ADVERSITY RESHAPES SWARZAK'S GAME
The tiny sitting room with the cushy chairs adjacent to the Rock Cats clubhouse was quiet as Anthony Swarzak pondered what had transpired since he reported to spring training in March.
He was in great shape when he arrived in Fort Myers, eager to show the Minnesota Twins that he could follow the fast-path to big-league prosperity blazed by pitchers like Francisco Liriano, Matt Garza, Pat Neshek and Kevin Slowey.
Swarzak, 21, is entitled to have a little fun mixed in with the serious business of professional baseball, but he evidently crossed the line. When his time came to pee in the cup, he was a little concerned, but time passed, he reported to New Britain and he figured he was all set.
Not so. The Twins got the word in mid-April that Swarzak had failed his drug test, and it wasn’t his first offense. The penalty for messing up twice was a 50-game suspension. All his hopes and dreams passed before his eyes.
The initial shock wore off while Swarzak spent the rest of April and some of May hanging with the Rock Cats but unable to participate. When he reported to the Twins’ extended spring training program in Fort Myers, the hot sun bore down on him as he worked to stay in shape and fine-tune his mechanics.
“I realized I was taking the game for granted, just a little bit,” he said. “I really got that passion for the game, not that I lost it but I kind of put things in perspective. … I’m trying to make the best out of a bad situation.”
When the 50 games elapsed, Swarzak was dispatched across the parking lot at the Twins’ spring training complex to pitch for Fort Myers in the Class-A Florida State League. Returning to the scene where he had already started 37 games over the previous two seasons surely wasn’t what he wanted or expected on June 13, but he steadfastly refused to let that affect his focus.
Three starts, 15 2/3 innings and 18 strikeouts later, he was headed back to New Britain, where starting pitchers seemingly had forgotten that throwing strikes, trusting their stuff and challenging hitters are the keys to success. The time was ripe for Swarzak to make a dramatic entrance and show manager Riccardo Ingram what the Rock Cats had missed.
The results: two wins, 12 1/3 innings, 12 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA.
“He seems to be a little more focused,” Ingram said. “He probably had a little bit of pressure on him from that situation and leading up to it. Obviously it’s going to affect you. … He had time to clear his head. He realizes the talent he has and doesn’t want to waste it. That’s what he’s shown the last two outings and hopefully he can continue.”
If he does, and he can somehow inspire his colleagues to follow suit, the Rock Cats’ quest for a winning season and some postseason fun aren’t yet out of reach. If he does, he will reshape how history reflects on a sobering 2007 season.
He was in great shape when he arrived in Fort Myers, eager to show the Minnesota Twins that he could follow the fast-path to big-league prosperity blazed by pitchers like Francisco Liriano, Matt Garza, Pat Neshek and Kevin Slowey.
Swarzak, 21, is entitled to have a little fun mixed in with the serious business of professional baseball, but he evidently crossed the line. When his time came to pee in the cup, he was a little concerned, but time passed, he reported to New Britain and he figured he was all set.
Not so. The Twins got the word in mid-April that Swarzak had failed his drug test, and it wasn’t his first offense. The penalty for messing up twice was a 50-game suspension. All his hopes and dreams passed before his eyes.
The initial shock wore off while Swarzak spent the rest of April and some of May hanging with the Rock Cats but unable to participate. When he reported to the Twins’ extended spring training program in Fort Myers, the hot sun bore down on him as he worked to stay in shape and fine-tune his mechanics.
“I realized I was taking the game for granted, just a little bit,” he said. “I really got that passion for the game, not that I lost it but I kind of put things in perspective. … I’m trying to make the best out of a bad situation.”
When the 50 games elapsed, Swarzak was dispatched across the parking lot at the Twins’ spring training complex to pitch for Fort Myers in the Class-A Florida State League. Returning to the scene where he had already started 37 games over the previous two seasons surely wasn’t what he wanted or expected on June 13, but he steadfastly refused to let that affect his focus.
Three starts, 15 2/3 innings and 18 strikeouts later, he was headed back to New Britain, where starting pitchers seemingly had forgotten that throwing strikes, trusting their stuff and challenging hitters are the keys to success. The time was ripe for Swarzak to make a dramatic entrance and show manager Riccardo Ingram what the Rock Cats had missed.
The results: two wins, 12 1/3 innings, 12 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA.
“He seems to be a little more focused,” Ingram said. “He probably had a little bit of pressure on him from that situation and leading up to it. Obviously it’s going to affect you. … He had time to clear his head. He realizes the talent he has and doesn’t want to waste it. That’s what he’s shown the last two outings and hopefully he can continue.”
If he does, and he can somehow inspire his colleagues to follow suit, the Rock Cats’ quest for a winning season and some postseason fun aren’t yet out of reach. If he does, he will reshape how history reflects on a sobering 2007 season.
posted by Ken Lipshez at
10:08 PM
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