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Nice article in the Times this morning. I'm really liking Ben Shpigel's approach so far. How do you think he pronounces that name? The YouTube vid is already down due to a copywright claim by MLB. Yeow.
]February 25, 2008
The Skinny on the Mets’ New Reliever? Great Changeup, Bad Luck
By BEN SHPIGEL
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — His name is Matt Wise. Some people know him as Wiser, but that is a little boring. In Milwaukee, his former teammates dubbed him Woody because of his spooky resemblance to that character from the movie “Toy Story.” A few years ago, when he played with the Angels, a few of his friends started calling him Skeletor.
“You see how thin he is now?” said Scott Schoeneweis, pointing toward Wise. “He was even skinnier back in the day. Totally.”
Ask him which nickname he prefers, and Wise shrugs.
“As long as I’m on the team, they can call me whatever they want,” said Wise, who is scheduled to pitch against the Tigers on Wednesday in the Mets’ Grapefruit League opener. “I’m not picky.”
It is too early to handicap the battle for the Mets’ final bullpen spot, but Wise, who signed in December as a free agent, may get his wish to make the team. Of the serious contenders, Wise, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, has the most experience, having pitched in 201 career games over parts of seven major league seasons. The Mets were attracted to his ability to throw multiple innings and to his versatility — he is familiar with working the middle innings and knows the pressure of the setup role. Just as important is the fact that Wise is guaranteed $750,000 of his $1.2 million, regardless of whether he makes the opening day roster. The Mets would not seem inclined to waste that kind of money unless he has a miserable spring.
But before he makes the roster, Wise needs to avoid adding to the string of bizarre accidents that have befallen him in recent years.
It started in May 2006, when he strained his shoulder on a slick railing in San Diego. A month later, while reaching for salad at the postgame buffet in Kansas City, Wise cut his right middle finger on a pair of tongs. The cut affected his grip, particularly on a feel pitch like the changeup, forcing him to miss a few games. Just after he returned, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a story offering advice on how to safely make a salad.
“I should know better than to get into a fight with salad tongs,” said Wise, who says he is not a klutz so much as he is unlucky. “You always lose those.”
Nearly a year to the day later, after finishing a half inning in which he allowed an inherited runner to score, Wise thundered off the mound in Minneapolis biting his jersey, his head down. Not fully concentrating on his surroundings, he smacked his head on the overhang of the dugout as he left the field. He did not pitch for nearly a week while recuperating from what he called a minor concussion.
“It’s on YouTube,” Wise said. “Check it out.”
Originally a starter in the Angels’ organization, Wise pitched with them for parts of three seasons before having reconstructive elbow surgery that kept him from playing in the 2003 season. The Brewers signed him as a minor league free agent before the 2004 season and converted him into a reliever because, he said, he tended to struggle the third time through a lineup. Wise’s rehabilitation from the elbow operation added velocity to his fastball, placing it in the 91- to 92-mile-an-hour range. That made his changeup more effective.
“He has good control and isn’t overpowering, but that pitch is,” said Carlos Delgado, whose seven at-bats against Wise are the most of any current Met. “It’s one of the best changeups in the game.”
Wise’s best season came in 2005, when he pitched a career-best 64 1/3 innings, holding hitters to a .160 average. He was cruising as a setup man last season until July 25, when he struck Cincinnati’s Pedro López flush in the face with a pitch, breaking López’s cheekbone. Wise visited López at the hospital to apologize, but he said the incident stuck with him for about 10 days. His statistics indicated it might have been much longer.
In his second game after hitting López, Wise threw all 10 of his pitches out of the strike zone in an appearance against the Mets. He called his friend and former Angels teammate Aaron Sele for advice, wondering if he would ever feel comfortable again. The Brewers stopped using him in key situations, and over his final 15 appearances Wise went 0-1 with a 9.64 earned run average as opponents hit .472 against him.
“I wasn’t the same,” Wise said. “Instead of focusing on the glove, I was making sure I didn’t hit the batter.”
In early December, the Brewers introduced Éric Gagné at a news conference and gave Gagné uniform No. 38 — Wise’s number. A few days later, he learned he would not be offered a contract.
“My mom called me and told me that they gave up my number, and she was pretty upset about it,” Wise said. “I might have been the only one who wasn’t. My friends and family thought it was pretty weak.”
But then the Mets swooped in and added Wise to a stable of changeup artists that included Aaron Heilman, Pedro Martínez and, later, Johan Santana. Wise said he was enjoying spending spring training in Florida for the first time and getting acquainted with his teammates. They, too, are learning about him. Pretty soon, if things work in Wise’s favor, they can go ahead and call him whatever they please.
INSIDE PITCH
Orlando Hernández, striving to restore his mechanics after off-season foot surgery, threw lightly during a 45-pitch bullpen session Sunday and said he did not know when he would take the next step of throwing batting practice. He would probably need to do that twice before feeling well enough to pitch in an exhibition game. ... Manager Willie Randolph said that Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltrán, Endy Chávez, Damion Easley, Ben Johnson and José Valentín would be held out of Monday’s intrasquad game as they continued to recover from off-season injuries and operations. ... The Tigers’ Jeremy Bonderman will start against the Mets in Wednesday’s Grapefruit League opener. |
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