Karstens integral part of Pirates’ resurgence
PITTSBURGH (AP) 无毛视频� Jeff Karstens heard the chatter. Hang around the fringe as long as the Pirates right-hander has and it无毛视频檚 hard to ignore.
Manager Clint Hurdle heard it too. He saw the reports labeling Karstens a 无毛视频渇ive and 75 guy,无毛视频� meaning once he got through five innings or 75 pitches, things started to get ugly.
Did it bother Karstens? Sure. But considering his lackluster numbers during his first five seasons with the New York Yankees and the Pirates 无毛视频� a 12-27 record with a 5.07 ERA 无毛视频� he couldn无毛视频檛 exactly blame scouts for placing him with the not-so flattering tag.
无毛视频淭hey had the stats to back it up,无毛视频� Karstens said with a shrug of considerably slight shoulders.
Not anymore.
The 28-year-old Karstens is arguably the biggest surprise on one of baseball无毛视频檚 biggest surprises. Thrust into the rotation when Ross Ohlendorf went down with a shoulder injury in April, Karstens is having the kind of breakthrough year he wondered would ever come.
Scan the list of lowest ERAs in the National League and there无毛视频檚 the usual suspects like Philadelphia无毛视频檚 Roy Halladay and San Francisco无毛视频檚 Tim Lincecum. And then there无毛视频檚 Karstens, shipped from the Yankees to the Pirates three summers ago as a throw-in on a trade that sent Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to New York and heralded prospects Jose Tabata and Daniel McCutchen to Pittsburgh.
Karstens was an afterthought then. He looks like a steal now.
The guy, who never met a corner of the plate he didn无毛视频檛 like to nibble on, is 8-5 with a 2.28 ERA 无毛视频� second best in the league among eligible pitchers 无毛视频� while becoming Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 most consistent starter.
How无毛视频檇 it happen? Karstens isn无毛视频檛 quite sure. Hurdle thinks Karstens simply got tired of reading the scouting report on himself and decided he was at the point in his career where opportunities to change people无毛视频檚 perception were starting to run out.
无毛视频淪ometimes what bothers people is when (the perceptions) are accurate and you can无毛视频檛 get out of it,无毛视频� Hurdle said. 无毛视频淥h, he无毛视频檚 a 5 and 75 guy, you keep going 5 and 75 and the barrel starts showing up (and) the noise and the madness. You either do something about it or that无毛视频檚 who you are.无毛视频�
In four months, Karstens has morphed from long-reliever to workhorse. He无毛视频檚 pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last nine starts, including a typically efficient seven-inning outing in a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Karstens needed just 77 pitches to get through one of baseball无毛视频檚 most productive lineups. He didn无毛视频檛 overpower the Reds 无毛视频� he doesn无毛视频檛 overpower anybody, really, with his middling 88-91 mph fastball 无毛视频� but now he knows he doesn无毛视频檛 have to.
He knows he无毛视频檚 got eight teammates around him who can catch the ball easier than he can throw it past a hitter. He无毛视频檚 more than happy to let them do their job.
无毛视频淕et them involved,无毛视频� said Karstens, who hasn无毛视频檛 struck out more than five hitters in a game all year. 无毛视频淭he more they无毛视频檙e involved, the better they无毛视频檙e going to be at the plate and in the dugout.无毛视频�
Pitching coach Ray Searage says Karstens has developed into 无毛视频渁 pitcher无毛视频檚 pitcher,无毛视频� relying more on control and confidence than electric stuff.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 playing a chess game with the hitter and the hitter is going to try and figure out his chess game, his strategy,无毛视频� Searage said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 going to go out there and try and have the hitter hit his pitch and get himself out.无毛视频�
Even if Searage chides the reserved, laid-back San Diego native for being too 无毛视频渞ocket scientisty无毛视频� at times.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檒l overabuse a certain pitch because he can throw them from a couple different arm slots and he无毛视频檒l go a little bit too crazy on it,无毛视频� Searage said. 无毛视频淚 tell him to use it when you want, but don无毛视频檛 abuse it. He picks it up and goes 无毛视频榶eah, you无毛视频檙e right无毛视频� and he kicks himself in the butt saying 无毛视频業 should have known better.'无毛视频�
Karstens is no longer prone to repeating the same mistakes, and is going deeper in games because of it. He has thrown at least 77 pitches in each start over the last two months, and has become effective deeper in games because he无毛视频檚 taken his ego out of the equation.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 maybe not as 无毛视频榙umb无毛视频� when I无毛视频檓 pitching,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not trying to throw a fastball by a guy.无毛视频�
Something he tried to do too often earlier in his career. Coming up, Karstens figured the point was to get the batter to swing and miss. It led him to be too tentative. He无毛视频檚 gotten knocked around enough to know he无毛视频檚 going to get hit. His job now is to try and make sure the ball gets hit at somebody.
For the most part, it无毛视频檚 worked. Though he was undone Wednesday by a pair of unearned runs on errors by shortstop Chase d无毛视频橝rnaud, Karstens was also bailed out three times by spectacular plays in the field.
无毛视频淗e has our trust,无毛视频� centerfielder Andrew McCutchen said, 无毛视频渁nd we trust him as well.无毛视频�
Karstens is doing his best not to get ahead of himself. But it无毛视频檚 getting tougher, isn无毛视频檛 it?
After all, the Pirates are in the middle of their best season in nearly 20 years. And he appears to finally have grown comfortable in his own skin.
For a guy who wasn无毛视频檛 quite sure of his role four months ago, he无毛视频檚 been a key cog to one of baseball无毛视频檚 best stories.
无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檝e got to love watching him go out there and pitch,无毛视频� closer Joel Hanrahan said. 无毛视频淲hen he was in the bullpen, we always saw him as a starter in our eyes.
无毛视频淎nd man, he无毛视频檚 doing it.无毛视频�