Notes: Contreras ready to go Tuesday

[greasywheels121]

http://whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/ar...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

 

Notes: Contreras to go Tuesday

Pitching on big stage won't be new for international star

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

 

CLEVELAND -- Pitching in big games will be nothing unusual for Jose Contreras.

 

During seven years of work for the Cuban national team, where baseball is rated on the same level of importance as breathing, Contreras posted a 117-50 mark with a 2.82 ERA. The right-hander also finished 7-0 during his last three major international tournaments: the 1999 Pan-American Games, the 2000 Olympics and the 2001 World Cup, allowing only 36 hits in 66 innings pitched.

 

Contreras even struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings while starting for the Yankees in the 2003 World Series against Florida. But this Tuesday's playoff opener at U.S. Cellular Field could be one of the biggest starts of his professional career. It certainly will be his most important effort to date as a Major Leaguer.

 

A pressure-packed performance such as this one might have shaken Contreras in the past. But comments coming from the American League Pitcher of the Month prior to Sunday's regular-season finale convey anything but panic.

 

"You prepare yourself like you do for every start," said Contreras, through translator Ozzie Guillen Jr., as he joined Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle as the third White Sox pitcher to win monthly honors this season "You don't try to think that it's a big game. You just get prepared and not let the moment get to you.

 

"I'm looking forward to it. Since the time you are a Little Leaguer, you want to pitch that championship game. You want to have the ball in that big game."

 

Judging by his second-half effort, Contreras has every reason to be full of hope, excitement and confidence. He has an 11-2 record with a 2.96 ERA since the All-Star break, not to mention a 6-0 record with an 1.99 ERA over six September starts.

 

He enters Tuesday night with a 15-7 overall record and just 177 hits in 204 2/3 innings. Those numbers could be put to the test with Boston as the first-round opponent, as Contreras has a 2-4 career record with an 11.67 ERA when facing the Red Sox.

 

Of course, those numbers are skewed by a 1-3 record with a 13.50 ERA at Fenway Park, and Contreras would make both possible Division Series' starts at home. It's also a much more polished version of Contreras then the pitcher who has allowed Boston hitters to put up a collective .345 average against him.

 

"I know I haven't had success against Boston in the past, but my last two starts have shown I've pitched better against them," said Contreras, who also is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA lifetime vs. the Angels. "Hopefully, it's a change from what I've shown in the past. The last half [of 2005] has been amazing to me, compared to the last two years I've had pitching on this level.

 

"Regardless of who I'm going to face, I'll be able to prepare myself to do well against them. The playoffs are more of a psychological thing. People might get psyched out about, 'Who am I going to pitch against?' and pitching on the big stage. But I got myself prepared today and I'll prepare myself tomorrow for just another start."

 

Throw away the numbers: Aaron Rowand's nickname could change from "Crash" to the "Human Bruise," as he finished second in the American League after he was hit by a pitch for the 21st time Sunday. Rowand commented this weekend that his left wrist remains sore from getting hit on consecutive days in early September.

 

Rowand also closed out 2005 with 13 home runs entering Sunday, 11 less than his career high from 2004. But with the positive team results, Rowand didn't seem bothered by the drop off in power.

 

Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi also fell short of his lofty statistics from the past two years in Japan, when he hit a combined 51 home runs and drove in 198. Much of that differential can be traced to his move to the United States, not to mention his jump to the second spot in the batting order. The 15 home runs and 71 RBIs entering Sunday still were a significant total for the first-year player, but he was far from pleased.

 

"I've never batted in the two hole before, and from the beginning I really didn't know how to go about it," said Iguchi, through a translator. "I've got to take a lot of pitches. Whether that actually becomes good for the team or not, I was always thinking to take pitches was good for the team. As far as my personal thought process and inside my head, it's been difficult.

 

"I'm very satisfied with how the team's playing. But I'm not at all satisfied with how I'm playing."

 

The here and now: It has not been the sort of 2005 season Willie Harris envisioned, starting back when the White Sox signed Iguchi as a free agent in January. But he has persevered through the tough times, the disappointing times and the times when he thought his association with the White Sox had come to an end.

 

Now, Harris feels he has plenty to contribute as part of the postseason roster, even if the playoffs might be the last go around with the South Siders for this arbitration-eligible infielder.

 

"I think the reason they called me back before Sept. 1 is because they thought, 'We might need Willie coming off the bench,'" said Harris, who was made eligible for the postseason with his callup from Triple-A Charlotte on Aug. 29, replacing an injured Joe Crede. "Hopefully, I'm on the [postseason roster].

 

"If not, I'll be upset. But I'll still root for the guys."

 

Harris brings an element of speed off the bench, not to mention a strong defensive replacement up the middle, and a little bit of offensive pop. But with a connection to this group dating back four years, Harris believes his support could be the most crucial factor.

 

"I can add the desire and motivation on the bench and getting behind those guys and having everyone else on the bench ready and rooting for those guys," Harris said. "Those guys hear us and know we are pulling for them and right there behind them."

Just like Tito: Ozzie Guillen's goal is to trade places with Boston's Terry Francona by the end of the 2005 playoffs. Not job-wise, but as the manager of a World Series champion.

 

"I wish I was him one time, and be a world champion manager," Guillen said. "He does a tremendous job. It's not easy managing a team when everybody's looking at you, second-guessing you every two minutes.

 

"They love you one minute, they hate you the next. It's not an easy job. As long as the players love you, that's all you can ask."

[Rowand44]

BTW, Farmer on the broadcast said he talked to Cooper, and while not set in stone, he said he got the impression it was Count-Mark-Freddy-Jon.

 

Just the way I want it.

That's what sutcliffe said today on espn too that he got that impression after talking to oz. I agree, definitely the way I want the rotation as well.