wouldn't have been in too good of a shape," Phillies manager Larry Bowa sighed.
Worrell, 37, was signed for 2 years at $2.75 million per season as a setup man with the ability to close games. He is in the midst of his second extended stint as closer while Billy Wagner's shoulder strain heals.
He is 11-for-15 in save opportunities. He allowed one run on three hits in pitching the ninth inning in last night's 5-2 win over the Padres.
In 50 appearances, he had allowed only six of 22 inherited runners to score. He's likely to earn an extra $100,000 for pitching in at least 65 games and, having finished 20 games, another $50,000 for finishing 30 games.
He does it with what he calls "average or less than average ability." He does it with an above-average approach.
"The first half of my career, I was caught up in the result: win, loss, ERA, quality of outing," Worrell recalled of trying to make it as a starter. "Now - and this might sound obvious or cliched - I just try to pitch my best. Because that's the only thing I can control."
Since becoming a full-time reliever in 1999, Worrell has a 24-23 record and 52 saves. Thirty-eight saves came last season during the Giants' run to the National League Championship Series, when he took over for closer Robb Nen.
His presence soothes the bullpen. Rookie reliever Ryan Madson, a starter until this season, sees him warm up easily, waiting until he gets into the game to lock in. He sees Worrell throw his fastball in the high 80s and low 90s, trusting movement and location. He sees Worrell use his offspeed pitches in every situation, and he does the same.
"I see a lot of him in myself," said Madson, who has a 2.07 ERA. "He's so relaxed out there, confident, smooth, not a maximum-effort guy. He's definitely a good person to learn from. He doesn't get the credit, but he's the guy we can't afford to lose."
Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan agreed: "Worrell is very steady. That permeates the bullpen."
The steadiness comes, in part, because he learned that he needed to take care of the pitch at hand. Not the batter at hand, not the next batter - the pitch. It's the only important one.
"I don't try to go three pitches from now. I want him out with the first pitch," Worrell said. "You have to throw it with 100 percent conviction. And I don't want to think about the pitch. The less I think, the more my ability takes over."
Trust your stuff; throw your pitch; get the out quickly. Simplification, simply. And it only took nearly a decade to develop.
As for the results, well, they'll take care of themselves.
"Hey, there are days you're going to do everything right and the box score will say you sucked," Worrell said. "Each of us is the only one who can judge how we really pitched."
His bosses are happy.
"He's held us above water very well," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "It's been everything we wanted. It's a godsend he came available."
Relieved reliever
Felix Rodriguez showed up yesterday, 4 days after the Phillies traded for him, not ecstatic having to leave his beloved Giants but pleased that the Phillies have a shot at the playoffs. The hard part, he said, was explaining to Helen, 6, why Daddy had to leave for a while.
"Are you sad?" she asked.
"If I have to leave, I have to leave," he replied.
At least, he said, he lands with a team that not only didn't balk at his 3-day vacation as they foundered in Chicago, but also one that, he said, "has a chance, like San Francisco."
Well, maybe not exactly like the Giants, who are in the thick of the playoff hunt, as opposed to the Phillies, who are clinging to the National League East race. And, as far as his future goes - Rodriguez holds a $3.15 million option for next season - it's clear he is using the last 2 months of this season to test the Philadelphia scene.
"I don't care about money," Rodriguez said.
Daily Bowa shrug
On his job status: "I could care less about the talk. We're the only team in the history of baseball, we lose four or five games, the manager gets fired."
Actually, the injury-plagued Phillies are in danger of missing the playoffs after being picked by many prognosticators as World Series contenders.
Triage unit
Closer Billy Wagner, sidelined since July 22 with a strained left rotator cuff, will see Dr. Lewis Yocum when the Phillies visit Los Angeles on Friday to start a series with the Dodgers.
The team physician, Dr. Michael Ciccotti, recommended the visit when he saw Wagner last week. Wagner is forbidden to throw until Tuesday, he said, which likely places his return in late August.
Similarly, the strained ligament in the right pinkie of Ryan Madson continues to sideline the precocious rookie. Madson hasn't pitched since getting hurt July 25.
Phillers
Amaury Telemaco gave Rodriguez his No. 47 and took No. 57...The Phillies demoted Geoff Geary to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004
Worrell is calm amid the storms
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
SAN DIEGO - As the bullpen is depleted because of injury and use, as the team fades amid angst and anger, Tim Worrell retains his equilibrium. More has been asked of no Phillie this season. No Phillie has responded better. If not...
"We wouldn't have been in too good of a shape," Phillies manager Larry Bowa sighed.
Worrell, 37, was signed for 2 years at $2.75 million per season as a setup man with the ability to close games. He is in the midst of his second extended stint as closer while Billy Wagner's shoulder strain heals.
He is 11-for-15 in save opportunities. He allowed one run on three hits in pitching the ninth inning in last night's 5-2 win over the Padres.
In 50 appearances, he had allowed only six of 22 inherited runners to score. He's likely to earn an extra $100,000 for pitching in at least 65 games and, having finished 20 games, another $50,000 for finishing 30 games.
He does it with what he calls "average or less than average ability." He does it with an above-average approach.
"The first half of my career, I was caught up in the result: win, loss, ERA, quality of outing," Worrell recalled of trying to make it as a starter. "Now - and this might sound obvious or cliched - I just try to pitch my best. Because that's the only thing I can control."
Since becoming a full-time reliever in 1999, Worrell has a 24-23 record and 52 saves. Thirty-eight saves came last season during the Giants' run to the National League Championship Series, when he took over for closer Robb Nen.
His presence soothes the bullpen. Rookie reliever Ryan Madson, a starter until this season, sees him warm up easily, waiting until he gets into the game to lock in. He sees Worrell throw his fastball in the high 80s and low 90s, trusting movement and location. He sees Worrell use his offspeed pitches in every situation, and he does the same.
"I see a lot of him in myself," said Madson, who has a 2.07 ERA. "He's so relaxed out there, confident, smooth, not a maximum-effort guy. He's definitely a good person to learn from. He doesn't get the credit, but he's the guy we can't afford to lose."
Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan agreed: "Worrell is very steady. That permeates the bullpen."
The steadiness comes, in part, because he learned that he needed to take care of the pitch at hand. Not the batter at hand, not the next batter - the pitch. It's the only important one.
"I don't try to go three pitches from now. I want him out with the first pitch," Worrell said. "You have to throw it with 100 percent conviction. And I don't want to think about the pitch. The less I think, the more my ability takes over."
Trust your stuff; throw your pitch; get the out quickly. Simplification, simply. And it only took nearly a decade to develop.
As for the results, well, they'll take care of themselves.
"Hey, there are days you're going to do everything right and the box score will say you sucked," Worrell said. "Each of us is the only one who can judge how we really pitched."
His bosses are happy.
"He's held us above water very well," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "It's been everything we wanted. It's a godsend he came available."
Relieved reliever
Felix Rodriguez showed up yesterday, 4 days after the Phillies traded for him, not ecstatic having to leave his beloved Giants but pleased that the Phillies have a shot at the playoffs. The hard part, he said, was explaining to Helen, 6, why Daddy had to leave for a while.
"Are you sad?" she asked.
"If I have to leave, I have to leave," he replied.
At least, he said, he lands with a team that not only didn't balk at his 3-day vacation as they foundered in Chicago, but also one that, he said, "has a chance, like San Francisco."
Well, maybe not exactly like the Giants, who are in the thick of the playoff hunt, as opposed to the Phillies, who are clinging to the National League East race. And, as far as his future goes - Rodriguez holds a $3.15 million option for next season - it's clear he is using the last 2 months of this season to test the Philadelphia scene.
"I don't care about money," Rodriguez said.
Daily Bowa shrug
On his job status: "I could care less about the talk. We're the only team in the history of baseball, we lose four or five games, the manager gets fired."
Actually, the injury-plagued Phillies are in danger of missing the playoffs after being picked by many prognosticators as World Series contenders.
Triage unit
Closer Billy Wagner, sidelined since July 22 with a strained left rotator cuff, will see Dr. Lewis Yocum when the Phillies visit Los Angeles on Friday to start a series with the Dodgers.
The team physician, Dr. Michael Ciccotti, recommended the visit when he saw Wagner last week. Wagner is forbidden to throw until Tuesday, he said, which likely places his return in late August.
Similarly, the strained ligament in the right pinkie of Ryan Madson continues to sideline the precocious rookie. Madson hasn't pitched since getting hurt July 25.
Phillers
Amaury Telemaco gave Rodriguez his No. 47 and took No. 57...The Phillies demoted Geoff Geary to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.