Pitching comebacks inspired by children

There's a pair of human interest stories on SoxandPhils pitchers who are on completely opposite ends of the baseball spectrum and are attempting completely different sorts of comebacks. But each is inspired by his child.

Cole Hamels is looking to reclaim his throne as a baseball king, while Scott Atchison is just trying to claw his way back into the kingdom to facilitate the special care his 2-year-old daughter needs for her rare genetic disorder.

Hamels' rise and fall has been well-documented, but Andy Martino did a decent job recapping it and adding insight from the pitcher as he attempts to return to dominance. This comeback is in part inspired by his new son, Caleb:

The baby stared at unfamiliar objects with fierce interest and approached challenges with a determination that struck his father as admirable. And after enduring the most serious setbacks of his athletic life, Hamels embraced the inspiration.

"Kids never quit," the pitcher, now 26, said last week, smiling when asked about his son. "They're going to fall down a million times before they learn how to walk. There's something I can learn from that in baseball, about how you have to get beat down in this game before you finally fix yourself."

From a PR standpoint, I'm most impressed that in another part of the article Hamels says he will try to think before he speaks because he has realized how his statements can be perceived differently from how he means. He even boned up on making innocuous statements by watching other athletes' post-game comments in the offseason.

While lacking the name and panache of Hamels, Atchison's story is more interesting. Back from Japan, the 33-year-old hopes to squeeze onto the Red Sox roster to be closer to the hospital in Dallas where his daughter gets treatment for thrombocytopenia-absent radius.

This is some heady inspiration for a guy trying to make his way into a bullpen chock-full of established stars:

There are no guarantees for Atchison this spring. He must fight his way through an overcrowded clubhouse, stuffed with low-cost, last-chance relievers itching to be the 25th man on the roster. That spot will go to a pitcher who can get lefthanders out, and Atchison will have a chance.
[...]
"Theo [Epstein] told me I'd have a chance to win a spot, and that's all I can ask for," Atchison said. "I'm getting a little older. I need to be somewhere where they're going to contend because that's who's going to use somebody in my position, whereas a team that's not going to contend might be looking at younger guys and I don't really fit that bill anymore."

Needless to say, the Atchisons have have some supporters here at SoxandPhils.

More on sharing pitches: The other day, Hamels acknowledged patterning his cutter after Jon Lester's. In today's column, Nick Cafardo casually mentions that Roy Halladay learned his sinker from Derek Lowe. I'm not sure if I knew that, nor whether I'm particularly pleased presuming that this occurred when D-Lowe was still a Sox and Doc still a Jay. Unless Halladay promised to never use the devastating pitch against the Red Sox.

Ugly numbers, and former and future former Red Sox pitchers

***Caveat: The following is not a criticism of Charlie Manuel, a World Series-winning manger. It's just a look at an interesting trend during his time as Phillies manager.***

When Cholly became manager, among the many criticisms was that he was an American League manager ill-suited for National League style of baseball. In fairness, he did seem to struggle with the double switch early on.

But if that's the case, why has this team been so bad at interleague play? During his tenure, the Phillies have gone 27-46 against the American League (not counting the 4-1 against the Rays in the World Series). That's a .369 winning percentage. They're 3-7 so far this year, which is on pace for the third best, and third worst, interleague mark of Cholly's tenure.

Granted, a large chunk of this damage can be attributed to a 3-12 mark against the other half of this blog, but that's no excuse. The Phillies have blossomed into a championship club and should be able to hold their own against any team.

I also wanted to look at Cholly's June records because it has felt as if this June has been just as bad as June 2008. It's close (8-9, .471 this year; 12-14, .462 last year). What's interesting is that in 2005 and 2007, the Phillies played above .500 in June, but sandwiched between was an awful 9-18, .333 June 2006. For Manuel's tenure, the Phillies have gone 59-66 in June, a .472 winning percentage. That's not as bad as it seems, but combine the .369 interleague record with the .472 June record, and you get numbers closer to what you'd want Jayson Werth's OPS to be, not segments of a championship club's win-loss record.

Former Sox pitcher and future former Sox pitcher: Derek Lowe, still the only pitcher to clinch three playoff series in the same year, is glad to be back in Boston.

Here's how genuine Lowe is about missing Boston.

"Coming in here, you kind of get these old vibes that are fresh in your mind. We had a lot of good memories here, and I have a lot of fond memories of the players," he said. "It's a great place to play, too."

He pitches tonight against Josh Beckett. Normally, I'd root for a 1-0 Red Sox win, but our offense is in the toilet, so I'll root for Lowe to pitch well for six innings before our bats come to life against the Braves bullpen.

Jonathan Paplebon, whose Red Sox tenure will soon be threatened by Daniel Bard, had to retreat from some comments about pitching in the Bronx. I'd like to see the context of the original quote, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in that at least he started to spin correctly:

"I don't want to go (expletive) play for the Yankees," he said. "I've been on a team for the past five years that's been in first place more than any other (expletive) team otherwise. Why would I want to leave?"
[...]
"[The Red Sox] don't owe me nothing," he said. "This team doesn't need me. I need the Red Sox more than the Red Sox need me."

Nick Cafardo audtions for SoxandPhils

Given the awful economic state of newspapering, it seems the Globe's Nick Cafardo is sending out subtle hints that he'd like to join the SoxandPhils team. A couple of lines from today's Baseball Notes column prove my point:

Apropos of nothing: 1. If Mike Lowell had signed with the Phillies last winter, he'd have back-to-back championships; 2. Nomar Garciaparra would be a nice fit for the Phillies.

...

The action on Lowe will likely accelerate this weekend among three NL East teams - Atlanta, New York, and Philadelphia. The Braves, who met with Lowe last week, need to nail this one down. They acquired Javier Vazquez from the White Sox earlier this winter, but they have lost John Smoltz and have yet to make an offer to the rehabbing Tom Glavine. They would salvage their offseason by signing Lowe, who among the baseball people we spoke to was considered the second-best free agent pitcher out there (after CC Sabathia). One rub is that Lowe wants to go somewhere where he can get to a World Series. Are the Braves that team? Are the Mets? We know the Phillies are.

No need to be bashful, Mr. Cafardo - you'd be welcome to join. We don't pay well, but we offer telecommuting, flexible hours and a friendly staff.

Oh, and since he took a jab at the Mets, Christine and I (while taking breaks from watching the Carolina Panthers fall apart last night) caught the end of the 2006 NLCS on MLB Network, which was the beginning of the "choke artist" label for the New York Mets. Christine could watch Carlos Beltran freeze on strike three with the potential winning run on base a million times.

Back to current reality: Cafardo, Bob Ryan and Jim Salisbury all talk about the two Red Sox left fielders on deck for the Hall of Fame. I think (probably like I did last year) that Jim Rice gets in this year. I haven't seen a writer's ballot that hasn't included him, and he was darn close last year.

No one, however, doubts that at least one Red Sox (Rickey Henderson) will get in. If you've clicked on the link to Cafardo's column at the top of this post, you would have an enjoyable recap on Rickey's year in the Fens. I love Henderson stories and can't wait for all of them to come out over the next few months.

Football: Again, I keep forgetting about football - although today's Eagles-Giants is a must-see. Yesterday, I would have picked the Panthers and the Titans. Today, I'll go with the Giants and Steelers. I'm 2-4 so far in the playoffs.

News to me

While Google newsing the Phillies this morning, I came across a San Diego Union-Tribune story on Jake Peavy. There's nothing doing with Peavy and the champs, but an unrelated section of the story has the Philly connection: A Web site that compares a player's actual worth with his salary said in the last two years Jason Werth took $2.5 million in salary from the Phillies but gave back more than $33 million worth of play.

I have a new toy to play with: www.fangraphs.com. Here's the original "Werth much more money" post. The only problem I see is that you have to click on each player's individual page to compare salary with worth. I was hoping I'd be able to click on the Phillies roster and see a list who's over- and under-paid. And it's not available for pitchers.

Of course one of the first guys I put in - anticipating the annual arbitration drama - was Ryan Howard, who over-performed last year's $10 million salary by $5 million. The Phillies won't be helped by the Yankees $180 million contract with Mark Teixeira, Scott Lauber writes.

Nick Cafardo's Sunday column: His first "Apropos of nothing" seemed directed at Christine, and his other notes also had some good nuggets:

1. Don't you miss watching baseball?; 2. Not sure losing Kevin Cash to the Yankees was insignificant; 3. Aaron Harang, Pat Burrell, Mark Teixeira, and Brian Bannister - all former Red Sox draft picks; 4. Wouldn't it be nice if one of the rich athletes or one of the high-paid executives stood up in times when teams are laying off employees and said, "I'm giving up some of my salary to save the jobs of the working people in the organization?"; 5. Hall of Fame ballots are due in Wednesday. I voted for Jim Rice, Rickey Henderson, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Andre Dawson, and Alan Trammell.

Cafardo also continues to insist that the Phillies are in on Derek Lowe. I still can't see that happening.

These better be just rumors

Not a good day for SoxandPhils fans if the daily rumors become reality.

The Sox have been talking again to A.J. Burnett. This doesn't make sense. A pitcher with a history of injuries is exactly the long-term commitment the Sox have avoided.

Even worse is that they've now been linked to Carl Pavano. I know it would probably be a low-risk, Bartolo Colon-type deal. But c'mon. The guy was a laughingstock in New York. Just honor his place in Red Sox lore (as trade bait for Pedro Martinez and the embarrassment he caused the Yankees) and let it be.

Incidentally, that Nick Cafardo report may clarify Derek Lowe's standing with the Phillies: The team denies making an offer, but the player is said to want to go there. Maybe the Phillie denials are true, but D-Lowe doesn't want them to be.

Phillies: My alarm kicked on this morning midway through Rhea Hughes' report of some trade that could involve J.A. Happ, the Padres and Chris Coste. I know that Jake Peavy wouldn't go to Philadelphia, so I wondered what it was all about. I was less than enthralled when I found out the deal would send Peavy to the Cubs and bring Mark DeRosa to the Phillies for Happ.

{Update: The deal could involve Kyle Kendrick, not Happ.}

Complicated deals like this tend to fall apart. Let's hope so. DeRosa doesn't thrill me, and he's no Pat Burrell.

The only good rumbling of the day comes from bits I picked up from WFAN. Apparently, there's word that the Red Sox meeting with CC Sabathia wasn't exactly to lure him to Boston but to remind him how awful it would be playing for the Yankees. If true, I can't exactly be thrilled with the tact.

I am enjoying how the Yankee fans are growing frustrated that the big guy hasn't accepted the Yankees offer. Gee, maybe he wants to see if a championship-caliber team makes him an offer.

Game day: The Phillies held off the Nationals today ... oh wait. We already recapped this one. As I was watching the replay of the NL East clincher, Comcast SportsNet broke in with some real news. I was nervous as Neil Hartman started talking, given all the crazy rumors that are swirling. But he was just reporting the good news that Charlie Manuel will be the Phillies manager through 2011. Good for him - he deserves it.

Derek Lowe: Sox or Phil?

While the Red Sox introduced their newest pitcher today, reports indicate they may be readying an offer for old pal Derek Lowe, who might already have an offer in his inbox from the Phillies.

That's what the Boston Globe reports, but Todd Zolecki isn't so sure.

I'd love to add D-Lowe to the SoxandPhil rolls, but I can see him quickly exceeding the years and dollars the Phillies would be willing to spend. Same for the Red Sox.

The newest Red Sox, Junichi Tazawa, is hopefully a bargain at $3.3 million over three years. He met with the press today, praising Daisuke Matsuzaka and ready to test himself.

"The reason I came directly to the [United States] is I wanted to try to play here," Tazawa said through a translator at a press conference at Fenway Park today. "I wanted to challenge myself."

Comebacks and good-byes

On a rainy Sunday that ends a holiday weekend without much baseball news to chew on, the Sunday column fodder is also kind of light.

Nick Cafardo chats with Derek Lowe, who sounds like he wants to come back to Boston. The Red Sox, like the Phillies, have shown interest, but I don't think either will make a strong move to sign the 36-year-old who is the only active player with at least 10 seasons who has never been on the DL.

Why, Christine asked, would D-Lowe want to come back to the Red Sox when they obviously had no interest in re-signing him after the great 2004?

"If your No. 1 goal is to win, I would say there's only a handful of teams year in and year out that have a chance to win. Now, there are no guarantees, but there are teams who have a better chance than others."

Boston?

"Yeah, all because of what I just outlined," he said. "Even if I'd never played there. And I don't look at it as coming back, I look at it as who has the best chance to win? And they clearly do." If you're looking four or five years down the line, they fit the criteria of what I'm looking for. It's not just the fact I played there - but, yeah, there were a lot of things I enjoyed - but they're definitely a franchise that has a chance to win."

{Exactly, a chance to win. So my question still stands: Why the Red Sox? They couldn't even beat the Rays. I'm allowed to talk smack like that over the next year because I've had to endure it from Greg for way too long. And I think it's dumb to publicly ask to come back to a team that has already spurned you.}

Another former Red Sox, Jay Payton, who refused to be a back-up for a consistent winner three years ago, also sounds like he wants back in.

"When I talked to my agent recently, Boston was the first team I mentioned. I don't know if it's in the cards or if I squished my chances of ever returning there. I know the circumstances of my departure from there a few years back were blown out of proportion. I've talked to Tito [Terry Francona] several times since then and we're OK. I'd love the chance to go back there because that's a winning organization and they're committed to winning. They do things the right way."

Yeah, good luck with that one Jay.

Phillies: Todd Zolecki previews the arbitration offers. Basically, they'll offer it to Jamie Moyer, but not to Pat Burrell. I won't pretend to know if this means there's more or less chance of the old man returning, although it looks like Pat's a goner. But I'd love to see Moyer go through the arbitration process to show the youngsters how a professional handles it.

Free agent nibbling

A Yankee-loving colleague, who hasn't been thrilled with the Yankees' desire to have CC Sabathia open their new park, wasn't happy either with recent reports that the Angels are about to jump into the fray. If CC gets his wish and stays out West, he reasoned, there's even more of a chance the Yankees would overpay for A.J. Burnett.

Burnett, who has just two seasons (both preceding free agency years) of making at least 30 starts, has been linked to several teams. He's already been mentioned in Boston, but that seemed like a move to drive up his price for the Yankees. And now, perhaps more puzzling, he's being discussed in Philadelphia.

I don't buy it. The Phillies overpay for mediocre free agent pitchers - see Eaton, Adam - but not usually for ones who will command top dollar. They're also linked to Derek Lowe, who makes a bit more sense given he won't cost as much in dollars or years. But as Christine reasons, even if they lose Jamie Moyer, they still have J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco to fill the last two slots in the rotation. Oh yeah, I'm forgetting somebody else. Did I mention him already today?

Christine and I have thought it's been a quiet off-season. I didn't think too much about it because neither of our teams faces major overhauls. But turns out it's one of the slowest starts to off-season maneuvering ever.

Manny held homerless in Game 1

Memo to Fox: There are other players in this series besides Manny Ramirez, and the ones wearing the red pinstripes - none of whom quit on their team - won Game 1 tonight 3-2.

The Phillies came out flat against the Dodgers, causing Christine to groan a lot as she watched her squad's first National League Championship Series game since she was in high school.

But ace Cole Hamels hung in there after giving up two runs - one on a mammoth double by Manny in the first, the other on a sac fly in the 4th - and lasted seven innings tonight.

The Phillies offense still isn't clicking, managing just seven hits and a walk, but they pushed across the three runs they needed off Derek Lowe. For a guy who used to be clutch in the playoffs - including pitching a clincher at Yankee Stadium in 2004 - he looked really rattled by the fans in the 5th inning. He fell apart in the 6th after Shane Victorino reached on an error. Chase Utley, who may be snapping out of a playoff funk with two hits tonight, hit a game-tying home run. Pat Burrell quickly broke the tie with a solo home run two batters later. He looked very determined rounding the bases.

McCarverisms: "For those of you just joining us, Jason Bay was aquired by the Red Sox to replace Manny Ramirez."

Administrative notes: Tomorrow is a hectic day for those of us at SoxandPhils. We'll be at Citizens Bank Park for Game 2. We'll try to recap as quickly as possible to watch the Red Sox and Rays do battle in Game 1 and then get a few hours sleep before an early-morning drive to North Carolina to visit family. I don't know if we'll recap the AL game Saturday afternoon, but we'll definitely check in sometime Saturday night. Let's hope at that point we'll be four wins away from the SoxandPhils World Series.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Nomo-mania II

I forgot yesterday to mention the small-print news of the week, Hideo Nomo, the last Red Sox since Derek Lowe, err Clay Buchholz, to pitch a no-hitter, is going to try a comeback with the Kansas City Royals.

In honor of this, and the champs opening the title defense in Asia, here's my ranking of the Sox/Phils Japanese players:

1) Hideki Okajima. According to public opinion, he was signed to ease Dice-K's transition, but he turned into a shut-down reliever, an All-Star, and the #2 guy in the pen for the World Champions.

2) Dice-K. I was thinking about giving Nomo the nod here, but Nomo was just about league average during his year in Boston. Though, maybe he should get bonus points for also being a Phillie for a day in 1999. Nonetheless, Dice did pitch well, though a little disappointing, especially in the playoffs when he averaged less than 5 innings per start. We expect more this year.

3) Nomo. Like I said, about league average, but threw a no-hitter in his first start for Boston.

4) Tadahito Iguchi. Solid contributor for his 45 games with the Phils last year. Filled in admirably after Chase Utley broke his hand.

5) Tomokazu Ohka/So Taguchi. This list has a couple of stars, but then it's slim pickings. I can't decide between these two. One had 6 wins for the Sox before being traded to the Expos for a pre-felonious Ugueth Urbina. The other is a scrubby backup outfielder who's coming to the Phils this season after six years in St. Louis.

Honorable mention: If I knew this, I had forgotten that Dave Roberts -- he of the most important stolen base in history -- was born in Japan. I won't count him, but if I did he would rank 2 or 3 and I would entertain arguments for #1.

In other sports: Got three of four of the football games. Darn Redskins.

Baseball Mogul update: Didn't do that trade with Seattle. But made a couple swaps [Gordon, Burrell, Lieber, and four scrubs for Manny Corpas, Ubaldo Jimenez and Garrett Atkins] and then [Eaton, Coste and Geary] for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Christine wasn't thrilled with the first one, but she's couldn't get me to hit "accept" fast enough with the prospect of getting rid of Adam Eaton, even in a computer game. She didn't even consider her usual objections to trading with a division rival.

So far, the verdict's out... Phils have gotten off to their real-life slow start... at .500 on May 3, but only 2 games behind the Braves. I'm a little concerned that Cole Hamels would prefer a higher rotation slot on the Royals. I don't get it either.