Sadowski: Lightning or Luck?
Posted by Gavin McCormick on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Recent Giant callup Ryan Sadowski makes a lovely story.
As Scott Ostler reported this week in the SF Chronicle, he got the attention of scouts only after his mother, Elaine, called all 30 teams begging for a tryout. In his second big-league start (7 innings of shutout ball against the Astros), the 26-year-old logged more innings than he had in his entire Florida University career.
Once the Giants drafted him (12th round, 2003), he had brain surgery and lost 18 months. (It was a non-baseball-related subdural hematoma; in the minors he threw with a cap insert, though it’s unclear if he’s taken it with him to the big leagues.) Once recovered, Sadowski hardly registered among Giant prospects. The skinny, 6’4” righty has four pitches (including a low-90s fastball that cuts and a mid-80s slider, his only plus pitch), but he didn’t even start for AA Connecticut in 2007 and 2008 and only moved into the rotation late last year at AAA Fresno.
His 2009 numbers at hitter-friendly Fresno were OK (5-2, 4.11, 1.34 WHIP, 1.84 K/BB). But once the Giants decided to move Jonathan Sanchez to the bullpen, Sadowski got the call only because Kevin Pucetas, their top Fresno starter, had thrown just two days before, and because the team feels it’s premature to call up Madison Bumgarner or Tim Alderson from Connecticut. Most fans saw it as a one-start sacrifice to allow Sanchez to rediscover his mechanics, confidence, or self-control.
Now, after 6 innings shutting out the Brewers and 7 innings of the same against the Astros, and with Randy Johnson on the 15-day DL, Sadowski will likely be around for awhile. But before they get riled up, San Francisco fans should note that he’s pitched all but two innings with at least a 3-run lead (3-0 in the 2nd v. Milwaukee, 13-0 by the 3rd against Houston). He’s shown composure that belies his big-eyed stare. But he’s also been able with impunity to pound the strike zone with his fastball, and that won’t happen every start.
Should anyone willing to overlook Sadowski’s mediocre career and scouting report need a cautionary tale, they don’t need to search far.
The last Giant to win his first two major-league starts with more than 13 innings of shutout ball (15, including a complete game) was Mike Remlinger, in 1991. The 25-year-old lefty had four more starts that year, giving up 17 runs and five homers in 20 innings. Injuries cost him the next two years, and Remlinger didn’t find major-league success until eight years and three franchises later, when the Braves moved him to the bullpen for a terrific four-year run (1999-2002).
Sadowski’s starts look a lot more like luck than lightning in a bottle – or, to cite a recent Mets example, more Fernando Nieve than, say, Mike Pelfrey. He and his mom should gather their precious big-league memories while they can.
