Crisis averted as Sheffield survives BP

Saturday, February 23, 2008
Tigers: Notebook
Crisis averted as Sheffield survives BP
Wild pitch from Jones send DH flying, but he gets up OK, with no damage to his shoulder.
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

LAKELAND. Fla. -- Fingers crossed? Everybody ready? Commence throwing.

When pitchers throw live batting practice for the first time in spring training, as the Tigers' pitchers did on Saturday before heavy rain arrived, anything can happen -- including something bad.

And something bad nearly happened this time.

On a pitch that got away from Todd Jones, one that sailed up and in instead of low and away, Gary Sheffield had to hit the dirt -- fast and hard.

Sheffield with the surgically repaired right shoulder? One and the same.

Sheffield the designated hitter who's feeling great again? You got it.

Sheffield who wasn't looking to test the durability of his shoulder right now by taking emergency measures on a pitch heading straight at him? That's the one.

All's well that ends well, though. The pitch didn't hit Sheffield, who picked himself up, dusted off the dirt, and was able to resume the session as if nothing had happened. That's the entire point, though. Nothing did happen.

Even manager Jim Leyland said of the close call: "That was a little scary." But it scared he who threw it more than he who dodged, though.

"When he landed, I was worried he'd landed on his bad shoulder," said Jones. "They call on us experienced pitchers to throw to the experienced hitters, then something like this happened. I felt awful about it.

"I don't like throwing to our own hitters. They're not even up there swinging. Thankfully I don't throw hard anymore."

Jones has seen some incidents not end as amicably, though. He recalled the time, when he was with the Astros, when "Charlie Kerfeld, giving a pitch everything he had, drilled Glenn Davis right in the back. He didn't take kindly to that at all.

"But I'm 90 percent sure Sheff knows I wasn't trying to hit him."

The fair question to ask at this point is that for as much as it accomplishes -- for as little, actually -- why do the Tigers have their pitchers throw to their hitters at all in spring training?

The answer is that they almost don't. Pitching coach Chuck Hernandez is in the forefront of those who want such sessions scaled back -- a change which has taken place this season.

Each pitcher in camp throws only one session of live BP. Half of the full complement threw on Saturday, the other half will throw today.

"This is Chuck's idea and I think it's a good one," Leyland said. "You have to allow people to use their expertise, you have to trust them, or else you might as well have hired a puppet."

Hernandez feels the pluses derived from more than one session per pitcher are negligible. At the same time, it's important for hitters to see live pitching so they can get back to tracking pitches before the exhibition games begin.

"That's the value of facing live pitching for hitters," Al Kaline said. "It feels strange to begin with, because of the different speeds, but it comes back to you pretty quickly."

But do hitters step in wondering if they're going to get smoked in the first session?

"Unless you're facing a kid who doesn't know where he's throwing the ball, you never think about that," Kaline said. "At least I never did."

With strike-throwing Jones on the mound, Sheffield never thought about it, either. But it happened. On a pitch up and in, Sheffield had to bail, but everyone lived happily ever after.

A close call, but only a close call.

Around the horn

• Despite the rain, Leyland said the storms came through at a "perfect" time -- meaning the Tigers got all the work done that they'd planned.

• Leyland remains a big Ryan Raburn fan, because Raburn can play so many positions. He'll add another this spring when the Tigers get him some time behind the plate as their emergency catcher.

Of his willingness to play anywhere and do anything to increase the likelihood of making the team, however, Leyland drew the line, tongue in cheek, at Raburn "getting carried away and wanting to wash my car."

• Because of his defense, Leyland also likes outfielder Brent Clevlen, whom he said could be an everyday player at some point in his career. "But he has to find a way for his bat and the ball to run together more often."

You can reach Tom Gage at tom.gage@detnews.com.