| | ATLANTA -- John Smoltz doesn't need to see the leaves changing to know what time of year it is. His body tells him it's October after every game he pitches.
"I basically feel like I've been hit by a truck," Smoltz says. "The next day is a very difficult day. That's just the effort I go to. The preparation is no different. It's just the excitement of the game, the effort, the willingness to go as far as you can go, and I'm pretty worn out the next day."
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“ |
My
approach in the regular season, if it were like the
postseason, I would not make it through the season. When the postseason comes, I
pitch like it's my last game. ” |
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— John Smoltz |
Some pitchers have figured out how to be their best in the big games of October. The Braves and Yankees are meeting in this year's World Series in large part because of the work of Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez and Andy Pettitte.
Some pitchers never find the key to postseason success. Kenny Rogers, a bust with the Yankees three years ago, stunk it up again across town with the Mets. Randy Johnson's inexplicable frustrations continued in a third uniform over the last three years; he's lost six straight playoff decisions. The Yankees have five-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens in the No. 4 spot in their rotation in part because of his shaky history in big games.
What's the difference between a guy like Smoltz, who at age 24 could match zeroes with Jack Morris in the seventh game of the World Series, and a guy like Clemens, who Red Sox manager John McNamara insists asked out of Game 6 of the 1986 Series?
"It's all about rising to the level of the situation," said Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Dave Stewart, whose signature death stare was on display in four different World Series. "You've got to want to be the guy with the baseball in your hand, the guy that nobody in the world can beat that day. If you're going to beat me, you're going to have to kill me. If you don't think like that, you ought to let somebody else have the baseball."
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THE BIGGEST GAMES
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Here are the top five Big Game performances in the World Series this decade:
1. Jack Morris, Game 7, 1991. Perhaps the biggest clutch pitching performance of all time. Morris escaped a bases-loaded, no out jam in the seventh and pitched 10 shutout innings as the Twins beat the Braves 1-0. John Smoltz pitched 7.1 scoreless innings for the Braves.
2. Tom Glavine, Game 6, 1995. The Braves closed out the World Series with a 1-0 victory over the Indians. Glavine allowed just one hit in eight innings against Cleveland's imposing lineup.
3. Andy Pettitte, Game 5, 1996. With the Yankees and Braves tied at two wins apiece, Pettitte took the mound after he had been shelled for seven runs in Game 1. This time, he didn't allow a run in 8.1 innings as the Yankees won 1-0. Smoltz was the tough-luck loser, allowing only an unearned run.
4. Jimmy Key, Game 4, 1992. Key put the Blue Jays ahead 3 games to 1 by outdueling Glavine 2-1. He also won the clinching Game 6 in relief.
5. Jose Rijo, Game 1, 1990. The Reds were heavy underdogs against the Bash Brother A's, but Rijo slammed the door with seven shutout innings. He was also won Game 4, allowing just one run.
And five more from history ...
1. Sandy Koufax, Game 7, 1965. Koufax had pitched a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in Game 5 against the Twins. Manager Walter Alston could have gone with Don Drysdale in Game 7, but instead went with Koufax on three days' rest. Koufax pitched a three-hitter, fanned 10 again, and the Dodgers won 2-0.
2. Johnny Podres, Game 7, 1955. The Brooklyn Dodgers had lost the World Series to the hated Yankees in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953. Now, they had another chance. Left fielder Sandy Amoros made a spectacular catch off Yogi Berra with two on in the sixth inning and Podres pitched a 2-0 complete game.
3. Mickey Lolich, Game 7, 1968. The Tigers were down 3 games to 1 to St. Louis, but Lolich won Game 5 and Denny McLain won Game 6. Lolich came back in Game 7 on two days' rest -- and had to beat Bob Gibson. He did. The game was scoreless until the seventh when Detroit scored three runs and won 4-1.
4. Lew Burdette, Game 7, 1957. Burdette had already defeated the Yankees twice in the Series, and had to start Game 7 on two days' rest when Warren Spahn came up with the flu. Burdette won 5-0 for his third win of the Series.
5. Howard Ehmke, Game 1, 1929. Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack had two 20-game winners to choose from, including Lefty Grove, but he went with 35-year-old Howard Ehmke, who had won seven games. Ehmke spent the last month of the season scouting the Cubs and responded with a 3-1 victory, striking out a then-record 13 hitters (he had fanned 20 all season). It was the last win of his career.
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There's no magic formula, really. Orel Hershiser believes his out-of-body experience in 1988 -- when he was the MVP in both the NL Championship Series and the World Series -- was the result of convincing himself that postseason starts were no different from regular-season starts.
"If there's a secret to pitching in October, I believe it's to put yourself in a frame of mind where you can maintain the same level you had in the regular season," Hershiser said. "If you go out and try to be better than you have been, you're asking for trouble. When you look back at it, the guys who have done really well in October have just stayed at their normal level. Most guys do not produce as well under pressure, so if you stay the same you're ahead of the game."
Few pitchers have more experience in baseball's second season than Smoltz. When he takes the Yankee Stadium mound to face Clemens in Game 4 next Wednesday, he will be making his eighth World Series start and his 26th overall in the postseason. The start could be his second appearance against the Yankees, as Braves manager Bobby Cox will have him in the bullpen for the first two games at Turner Field.
The one place you probably won't find Smoltz this weekend is the golf course. October is the one time of the year that the 2-handicapper doesn't have the energy.
"I love to play golf, and I play golf pretty much on the road," Smoltz said. "After a playoff game, it's very difficult for you to invite me out to a round of golf. That's just the effort I go to. In a regular-season game, I love to tee it up the next day and get the kinks out and exercise."
Smoltz is outspoken in the need to approach postseason games with a totally different frame of mind than regular-season games.
"I always pitch at this time of the year knowing that I'm going to win," said Smoltz, who is 12-3 in the postseason. "I try the same approach in the regular season, but the difference is when I pitch a postseason game, my effort level as far as how I feel after the game is 10 times greater than a regular-season game.
"The reason I say that is my approach in the regular season, if it were like the postseason, I would not make it through the season. When the postseason comes, I pitch like it's my last game. ... I just basically approach it as, 'You know what, I don't know if I'm going to get another start, so I'll make this one my best.' "
Mets left-hander Al Leiter, who started Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for Florida, takes a totally different viewpoint. He is basically the class clown, trying to keep himself and his teammates loose. You could say it backfired on Tuesday night, when he failed to retire a single Atlanta hitter, but Leiter's two-hit shutout in the wild-card playoff against Cincinnati has been the best-pitched game this postseason.
"I like to have fun," Leiter said. "I joke around a lot. And let's face it, we're playing a baseball game. Yes, it's serious; yes, I want to win; but I goof around maybe a little bit more than most. ... Yeah, loosen up a little bit. Have fun with it. Laugh, joke. You could still have an inner aggressive feeling inside to want to beat the guy you're facing, but it's still fun. You're playing a baseball game."
No one knows that better than Hernandez, who will start Saturday night's Series opener against Glavine. The Cuban refugee risked his life to gain the freedom to pitch in the major leagues. His raft trip from Cuba remains vivid in his memories.
Yankees manager Joe Torre doesn't worry about Hernandez feeling pressure. If it was going to be a problem, he would not have had the composure to shut out Cleveland in Game 4 of the 1998 AL Championship Series, after the Indians had won two of the first three games.
Hernandez threw eight shutout innings against Texas in his first playoff start this year. His victory over Boston in the Game 5 clincher last Monday gave him a 4-0 record and 0.97 ERA in five career starts in the postseason.
"El Duque's perspective is so different," Torre said. "He pitched that game in Cleveland last year, and you know, what's to scare him after leaving Cuba? We really don't know what size boat he came over on. But whatever it was, he had to slide out of the country and hide somewhere and then be found and all this kind of stuff. It's not the way we got to the ballpark, I know that. So, for sure, this is just a game for him."
Pettitte has also been strong under pressure. He beat Smoltz 1-0 in Game 5 of the '96 Series, and enters the rematch fresh from playoff victories over Texas and Boston. He's made 13 postseason starts in his five-year career. The experience helps.
"I've been able to pitch in some big games and have success," Pettitte said. "The first game of the '96 World Series, I didn't have a lot of success in that game. I think it's just a matter of getting out there and relaxing. Sometimes you feel like you throw the ball decent and things just don't work out for you. I just keep everything in perspective, and I feel like if it's a big situation, I really feel like I'm going to have a good start."
Clemens must envy that feeling. He went 13 years between postseason victories, with his Division Series victory over Texas ending a winless streak of six starts that began in the '86 World Series. His ears must still be ringing with the chants of "Where is Roger?" that echoed across Boston last Saturday, when he was knocked out in the third inning by his old team.
"I've had starts where I've pitched well in the postseason but not had anything to show for it," Clemens said. "I don't worry about it."
You wonder if he's telling the truth. Baseball's most vivid memories are made in October, both good and bad.
Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer of the Chicago Tribune. | |
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