There's still some magic in those wings
Posted: Mon May 4, 1998 at 6:18 PM ET
SONOMA, California (CNN/SI) -- Bret Saberhagen and David Cone were two of the more dominating pitchers of the late 1980s -- Saberhagen with the Kansas City Royals and Cone with the New York Mets.
Now, they're trying to show they can still win some games in the late 1990s.
Saberhagen, now with the Boston Red Sox, and Cone, with the New York Yankees, have battled back from arm and shoulder problems to become important parts of the pitching staffs on their teams. In the hugely competitive American League East, how well these old warriors stand up over a long season could determine who wins that division.
So far, the two old guys are holding up just fine.
Saberhagen, 34, missed all of 1996 after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder. The two-time Cy Young winner was winless in six starts last year, but he came out this season with something to prove.
He's 4-0 so far with a respectable 2.77 ERA, a nice complement to a staff that also includes $75 million man Pedro Martinez and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
Saberhagen is not the fire-throwing pitcher he once was. In his heyday with the Royals, Saberhagen was a power pitcher who had great pinpoint control. Now he mixes it up more. He has to rely more on smarts now, not hard stuff.
What Saberhagen has to watch -- and what everyone else will be watching -- is his stamina. Will he be able to maintain his good start over the course of a long season? With pitchers, it's not just the arm. It's the legs, the mental aspect, the whole package.
Of course, no one knows that better than Saberhagen.
Cone, 35, has had a string of injuries, starting with an aneurysm in his arm back in 1996 and shoulder problems last fall. He's not been as successful as Saberhagen, but Cone still knows what he's doing.
He's 3-1 this season with the Yanks, though his 7.16 ERA throws up a red flag. He's given up some hits, too -- 34 in 27 2-3 innings -- but he's struck out 27 batters and walked only 10.
Cone always has had a lot of movement on his ball. He threw a wicked slider in his heyday and was really tough on right-handed batters. If he can get that even close to what he used to throw, and then get it across the plate consistently, he'll be a huge boost for the Yankees.
Like Saberhagen, though, Cone's strength lies in his knowledge. He knows the importance of hitting spots, of moving the ball around. That's more important than any nasty slider or 95 mph fastball.
Both Saberhagen and Cone have been through a lot in their comebacks. They've certainly been in situations where even they must have thought, "Hey, is this the time to get away from it?" And you can't blame them, especially in the early part of their comebacks. When you're first returning from a major injury, you're always a little timid to start with. But you reach that point where you have to just let it fly and you say, "It was either meant to be or it wasn't."
Saberhagen and Cone have answered that question. They've proven -- at least through April -- they have something left to give.
They've also proven something else: They truly love what they're doing, and they're willing to put in the time, the work and the effort to do it.
The 6-4-3 with Ozzie: Maybe it's something with right fielders.
Pittsburgh outfielder Turner Ward crashed through the fence Sunday at Three Rivers Stadium to grab a long fly ball off Mike Piazza's bat in the Pirates' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It reminded everybody of the catch that minor league Rodney McCray made in 1991, when the Vancouver outfielder smashed through a wooden fence to make a spectacular grab.
I've seen outfielders jump up and make great catches. I remember Willie McGee bringing one back into the park in Milwaukee off the bat of the Brewers' Gorman Thomas in the 1982 World Series. Everybody thought the ball was a home run.
But I've never seen a guy run through a fence to make the catch.
That's giving it your all.
Ozzie Smith is the baseball analyst for CNN/SI. His column appears every Monday on CNNSI.com.
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