Feb 24 2016 06:34 PM
Hey, I'm Duane Below, a veteran lefty with some big league experience who got a sniff or two last year. They farmed me out and I pitched effectively (effectively!!) in Vegas to the tune of a 2.19 ERA split between the rotation and the pen. I even won a PCL Pitcher of the Week Award!
Then things went pear shaped. Or nashi-shaped. I asked the Mets for a release because Yokohama Bay Stars were inquiring after me, and you know, the Japan Central League pays better than the PCL. Maybe the Mets got a little compensation for that act of generosity. I don't know nothing about that. But it was a risk for them and me, because I'm a lefty, and I may have come in handy before all was said and done in 2015.
But man, over in Japan ... “I’d like to use him quickly. I’m counting on him,” said BayStars manager Kiyoshi Nakahata. Yeah, right. I got into one game. ONE! I pitched and inning and a third, and walked five. FIVE! Know how many runs scored? FIVE!
It was one and done in the Land of the Rising Sun for yours truly. Since then, when a gaijin pitcher gets his head handed to him in Japan, they call him a “Below.” I don't know what happened after that. Maybe I was hurt. Somebody probably wrote it down, but I can't read Japanese.
So here I am, back in the USA, where I frankly kicked azz last year. But that strange detour has led to suspicion. I understand.
But suspicion cuts both ways. What do you suspect for me in 2016? Have arm, will travel!