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Career takes anodd curve

February 18, 2007 12:50 am

BY TODD JACOBSON

VIERA, Fla.--Jason Simontacchi could have given it all up in 1997, when he was called off the Lansing Lugnuts' team bus and released in the middle of the season as much for his hard partying as his poor pitching performance.

The right-hander could've quit again in 1999, after he was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates, sent packing with nothing but a slim chance with an independent league team in his future.

He could've quit when he tore the labrum in his right shoulder in 2004, or when he fell down the stairs remodeling his house in 2005, setting a long rehabilitation back six months.

But as Simontacchi traversed the baseball world, reaching its highest highs (he won 20 games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002 and 2003) and its lowest lows (he's been under contract with three different independent league teams), one thing has kept him going.

"I know I can pitch. I know I can compete and be successful," Simontacchi said. "I still believe that. I just need to be healthy. That's it.

"I believe in my stuff and I know I can get people out. Now I've just got to show people."

Simontacchi is 33, and his passport has been stamped in six countries thanks to baseball: Australia, Italy, Canada, Holland, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

He's worked odd jobs--from three years as a tow truck driver to one Australian summer installing sprinkler systems. He hasn't pitched in organized baseball since 2004, when he was with the Cardinals' Triple-A club in Memphis.

But he arrived at Space Coast Stadium last week, one of at least a dozen candidates vying for four open spots in the Nationals' starting rotation. He's got as good a chance as anyone.

"You're just pitching against the same guys. I've pitched against all the other National League teams," Simontacchi said. "You do it once, and you can do it again."

Simontacchi gave up once. At least he almost did.

It was early in 2000 and he had been released by the Pirates. He'd already spent a year in independent ball with the Springfield (Ill.) Capitals of the Frontier League. In two stints in organized baseball, he'd never cleared Single-A.

So he signed with the Chico (Calif.) Heat of the independent Western League so he could play one more time in front of his family. Then he figured he would head back to school and finish his degree at Albertson College in Caldwell, Idaho.

Before he ever played a game with Chico, however, he got a call from an Italian professional team in Rimini. They wanted him to pitch, and offered $2,200 a month, as well as an apartment, a cell phone and a car.

Travel to Europe and play baseball? He could easily postpone his education.

But a funny thing happened in Italy. He discovered a changeup, and he grew up.

And it's hard to tell which helped more.

As for the changeup that he now can throw at any time to almost any batter, it became a weapon when he started thinking of it as more than an afterthought.

Against lesser competition in the Italian League, he threw it more, gaining confidence as he spotted it for strikes.

He also worked with former major league pitcher Don August, for the first time learning that baseball was more than just showing up to pitch.

"He helped me a lot really, the aspect of the mental part of preparing yourself," Simontacchi said. "It's not just 'I will show up and throw.' You've got to take care of your body and get ready for this."

He had never taken baseball that seriously before. Sure, it was his job, but in his days with the Royals and Pirates, he was as proud of his label as the "party guy" as of his statistics.

"It was just a joke," Simontacchi said. "Am I proud of it? No. Would I want to change something? No. I learned a lot."

With Rimini, he went 12-1 pitching on weekends for the Italian team, good enough to earn an invitation to play for the Italian Olympic team in Sydney, Australia.

There, he logged a 1.17 ERA in 15 innings against plenty of professional hitters. Hhe convinced himself to give baseball another shot and drew the attention of the Minnesota Twins, who signed him and sent him to winter ball in Venezuela.

Reaching the top

The call to the big leagues came two years later. After a year in Triple-A Edmonton (7-13, a 5.34 ERA), he signed with the Cardinals.

He earned a win in his first outing, then won seven of 10 starts. For the better part of two years, he mixed his sinker and changeup enough to win 20 games. He was 11-5 with a 4.02 ERA in 24 starts in 2002. No candidate for the Nationals rotation has won more than 10 games in a season, including No. 1 starter John Patterson.

"He has a good idea of what's going on," said Nationals manager Manny Acta, who first noticed Simontacchi while managing in Venezuela. "He has good command of his pitches and an above-average changeup. This guy could be an asset to us."

But first, he'll have to make another comeback.

He tore his labrum in 2004 and missed all of 2005. Without a team to play for, he signed with Bridgeport (Conn.) of the Atlantic League and allowed just one run in 10 games. In search of more exposure, he headed to the Dominican Republic to pitch for Estrellas Orientales. He was 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA when he was signed by the Nationals.

"He's got a really great arm and his changeup. I say it's as good of a pitch as my slider was for me," said Jose Rijo, a special assistant to Nationals general manager Jim Bowden who scouted Simontacchi in the Dominican Republic. "He just has to keep the ball down. He has everything we need and hopefully he'll help us."

Simontacchi has plenty of people rooting for him. He's gained respect among his teammates for working to return to the field, and his resume reads as almost a badge of honor.

"You have to respect him," said Danny Ardoin, who caught Simontacchi in Edmonton in 2001. "This guy is doing whatever it takes to stay in the game. It would be a beautiful story if he's out of the game for a year, this and that, can't find a job and all of a sudden he's in the big leagues winning 12 or 15 games."

Now, all Simontacchi has to do is write the ending.

"I've got a couple friends that say they're tired of it and they aren't going to keep playing," Simontacchi said. "But I know I can still do it, and I'm going to do it as long as I can."

Todd Jacobson: 540/735-
Email: 1974tjacobson@freelancestar.com