[情報] Correia making his case for staff spot
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060323&content_id=1360366&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf
Correia making his case for staff spot
Young righty's solid spring has him in the mix
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
"Hopefully it'll be good enough to get me on [the team]," said Kevin Correia
about his performance. (LM Otero/AP)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When we first met Kevin Correia in 2003, he was like an
X-Games refugee, with his spiked hair, teen-aged look and body so lean that
coaches demanded he wolf down huge amounts of food to gain weight.
The wild hair has been tamed, and the Giants pitcher once laughed about how
he was gobbling everything he could yet the scale needle kept jiggling around
the 180 mark on his 6-foot-3 frame.
He was hardly an ectomorph in a world where large-sized men were the norm, and
metabolism and genes created what he was, but Correia had a gift of what he
called a whippy arm that could slingshot a baseball in the 90-mph range with
accuracy.
Today, in the spring of his 25th year, Correia is a heftier 202 pounds, with
weightier gray matter as well as he shoots for the fifth starter's spot or
perhaps a bullpen role.
After overcoming a stiff lower back, the right-hander has been spectacular,
retiring the last 19 batters over the past two outings, tossing 8 1/3
scoreless innings in three games and limiting opponents to a skinny .074
average.
Still, the clock is ticking, and Correia has no idea if he'll wear the Giants
uniform this season.
"It's very important," said Correia of his Cactus League outings. "We won't
even have a Major League season unless we do it here first. It's a good time
to do well if I want to make this team, and I feel if I can get a couple more
good outings, hopefully it'll be good enough to get me on."
As a starter, Correia is in competition with veteran Jamey Wright, who has yet
to allow an earned run over nine innings, and 26-year-old Brad Hennessey, who
won his last game but has struggled with a 6.57 ERA.
Manager Felipe Alou likes what he sees from San Diego native Correia.
"He's been throwing downhill consistently -- he's getting it together," said
Alou. "Starting or relieving? We don't know right now, but he has been
overpowering, and he's making the decision [over whom to keep] difficult. He
started late because of the lower back problem, but since coming back he's
been throwing the ball well."
Throwing strikes has been the key. Sounds easy enough, but it's a tricky
proposition, and repeating his pitching mechanics is three-quarters of the
battle.
"I'm throwing a lot of strikes, hitting my spots and getting quick outs --
that's the important thing for me," said Correia, who was 2-5 with a 4.63 ERA
with the Giants last season over four part-time segments, but was unscored
upon in 10 of 13 relief outings.
"I'm getting ahead of guys and can throw a strike when I need to," he said.
"That takes a lot of the pressure off the other things you have to do out
there."
Mechanically, Correia is in sync after years of working with Giants and
Triple-A Fresno coaches. His arm would often dip when tired, or he'd have
trouble staying in the groove.
"They've been preaching that to me over and over, and now it's beginning to
stick," said Correia, who utilizes sliders with different speeds as well as a
changeup as counterpoint to his fastball.
As for that body ... not to worry, even if he's one of the few men in America
trying to put on the pounds.
Kevin expects to naturally gain weight as he gets older, especially in the
legs, which will boost his power.
"It's hard for me to put on weight," he said, "but it'll come."
Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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