Visiting with Toronto manager Cito Gaston on Monday night before his team’s 3-2 loss to the White Sox at Comiskey Park, it occurred to me that his Blue Jays and the Sox are peas in a pod. Both have played considerably below expectations and, according to Gaston, have an identical problem: “Our pitchers can’t throw strikes.”
When I expressed surprise, Gaston handed me a stapled package of the updated stats.
“See for yourself.”
The similarities are remarkable. The White Sox are 14th and last in the American League in walks given up, barely ahead of the Blue Jays, who rank 13th. They are also bringing up the rear in earned-run average and running next to last in their respective divisions. Through Monday night’s action, the Sox are 11 games out in the AL Central, the Jays 9 1/2 out in the East.
I told Gaston that in my annual preseason predictions I picked the Jays to win the East. Originally, I had them figured for third place, but I changed my mind when they reacquired David Cone in a spring training deal with the Kansas City Royals.
In my book, Cone is among baseball’s best pitchers, almost on a par with Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves.
“He’s right there with him,” Gaston said, agreeing. “When you talk about pitching, David Cone is a pitcher with a capital P. He’s a very good, cool guy on the mound. He knows a lot about pitching.”
Which is precisely what I wanted to hear. I thought that Cone may have some good advice for Alex Fernandez of the White Sox, who is having an especially tough time. Fernandez pitched extremely well in his last two starts, but did not get the win on either occasion.
I found Cone in the visitors’ clubhouse and went over to shake his hand. One of the few good things about the eight-month player strike is that I became better acquainted with Cone, who attended most of the player-owner bargaining sessions. He is a bright fellow and was 16-5 with Kansas City last year while winning the Cy Young Award.
The baseball grapevine being what it is, Cone was aware of Fernandez’s recent frustrations.
“Losing tough games happens to all of us,” Cone explained. “One year I started out 0-6. I was pitching well and should have been 5-1. It’s a matter of luck. I’m sure his luck will turn around. With the stuff he has, he’s going to win a lot more games than he loses.”
I asked Cone if he could be more specific. I was hoping to carry back more than a wheelbarrow of generalities.
Cone moved closer. His tone became conspiratorial.
“You have proven yourself worthy of friendship,” he said, “so I’ll give you the secret.”
And for the next five minutes he revealed the formula:
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“Tell Alex Fernandez he must not overthrow. In the late innings, young pitchers usually get in trouble. Mostly, it’s because they are tired. And so what they do is try to throw harder. But the secret is to subtract, not add. Sometimes, more is less.
“That’s what Greg Maddux learned when he was with the Cubs. He took a little bit off his fastball. And when you take something off you get more movement on the ball; it will sink more. When you throw your pitches too hard, they straighten out. And there is another advantage. The change of speed upsets the hitters’ timing. You throw them off.”
Pushing further, I asked when he knows he doesn’t have his best stuff, when he discovers he must make adjustments.
“The first inning is always the toughest,” Cone said. “Once you get through the first, then you can settle down. The fourth, fifth and sixth are tough. I’m usually at my best during the late innings. I always try to go nine. I don’t want to go seven and start looking for help. I definitely want to win or lose it myself.”
Anything else?
“Yes. The White Sox are a mystery to me,” he said. “They have a lot of great young arms on that pitching staff. Maybe they miss Jack McDowell more than they think. He sucked up a lot of innings for them. He helped save the bullpen.”
I mentioned that the Jays, like the White Sox, are off to a poor start. Can they recover?
“Absolutely,” said Cone. “Right now we’re not where we thought we would be. But we’re not giving up. There are still more than 100 games to play.”
I thanked him and wished him good fortune during the long season still ahead.