azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Reliever eyes last shot in 'big stadium'
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - Juan Acevedo isn't afraid to admit it. When he first stepped into the Diamondbacks clubhouse, things felt so foreign to him he almost wasn't sure he belonged.
"I felt I had been away from the game for 10 years," he said.
It was sort of the same feeling the veteran relief pitcher, now in his ninth major league camp, experienced more than a decade ago when he made his first spring training appearance as a member of the Colorado Rockies. Acevedo gave up on baseball for three years after graduating in 1988 from Dundee-Crown High in Carpentersville, Ill., and returning to the game had its share of early pratfalls.
Since setting career highs in saves (28) and appearances (65) and fashioning a 2.65 ERA as the Detroit Tigers closer in 2002, it has been déjà vu all over again for the right-hander from Juarez, Mexico. He had wandered away from the spotlight once more, though this time not by his own choosing.
Time, age and a lack of trust by major league general managers left him on the outside looking in. The baseball gods might have told him to hang it up, but Acevedo decided to keep hanging around. After appearing in 39 games split between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in 2003, however, his entire season last year amounted to a modest, two-month stint at Triple-A Nashville, where he went 0-4 with one save and a humbling, 9.00 ERA.
"Once people struggle, you start to doubt yourself," Acevedo said. ''You start to lose that edge and then you're on the verge of losing it for good. But I've got two kids back home and how can I tell them not to quit? How can I tell them that when it gets tough, 'Just keep going,' if I'm not the one doing it?"
Sons Angel, 4, and Alijah, 3, had a blast going to games in Detroit, their father said. When he thought about retiring, the boys asked him when they were going to get to go back to the "big stadium with all the people." And therein was Acevedo's motivation: one more shot to make it back before it was all over for good.
The Diamondbacks are giving him the opportunity, having brought him to camp as a non-roster invitee with a chance to win a spot in their relatively young bullpen. He's competing with two other veteran non-roster invitees, Jose Jimenez and left-hander Donovan Osborne, and would also need to beat out younger arms, such as Brian Bruney, Brandon Lyon or Adam Peterson, which could necessitate a dicey decision on the 40-man roster.
Acevedo made his debut here Friday, but it was a rocky one, as he allowed three runs on five hits in short relief against the Chicago White Sox. Previously, however, he had been receiving favorable reviews in side sessions and against teammates in batting practice.
"He's looked real good," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.
"Our hitters have been commenting on him, saying the ball is jumping out of his hand and that he's tough to pick up. He's always been a velocity guy who's pitched deep in games for teams and he's certainly one of the guys we're looking at for that veteran-type presence in the bullpen."
Since first moving into a relief role with the New York Mets in 1997, Acevedo has done it all in the bullpen, from saving games, to serving as a set-up man, to pitching long relief.
He gives the Diamondbacks options - if he can prove he hasn't lost it.
Catcher Chris Snyder gave Acevedo a thumbs up, saying: "The velocity is there, the cutter is sharp, and he's got good movement on his change-up. Yeah, I've been impressed."
Now it's all up to Acevedo, just like it was back in 1992 when he turned pro upon being picked in the 14th round of the Rockies' first free-agent draft.
Acevedo held down a series of odd jobs, which included opening his own auto detailing shop, before being lured back to baseball.
"I loved cars and making them look cool, but after a while," Acevedo said, "I remember saying, 'I don't want to do this for the rest of my life and I don't want to go through life asking what if?' "
That's why he's back again, because he firmly believes it's not over.
Diamondbacks Report
At Tucson Electric Park
Diamondbacks 10, White Sox 9
Diamondbacks record: 2-0
At the plate: Arizona slugged four home runs, getting one each from Jose Cruz Jr., Shawn Green, Koyie Hill and Sergio Santos, whose first-pitch, two-run shot in the eighth proved to be the difference. . . . 2B Craig Counsell went 0 for 2 and is now 0 for 5 after two starts. . . . DH Luis Gonzalez went 0 for 3 in his spring debut and said his problem was making contact on the label of the bat instead of the barrel. . . . 3B Troy Glaus went 2 for 2 with an RBI double high off the green batter's eye in center.
On the mound: RHP Brandon Webb battled control problems, but if he had gotten the call he was looking for on a two-out pitch, he would have avoided a first-inning jam altogether. . . . RHPs Enrique Gonzalez, Phil Stockman (1-0) and Casey Daigle combined to pitch shutout ball over three innings, allowing just two hits. . . . After striking out the first batter he faced, RHP Juan Acevedo was touched for three runs on five hits in one inning.
In the field: SS Santos and 2B Scott Hairston turned the Diamondbacks' lone double play of the day. . . . Glaus committed an error at third in his first game back in the field since injuring his right shoulder last May. . . . Manager Bob Melvin liked what he saw behind the plate from Hill, especially the way he worked with the pitchers.
He said it: "It's a good feeling. Spring training games, you don't weight heavily too much on the wins and the losses, but as long as you're out there, you're trying to win games. And to win two close games like this and come back in the fashion we did, that's something that if you get that started in spring training and move into the season, you feel like when you get down, it's not a problem and you can always come back." - Melvin on the club's 2-0 start
Today: White Sox at Diamondbacks, Tucson Electric Park, 1:05 p.m. The Diamondbacks will start LHP Shawn Estes vs. White Sox RHP Brandon McCarthy.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0305dbacks0305.html
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - Juan Acevedo isn't afraid to admit it. When he first stepped into the Diamondbacks clubhouse, things felt so foreign to him he almost wasn't sure he belonged.
"I felt I had been away from the game for 10 years," he said.
It was sort of the same feeling the veteran relief pitcher, now in his ninth major league camp, experienced more than a decade ago when he made his first spring training appearance as a member of the Colorado Rockies. Acevedo gave up on baseball for three years after graduating in 1988 from Dundee-Crown High in Carpentersville, Ill., and returning to the game had its share of early pratfalls.
Since setting career highs in saves (28) and appearances (65) and fashioning a 2.65 ERA as the Detroit Tigers closer in 2002, it has been déjà vu all over again for the right-hander from Juarez, Mexico. He had wandered away from the spotlight once more, though this time not by his own choosing.
Time, age and a lack of trust by major league general managers left him on the outside looking in. The baseball gods might have told him to hang it up, but Acevedo decided to keep hanging around. After appearing in 39 games split between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in 2003, however, his entire season last year amounted to a modest, two-month stint at Triple-A Nashville, where he went 0-4 with one save and a humbling, 9.00 ERA.
"Once people struggle, you start to doubt yourself," Acevedo said. ''You start to lose that edge and then you're on the verge of losing it for good. But I've got two kids back home and how can I tell them not to quit? How can I tell them that when it gets tough, 'Just keep going,' if I'm not the one doing it?"
Sons Angel, 4, and Alijah, 3, had a blast going to games in Detroit, their father said. When he thought about retiring, the boys asked him when they were going to get to go back to the "big stadium with all the people." And therein was Acevedo's motivation: one more shot to make it back before it was all over for good.
The Diamondbacks are giving him the opportunity, having brought him to camp as a non-roster invitee with a chance to win a spot in their relatively young bullpen. He's competing with two other veteran non-roster invitees, Jose Jimenez and left-hander Donovan Osborne, and would also need to beat out younger arms, such as Brian Bruney, Brandon Lyon or Adam Peterson, which could necessitate a dicey decision on the 40-man roster.
Acevedo made his debut here Friday, but it was a rocky one, as he allowed three runs on five hits in short relief against the Chicago White Sox. Previously, however, he had been receiving favorable reviews in side sessions and against teammates in batting practice.
"He's looked real good," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.
"Our hitters have been commenting on him, saying the ball is jumping out of his hand and that he's tough to pick up. He's always been a velocity guy who's pitched deep in games for teams and he's certainly one of the guys we're looking at for that veteran-type presence in the bullpen."
Since first moving into a relief role with the New York Mets in 1997, Acevedo has done it all in the bullpen, from saving games, to serving as a set-up man, to pitching long relief.
He gives the Diamondbacks options - if he can prove he hasn't lost it.
Catcher Chris Snyder gave Acevedo a thumbs up, saying: "The velocity is there, the cutter is sharp, and he's got good movement on his change-up. Yeah, I've been impressed."
Now it's all up to Acevedo, just like it was back in 1992 when he turned pro upon being picked in the 14th round of the Rockies' first free-agent draft.
Acevedo held down a series of odd jobs, which included opening his own auto detailing shop, before being lured back to baseball.
"I loved cars and making them look cool, but after a while," Acevedo said, "I remember saying, 'I don't want to do this for the rest of my life and I don't want to go through life asking what if?' "
That's why he's back again, because he firmly believes it's not over.
Diamondbacks Report
At Tucson Electric Park
Diamondbacks 10, White Sox 9
Diamondbacks record: 2-0
At the plate: Arizona slugged four home runs, getting one each from Jose Cruz Jr., Shawn Green, Koyie Hill and Sergio Santos, whose first-pitch, two-run shot in the eighth proved to be the difference. . . . 2B Craig Counsell went 0 for 2 and is now 0 for 5 after two starts. . . . DH Luis Gonzalez went 0 for 3 in his spring debut and said his problem was making contact on the label of the bat instead of the barrel. . . . 3B Troy Glaus went 2 for 2 with an RBI double high off the green batter's eye in center.
On the mound: RHP Brandon Webb battled control problems, but if he had gotten the call he was looking for on a two-out pitch, he would have avoided a first-inning jam altogether. . . . RHPs Enrique Gonzalez, Phil Stockman (1-0) and Casey Daigle combined to pitch shutout ball over three innings, allowing just two hits. . . . After striking out the first batter he faced, RHP Juan Acevedo was touched for three runs on five hits in one inning.
In the field: SS Santos and 2B Scott Hairston turned the Diamondbacks' lone double play of the day. . . . Glaus committed an error at third in his first game back in the field since injuring his right shoulder last May. . . . Manager Bob Melvin liked what he saw behind the plate from Hill, especially the way he worked with the pitchers.
He said it: "It's a good feeling. Spring training games, you don't weight heavily too much on the wins and the losses, but as long as you're out there, you're trying to win games. And to win two close games like this and come back in the fashion we did, that's something that if you get that started in spring training and move into the season, you feel like when you get down, it's not a problem and you can always come back." - Melvin on the club's 2-0 start
Today: White Sox at Diamondbacks, Tucson Electric Park, 1:05 p.m. The Diamondbacks will start LHP Shawn Estes vs. White Sox RHP Brandon McCarthy.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0305dbacks0305.html
