THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604270491
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
The way the New York Mets pitchers have so far fallen short of the expectations set for them, you'd think they could use some help from the guy with the best fastball in the organization.
You'd think it, but you'd be wrong. Because Juan Acevedo has barely helped the Norfolk Tides in three starts of his medical rehabilitation assignment. And when that stint officially ends May 10, Acevedo, who is slated to start tonight against Pawtucket at Harbor Park, could be headed for an extended Triple-A stay.
That's no knock. Acevedo just doesn't look ready to make the leap, even into today's diluted big league pitching pool. Sure, guys arrive unprepared all the time, says Mets general manager Joe McIlvaine. He just doesn't want Acevedo, whose potential makes the Mets gush, to be one of them.
``Juan reminds me a lot of a pitcher that was here years ago named Tim Leary,'' says McIlvaine, who then proceeds with the tale of the mediocre major leaguer who never had sufficient faith in his 96 mph heater. ``He didn't trust his stuff. He never really learned how to utilize what he had.
``I see the same thing in Juan Acevedo. He wants to trick hitters instead of saying, `Look, I've got a 96 mph fastball, sucker, let's see you hit it.' That's what he needs to learn.''
The point isn't for Acevedo, the prize in last summer's trade that sent Bret Saberhagen to the Colorado Rockies, to start throwing fastballs exclusively. Nobody can do that and win in the majors.
The mission, though, is to get Acevedo to love the fastball, believe in the fastball, build his repertoire around it - and to bring that baby hard when he needs it most.
Acevedo looked like he'd just sipped spoiled milk when McIlvaine's comments were repeated to him. Then he looked confused, as if the not-trusting-his-stuff notion had never been communicated to him.
``That's funny. A lot of people have told me just the opposite,'' said Acevedo, a 25-year-old righthander who was born in Mexico and lives near Chicago. ``The fastball and the forkball are my two best pitches. And when I get in a critical situation I'm going to use one of the two, more likely the fastball. I'm not afraid to use my fastball in any situation.''
That may be so. Still, something has yet to kick in for the kid who two years ago was the Double-A Eastern League's pitcher of the year, and who started last season in the big leagues with the Rockies.
The irony is that Acevedo most likely is only here because of rotten luck. He pulled his left hamstring during a baserunning drill on the Mets' final spring training day in Port St. Lucie, Fla. It appeared he would go north with the Mets and probably work out of the bullpen.
Instead, he was sent to Norfolk to work back into shape, but the results have been disappointing - a 5.54 earned-run average, 20 hits allowed, including three home runs, in 13 innings. He has struck out 12, yet opponents have roughed him up for a .364 batting average.
``Geez, where do I start?'' says Tides pitching coach Bob Apodaca, when asked to sum up Acevedo's struggles. ``He's just not making quality pitches with his No. 1 pitch. And him being a fastball pitcher, that's the pitch you have to depend on for location. It starts there and escalates to all the others.
``In a sense, he just seems to want to establish too many pitches way too soon. It's almost like he wants to make the hitter aware he's got this and this and this, instead of just setting the ground rules immediately by saying `I got this and I can get you out any time I want.' Until he gets that type of mentality and that type of command, he's going to continue to spin his wheels.''
That's unsettling news for a guy who wants to be in New York by May 1. And though it's been a rough start, there's really nothing wrong, Acevedo says, that a few mechanical tinkerings can't correct.
``It's a long year. I'm not going to get down on myself,'' Acevedo says. ``I'm a positive person. I'm very confident in my abilities. And I know I'm a lot better pitcher than what my numbers are showing.''
The Mets know it, too. You can't blame them for wanting Acevedo to start showing the world.
``He's got to get himself over the Triple-A hump,'' McIlvaine says. ``And he should.
It's just a question of how long that's going to take.'' MEMO: The printed version omitted several lines from the middle of this
story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Juan Acevedo possesses the best heater in the Mets' organization,
but he seems unsure how to use it.
by CNB