'HAWKS ALL-STAR PITCHER MOCK GETS ADVICE FROM CLEMENS.Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News LANCASTER - Garrett Mock Garrett Lee Mock, born April 25, 1983, in Houston, Texas, is a North American professional baseball player. He is a right-handed pitching prospect in the Washington Nationals organization. , the JetHawks' 22-year-old pitcher, bears more than a passing resemblance to future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962, in Dayton, Ohio), is a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, and is one of the preeminent pitchers in Major League history. In 2006, a poll of 32 ESPN analysts named Clemens the greatest living pitcher. . Both are Texas-born, right-handed power pitchers with nearly identical body types, game-scowls and stuff. Mock - who along with catcher Miguel Montero Miguel Angel Montero (born July 9, 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise. He made his Major League debut on September 6, 2006 against the Florida Marlins. will represent Lancaster in tonight's California/Carolina League All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games at 3:35 PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT at Harry Grove Stadium Harry Grove Stadium, located in Frederick, Maryland, is the home of the Frederick Keys, a class A minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Opened in 1990, it seats 5,400 fans. in Frederick, Md. - is a top Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. prospect barely a year out of college. Roger Clemens - who is now pitching for his hometown Houston Astros - meanwhile, is in the twilight of his career. Over the offseason, the two spent a few afternoons together in meetings arranged by their common agent. They talked about what it takes to be a good pitcher and a good teammate. Mock admits being a bit awestruck awe·struck also awe·strick·en adj. Full of awe. awestruck Adjective overcome or filled with awe Adj. 1. by Clemens allowing him to handle his Cy Young Award trophies. ``I got a truckload of information just from being around him,'' Mock said. All of which seems to have rubbed off on Clemens' protege. After struggling to start the season, Mock emerged as one of the California League's most effective pitchers, helping propel the JetHawks into contention for a first-half title before falling just short in the final week. Mock was 1-1 with a 7.33 ERA through his first four starts, but has managed to turn things around, going 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA over his last 11 starts. He is now 6-4 with a 4.17 ERA. ``He's just a great pitcher,'' JetHawks first baseman Chris Carter said. ``He just goes out there and gets the wins and stops the losing streaks.'' Mock is eighth in the league in ERA, second in strikeouts with 84 and second in innings pitched with 94 2/3. He's also been remarkably consistent, going at least five innings in each of his starts, and at least six innings in all but five starts. ``He keeps us in the ballgame every time he goes out there,'' JetHawks manager Bill Plummer: ``He's been our horse.'' Mock's mid-to-low 90 mph stuff, combined with exceptional control - he's walked just 17 batters this season - has been a nice fit for hitter- friendly Lancaster. He's 4-1 with a 4.17 ERA at home, compared to 2-3 and 4.19 ERA on the road. ``There's no defense for a walk,'' Mock said. ``I'd rather give up a bases-clearing double than walk a run in because at least then you're throwing strikes. If you give a guy a free base, that's when the Lancaster home runs will hurt you.'' Mock's inclination to challenge hitters should come as no surprise, especially after pitching at University of Houston for a month with a broken ankle. That moxie (language, music) Moxie - A language for real-time computer music synthesis, written in XPL. ["Moxie: A Language for Computer Music Performance", D. Collinge, Proc Intl Computer Music Conf, Computer Music Assoc 1984, pp.217-220]. , combined with his physical talent, was enough to convince Arizona to use a third-round pick on him in last year's draft. Mock said the offseason meetings with Clemens helped him prepare for his first full year of pro ball. He said Clemens offered useful advice about eating healthy and taking care of his body between starts. ``It's common sense stuff, but it's stuff you have to do,'' Mock said. Mock said Clemens also talked to him about the importance of treating everyone involved in the game - teammates, opponents, trainers and coaches - with respect. ``You never want to burn a bridge,'' Mock remembers Clemens telling him. ``You never want to be the guy that has an ego. Just go about your business and remember that it's a game, but that it's also a job for every one of us.'' Gideon Rubin, (818) 713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com AT A GLANCE California/Carolina League All-Star Game Where: Harry Grove Stadium, Frederick, Md. When: 3:35 p.m. PDT. Local angle: Jethawks RHP rhp abbr. rated horsepower Garrett Mock (6-4, 4.18 ERA) and C Miguel Montero (.351 average, 22 home runs, 78 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in ). Radio: Internet only. Log onto jethawks.com, frederickkeys.com, or most team Web sites in both leagues. CAPTION(S): box Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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