THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 10, 1995 TAG: 9507100142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Jason Isringhausen's goodbye was short, not so sweet - real ugly, actually. The Norfolk Tides' 22-year-old righthander, who tipped the International League on its ear by winning nine games without a loss after arriving from Double-A, took his final turn at Harbor Park on Sunday and stumbled away bruised and frustrated.
Want to bet Isringhausen, promoted to the New York Mets after the game, gets over it pretty fast?
Slated to work only five innings anyway because of his starting assignment for the National League in Wednesday's Triple-A all-star game, Isringhausen was through in three. The Ottawa Lynx roughed him up for six hits, three walks and five runs, three earned, in a 7-1 victory that sends Isringhausen to the Mets with a 9-1 record as a Tide.
Maybe his head was already in New York. The Tides' coaching staff claimed Isringhausen knew before the game that he was going to the Mets, courtesy of a call from his agent. Isringhausen denied that, and blamed the inconsistent location of his fastball, a problem of late, for his second-shortest outing of the season.
His worst start came in Double-A Binghamton, when he gave up seven runs in one inning. One start later he was with the Tides, and off on a fantastic run that was noticed throughout baseball.
It ends with the Tides after 12 starts, a 1.55 ERA, 75 strikeouts in 87 innings, and with the obvious irony of getting his biggest break after a terrible outing. Which is also the way it went for his buddy Bill Pulsipher, who lasted only three innings and gave up six runs in his final start with the Tides.
``Yeah, it's kind of weird, but oh well, I'll live it,'' said Isringhausen, who said his target in April was to reach the big leagues in September. ``Everything's sped up a little bit.''
Isringhausen gave up a pair of unearned runs in the second inning on two hits, a walk and his own fielding error. Then in the third, he allowed four consecutive hits, including a triple by Junior Felix, and threw a wild pitch as Ottawa pushed its lead to 5-0.
Meanwhile, Willie Fraser shut out the Tides until Carl Everett homered in the eighth inning. Curt Schmidt, who pitched the ninth, and Fraser combined to yield only six hits.
``I felt I had a good curveball today, better than I've had in a while,'' Isringhausen said. ``But my fastball ... everything was just waist high. (Pitching coach Bob Apodaca) always says it's more location than stuff. You can throw it as hard as you want, but as long as it's down the middle and elevated, they're going to hit it.
Isringhausen, in fact, has been very mortal in his last three starts. He is 1-1 with a no-decision in that time, with 23 hits allowed in 15 innings and a 4.80 ERA.
``I know I need to step things up a little bit,'' said Isringhausen, for whom the Mets made room by sending down reliever Pete Walker.
``The hits are piling on basically because he's just not making quality pitches,'' Apodaca said. ``He's got to focus on not just relying on having good stuff, he still has to be a pitcher. That's why it's titled pitcher, not thrower.''
Still, Apodaca said Isringhausen was ripe to continue his lessons at the highest level.
``It was time,'' Apodaca said.
The object of much fan and media fascination in New York, Isringhausen, from the small farm town of Brighton, Ill., said he expected to battle nerves when he makes his debut.
``My adrenaline's going to be out of this world, I'm sure,'' Isringhausen said. ``I'm gonna have to try to control it. I know whatever I do everybody's going to be watching. Hopefully, I can just go up there and do my part, just like everyone else.''
Where and when that first start will come hasn't been decided, but it appears Isringhausen could be in line to work July 17 in Chicago, a five-hour drive from Brighton.
``St. Louis would be more perfect,'' Isringhausen said, ``but I can deal with Chicago.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Christopher Reddick
The Ottawa Lynx pushed around Norfolk Tides righthander Jason
Isringhausen for six hits, three walks and five runs, three earned,
in a 7-1 loss Sunday night at Harbor Park.
Color photo
Isringhausen
by CNB