For Nats, Long Shots Hitting Spots

[ThomasTomasz]

Pictures of Mike O'Connor and Shawn Hill should be posted on the walls of every minor league clubhouse. They symbolize hope. If they can make it to the Nats' rotation, emerging as saviors of a decimated staff, then who is beyond career redemption?

And if they keep pitching as they have, who is to say that one or even both might not become fixtures in Washington? Baseball, and especially pitching, is as much art as science, as much personality as talent. What works in theory, like a blazing fastball, and what succeeds in reality, like competitiveness, control and intelligence, often prove quite different.

Consider the ludicrous sequence of coincidences that had to fall in place for these two 25-year-old rookies, buried deep in the Nationals' system, to get their chances and, so far, capitalize on them splendidly. First, Esteban Loaiza and Hector Carrasco left town last winter. Then Brian Lawrence, acquired to help replace them, was lost for the year before he pitched an inning. Pedro Astacio, brought in to replace him, was hurt immediately and hasn't pitched yet.

Ryan Drese and Zach Day then joined the rotation but their arms blew out faster than rotten garden hoses in spring. With John Patterson disabled since April, handsome Billy Traber got his chance, too. At 6 feet 5, he looked the part, but lasted two starts.

So, there was no choice. Gazing deep into a farm system universally regarded as dismal, the Nats covered their eyes and put the gangly 6-3 O'Connor, from George Washington University, in their rotation on April 27. Exactly a month later, on May 27, Hill, who missed the entire '05 season, was added to their desperation rotation.

Thus, the Nats put their flimsy fate in the hands of a bumptious, sunken-chested, 170-pound southpaw with a teenager's face and a phlegmatic, right-handed Canadian with sunken eyes who looks like he hasn't slept since infancy. One seems like he might crumple on the mound, the other like he might simply fall asleep. Yet they have believed in themselves when few others did.

And that has made all the difference. The long-shot heroes, who never met a radar gun that didn't hate them, were tossed the sort of career lifeline that unimposing pitchers seldom receive. Here's the ball, guys. We don't ask much. Just save us.

That's exactly what they've done. The pair have started a dozen games with a 2.69 ERA. Hill blanked the Phils for seven innings Sunday on two hits in his third consecutive quality start. Tonight, O'Connor will face the Rockies at RFK trying for a 10th straight fine outing, a streak that may make him the Nats' permanent southpaw starter.

"A lot of times, people never get a chance because enough pitchers ahead of you aren't going to lose their spots. It's not like you want people to get hurt," said O'Connor (3-3, 3.04 ERA), "but it's all about getting here."

Or, in Hill's case, getting back. A prospect who won a game for Montreal in '04, he fell off the sport's radar after reconstructive elbow surgery cost him all of '05. "You have bad days when you think you will never get back up here," said Hill (1-1, 1.80 ERA). "A lot of doors had to open for me to get my shot again."

Old heads, it seems, are taken with O'Connor's demeanor. After he ignored a line smash off his pitching shoulder and stayed in a game, Manager Frank Robinson said: "He's a tough kid. I like him. And I hate pitchers."

Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel watched O'Connor battle his tough lineup in two starts, sometimes screaming curses into his glove whenever he failed, then pumping his fist when he worked out of a jam. Manuel particularly liked the cussing part. "O'Connor's gutty. He has a good breaking ball. He's not afraid to throws strikes. And he has personality on the mound, emotion," Manuel said. "You can tell he likes to pitch. A lot of guys have talent. But in this game, personality comes out."

Except in the case of Hill, who keeps his wry, student-of-the-game demeanor under an expressionless exterior on the mound. His compact, balanced, bland delivery is the perfect contrast to O'Connor's eccentric, herky-jerky, across-the-body motion. O'Connor looks like a piece of broken farm machinery, Hill like an instructional film at three-quarter speed.

"I just try to keep hitters off-balance, mix it up and mess with guys' timing," O'Connor said. "I'm surprised a little at how I've done. A lot of hitters say they have a tough time seeing the ball against me."

Actually, both O'Connor and Hill may have better stuff than they've been given credit for. Their pitches have exceptional movement, especially late movement as opposed to pure velocity. And both have been forced to become crafty pitchers at an early age. In 50 1/3 innings, O'Connor has allowed only 36 hits, one of the best ratios in baseball.

"I don't overpower anyone," Hill said. "But I also can't throw a ball straight. I throw two fastballs. One sinks. The other sinks more. I don't try to miss the bat. I look for contact." Just not solid contact.

Will O'Connor and Hill continue to succeed? No one knows. Nobody's ever said, "Can't miss," about either. Soon enough the hitters, not the radar guns, will reveal the truth. At least the pair will finally be judged by their results, not someone else's estimation of their potential. Whatever happens, the pair has already contributed enormously to the Nats' revived season.

Because of the unexpected duo, Patterson has not been rushed back into service. Due in part to the sanity they've restored to the rotation, the Nats have the best record in baseball since May 18 (17-8) and are now sixth in baseball in ERA. And because of the organizational value and flexibility they've added, new trade opportunities are materializing rapidly.

When Patterson returns, perhaps Saturday, the Nats will have six able starters. At that point, Hill may go to long relief or to the minors to stay sharp. When Astacio returns in July, the Nats could even have seven starters. Who'd have dreamed it?

If the Nats had trade possibilities before O'Connor and Hill emerged, the list of options is so long now it's silly. Ramon Ortiz and Tony Armas Jr. are pitching well, but both will be free agents after the season. The better O'Connor and Hill look, the more tempted the Nats may be to trade Ortiz, 33, who won two postseason starts for the '02 world champion Angels.

A team that was out of choices six weeks ago suddenly has options. And two rookie pitchers have the kind of opportunity that some doubted they'd ever get. Finally, they're in the majors, where results are deemed real, not mere minor league mirages.

"People are always watching you, always evaluating," said O'Connor, pleased at the thought. "So, just go pitch."

Rest of Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...1201791_2.html

[ThomasTomasz]

Whats really interesting is how these guys were forgotten in the Nationals/Expos system for so long, and are coming back and salvaging the staff. With Hernandez struggling, Patterson injured, Drese and Lawrence on the shelf, the Nationals are extremely depleted. Heck, they even brought back former Nat Zach Day before giving O'Conner and Hill another chance. Despite being late in their callups, O'Conner and Hill are surely keeping them treading water right now. If Hernandez gets his head on straight, and Patterson comes back firing, Washington may have a slight chance, or at least salvage a .500 season.

[love_that_reefer]

O'Conner got the shit kicked out of him tonight.