OnBaseMachine
04-04-2008, 12:52 AM
Tom Archdeacon: Rookie righty puts on sensational display
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By Tom Archdeacon
Staff Writer
Friday, April 04, 2008
CINCINNATI — He doesn't throw lemons anymore.
Literally or figuratively.
Growing up poor in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, Johnny Cueto said his first baseball bat was a tree branch and his first glove was an old piece of leather held together with shoestrings.
"And my first ball," the Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher said in Spanish, "was a lemon."
As he stood at his dressing stall in the clubhouse and thought back to those hard-scrabble days, he started to laugh. It had been a long time since he threw a lemon.
Certainly he didn't toss one at Great American Ball Park on Thursday afternoon, April 3.
In his major-league debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks — and just two seasons removed from the Dayton Dragons — the 22-year-old right-hander put on a display that was "amazing, just unbelievable" gushed Reds veteran closer, and fellow Dominican, Francisco Cordero.
Mixing fastballs up to 97 mph with disconcerting changeups and pinpoint control, Cueto retired the first 15 batters he faced before his perfect game was stained by a Justin Upton home run.
But after that, Cueto continued his domination until Reds manager Dusty Baker removed him after the seventh inning of what would be a 3-2 Cincinnati victory. Cueto finished with 10 strikeouts, no walks and gave up just that one hit.
Major-league records go back to 1900, and in that time, no Reds pitcher has ever struck out 10 in his debut performance.
"He is fun to play behind, because every pitch you're waiting for him to do something spectacular — and today he did just that," said Reds left fielder Adam Dunn. "He's just one of those special guys."
And unlike Homer Bailey — last season's supposed "special guy" — Cueto lived up to his billing.
Actually, Bailey had far more hype, in part because he was a first-round draft pick in 2004 who signed for $2.3 million. That same year, Cueto — who had dropped out of school in the ninth grade and attended the Reds' Dominican baseball academy — signed for $3,500.
Even today, Cueto makes the minimum $390,000 a year, while Cordero makes more than $8.6 million and Dunn $13 million.
Before the game, Baker said he told Cueto in Spanish to relax and be calm: "He shook his head like he always does, gave me that little boy smile of his and said, 'OK, no problem.' "
That smile, Dunn said, is deceiving: "He's totally different on the mound than he is in the clubhouse."
Not totally. Cueto did show that little boy side at the end of the fourth inning after Dunn had crashed into the left-field wall to catch an Orlando Hudson blast.
Clapping his pitching hand into his mitt, the beaming Cueto waited for Dunn, giving him a high-five and a pat on the butt before they both trotted to the dugout.
"When a guy's pitching like that," Dunn said with a smile, "you want to make plays for him."
Cordero — who retired the side in the ninth inning to collect his first save since coming over from Milwaukee — felt the same way:
"When you pitch like Cueto did, you deserve the win. My big concern was just to get three people out, get the save and hand the ball to him."
And when Cordero did, Cueto had to like the feel.
It felt nothing like a lemon.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/reds/2008/04/04/ddn040408archweb.html
Listen to this article or download audio file.Click-2-Listen
By Tom Archdeacon
Staff Writer
Friday, April 04, 2008
CINCINNATI — He doesn't throw lemons anymore.
Literally or figuratively.
Growing up poor in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, Johnny Cueto said his first baseball bat was a tree branch and his first glove was an old piece of leather held together with shoestrings.
"And my first ball," the Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher said in Spanish, "was a lemon."
As he stood at his dressing stall in the clubhouse and thought back to those hard-scrabble days, he started to laugh. It had been a long time since he threw a lemon.
Certainly he didn't toss one at Great American Ball Park on Thursday afternoon, April 3.
In his major-league debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks — and just two seasons removed from the Dayton Dragons — the 22-year-old right-hander put on a display that was "amazing, just unbelievable" gushed Reds veteran closer, and fellow Dominican, Francisco Cordero.
Mixing fastballs up to 97 mph with disconcerting changeups and pinpoint control, Cueto retired the first 15 batters he faced before his perfect game was stained by a Justin Upton home run.
But after that, Cueto continued his domination until Reds manager Dusty Baker removed him after the seventh inning of what would be a 3-2 Cincinnati victory. Cueto finished with 10 strikeouts, no walks and gave up just that one hit.
Major-league records go back to 1900, and in that time, no Reds pitcher has ever struck out 10 in his debut performance.
"He is fun to play behind, because every pitch you're waiting for him to do something spectacular — and today he did just that," said Reds left fielder Adam Dunn. "He's just one of those special guys."
And unlike Homer Bailey — last season's supposed "special guy" — Cueto lived up to his billing.
Actually, Bailey had far more hype, in part because he was a first-round draft pick in 2004 who signed for $2.3 million. That same year, Cueto — who had dropped out of school in the ninth grade and attended the Reds' Dominican baseball academy — signed for $3,500.
Even today, Cueto makes the minimum $390,000 a year, while Cordero makes more than $8.6 million and Dunn $13 million.
Before the game, Baker said he told Cueto in Spanish to relax and be calm: "He shook his head like he always does, gave me that little boy smile of his and said, 'OK, no problem.' "
That smile, Dunn said, is deceiving: "He's totally different on the mound than he is in the clubhouse."
Not totally. Cueto did show that little boy side at the end of the fourth inning after Dunn had crashed into the left-field wall to catch an Orlando Hudson blast.
Clapping his pitching hand into his mitt, the beaming Cueto waited for Dunn, giving him a high-five and a pat on the butt before they both trotted to the dugout.
"When a guy's pitching like that," Dunn said with a smile, "you want to make plays for him."
Cordero — who retired the side in the ninth inning to collect his first save since coming over from Milwaukee — felt the same way:
"When you pitch like Cueto did, you deserve the win. My big concern was just to get three people out, get the save and hand the ball to him."
And when Cordero did, Cueto had to like the feel.
It felt nothing like a lemon.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/reds/2008/04/04/ddn040408archweb.html