CAN'T KEEP HIM DOWN FOR LONG; VALDES BELIEVES VICTORIES WILL COME IN DUE TIME.Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer Two weeks after getting chewed out by a teammate for losing his concentration on the mound, Ismael Valdes
Mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in a stretch of bad breaks, Valdes is quoting inspirational books, looking to his colleagues for wisdom and harking to the past for answers. Maybe Valdes needed to get yelled at in the shower. Then again, maybe not. Here are the facts about his season: Only two National League pitchers have more losses than Valdes. He's lost four times against one win in his first start of the season. Only Pedro Astacio's 2.00 ERA is better than Valdes' 2.48 among Dodgers starters. Just 10 of the 15 runs he has allowed have been earned. The Dodgers have committed six errors with Valdes on the mound, the most of any starter. The Dodgers have scored 10 runs in Valdes' six starts, lowest run support on the team. The Dodgers are 1-5 when he pitches. Valdes has set a Dodgers record for being patted on the rear and told to keep his head up, that his luck will change, the most times in the first five weeks of a season. ``I'm pitching good,'' said Valdes, who will start tonight against the Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until 2004. After the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. . ``I'm getting the job done. I have no control over winning and losing. . . . If I'm still pitching the way I am, sooner or later, and I think sooner, I'm going to come up with a win. There's no way on earth I will not.'' The odds favor Valdes. ``You keep putting up good performances and they'll equal out after a while,'' said third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Todd Zeile Tom Candiotti Valdes has listened to such advice. Pitching coach Dave Wallace is pleased to see Valdes in good spirits Adv. 1. in good spirits - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in stride . ``I see him maturing,'' Wallace said. The past two weeks, punctuated by a cruel loss on Saturday, might have sent him over the edge. On April 26 in Florida, Valdes was far from his best. He gave up eight hits and four runs (three earned) in 3-1/3 innings. After the Dodgers had pulled to 4-2 in the top of the fourth, Valdes surrendered a leadoff double to pitcher Alex Fernandez Alex Fernandez can refer to:
After the game, in a closed-door team meeting, first baseman Eric Karros shouting match n (inf) → engueulade f, empoignade f in the shower area. ``It was good,'' Valdes said this week. ``We had a meeting. We talked about things. It's good to have things like that.'' Of his performance, he added, ``I didn't give up.'' Five days later, in Philadelphia, Valdes missed his scheduled start due to a virus that caused a painful swollen lymph node lymph node Small, rounded mass of lymphoid tissue contained in connective tissue. They occur all along lymphatic vessels, with clusters in certain areas (e.g., neck, groin, armpits). in his abdomen. It conveniently gave him six days to regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. . He did. Saturday against the Cubs, Valdes allowed five hits in 7-2/3 innings. He lost 2-1, both runs coming after batters reached second base on errors. Valdes got what is becoming the usual apologies and pep talks after the game. In the end, he was left alone to reconcile. ``Sometimes you have a bad game and you still get a win,'' he rationalized. ``Sometimes you pitch a perfect game, like the other day, and you lose. There's nothing I can do. ``I don't want to be frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: . I don't want to be mad. I'm relaxed now because I'm getting the job done. I'm also sad because this team is not winning when I pitch. That is going to change, I guarantee you. (Today) maybe will be better luck for me. ``It's easy to lose confidence after you lose a couple games in a row. I don't want to lose confidence. Once you lose confidence, it's hard to get it back.'' Wallace and others say a pitcher at this level must shed baggage. They also say that's easier said than done. Much easier. ``TIt can start to beat you mentally,'' Candiotti said of the type of losing streak Valdes is experiencing. ``You get the feeling everyone is going, `Oh no, he's pitching. We're not going to score any runs.' '' Valdes, 31-19 after three years in the majors, is experienced enough at dealing with bad stretches. He went through a few in 1995. A year earlier, he struggled during a similar stretch at Double-A. ``Oh, I was so frustrated,'' he remembered. ``I said, `I give up.' I didn't want to pitch anymore.'' One night before a start, while reading a book for inspiration, Valdes came upon a passage that stuck with him. The way he remembers it, he won a 2-1 game the next day. A short while later, he was promoted to Triple-A. Soon, he was a Dodger. ``You lose, lose, lose,'' he remembered of the passage, ``and you are that much closer to winning.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, Chart Box Photo: (Color) no caption (Ismael Valdes) Daily News File Photo Chart: (Color) BY THE NUMBERS Box: DODGERS TODAY |
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