|
|
||
Nationals Report Date published: 6/1/2007 By TODD JACOBSON BY TODD JACOBSON WASHINGTON--When Mike Bacsik re-signed with the Washington Nationals in November, he did so with a bit of unease. Sure, the Nationals had plenty of openings for a left-handed pitcher that was 11-0 in Triple-A with the Arizona Diamondbacks the previous year, but Washington was the same team that released him out of spring training seven months earlier, casting doubt on his career. As often as members of Washington's front office called, he couldn't shake a nagging feeling as he decided to sign a minor league contract with the Nationals over a dozen other teams. "Gosh, this is tough," he thought. "I hope I'm doing the right thing." Bacsik has little to complain about these days, though things didn't work out immediately with the Nats. The team that released him last year demoted him to Triple-A Columbus out of spring training a year later, but he's been a pleasant surprise since being thrust into Washington's starting rotation May 19 thanks to a rash of injuries. In three starts with the Nationals--his first appearances in the big leagues since 2004--Bacsik is 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA. "He's not intimidated," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "He knows he doesn't have overpowering stuff and he sticks with his game. He spots his fastball and changes speed on the guys and he's not afraid to come inside even when his stuff is not overpowering." Through the good times and the bad, that much never changed for Bacsik. When he felt stuck in Scranton, Pa., or Oklahoma City--stops along the minor league ladder that felt like purgatory--his confidence remained. Even when the Nationals released him after spring training in 2006, he felt he had trained too long and pitched for too many years to simply give up on his career. He had pitched in the majors with the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and the Texas Rangers as recently as 2004 and he believed he could do it again, so he would wait--at least a little bit. It was early April. If he wasn't pitching with a team by May 15, then he would consider a life that didn't include long bus rides, musty clubhouses and baseball.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
|
|
|||||||||||||
