MARTIN PÉREZ
On August 30th, it was announced, somewhat surprisingly, that Martin Pérez had been removed from the Rangers’ rotation, and would be pitching in relief. On Saturday, interim manager Don Wakamatsu announced — almost equally as surprisingly — that Pérez would be starting on Sunday, and at least one more game before the season was over.
Advertisement
“(We’ll) probably give him two starts before the year is out,” Wakamatsu said. “(It’s the) kind of a season where we can evaluate, get him back into that starting role. We’ve liked what we’ve seen out of the bullpen from him.”
In six relief appearances since his demotion, Pérez has pitched 11 innings, sporting a 2.45 ERA and striking out seven (while walking five). The walks have been the only problem, however, opponents are hitting just .179 off Pérez in those six games. All three runs he has allowed came in one outing. In short, Pérez has done something as a reliever that he was prone to as a starter: pitching a lot of clean innings and being waylaid by one bad one.
But there have been more good than bad lately, giving the Rangers at least enough hope to take another look at him in a starting role before they have to decide whether to exercise his 2019 option.
“To me, it’s just evaluation,” Wakamatsu added. “Again, we have a decision to make on him, and we’ll get another look at him as a starter.”
The timing of the announcement was a little strange, as it came in the first full day after it was announced that Jeff Banister had been relieved of his managerial duties, but Pérez told reporters before Saturday night’s game that he had been informed of the decision on Wednesday by Banister. It’s an organization-wide decision to get another look.
DON WAKAMATSU
Speaking of the interim manager, he had his first “normal” manager’s meeting before Saturday’s game and answered questions about his history in managing and coaching and some of the lessons he has learned along the way. His answers were illuminating, and seemed especially poignant in the aftermath of the departure of Banister.
“For me, it’s about (coaching) with a lot of different managers,” Wakamatsu began. “Being able to go to the World Series twice (with Kansas City) and seeing how that was handled by Ned (Yost), how the development of that young club was handled.
Advertisement
“Different managing styles, and their effectiveness on certain players, is important. I think of the aptitude or intelligence of Buck Showalter, dissecting the game. With John Farrell in Toronto. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned from all those guys, and I think that’s one thing that I’m extremely fortunate — to be around the Buddy Blacks and Joe Maddons and Bob Gerens, and on down the list.”
But coaching is one thing. Wakamatsu has also been a manager once before, with the Mariners in 2009 and 2010. What lessons did he learn from that first experience?
“I think every first-year manager goes in and tries to save the world,” Wakamatsu added with a smile. “The second go-round, there’s a little bit more understanding of how things truly work. How do you deal with players? How do you deal with the media a little bit better? And I think, for lack of a better word, a softening. And that’s, again, going back to Ned and being able to be on a World Series championship team.
“The greatest lesson I learned from that is to allow them (the players) to develop a culture inside that clubhouse, rather than you trying to put a stamp on it. It’s very difficult to make 25 guys the same personality that you are. I think also, you learn a lot about who you are as a person when you’re put into pressure situation, both when you win and when you lose. So those are probably the lessons I learned along the way.”
So how would he define his managerial style now?
“I think you learn to have a comfort level in who you are. I think a lot of times, when you go into an environment like that, you tend to want to be someone you think they want you to be. But then you get a little bit more comfortable in your skin, with experience, the anxiety and all that stuff tends to go away, and you begin to make better decisions.
Advertisement
“I think when you have aspirations of manager, the first thing you do is go look at historic managers. I was fortunate to have dinner and sit down with the Tony LaRussas and a lot of guys that have managed, the Bobby Coxes. But for me to try to be Bobby Cox and get thrown out 13-14 times a year — and I might be shortchanging him — that’s not my style. My first year in Seattle, I didn’t get thrown out once, and we won. I don’t believe that’s — again, it’s not trying to be something you’re not. I think that’s something that players pick up on.
“Pertaining to this club, for me, it’s how do you get Guzmán, how do you get Kiner, how do you get some of these younger players to become team leaders in a short period of time? You can argue that I can sit there and be a father figure and try to drill into them how it should be, or do I pass it on? I learned a lot from Joe Maddon, and Joe Maddon told me one time that there’s a lot of discipline in freedom. So you allow these guys the freedom to kind of police themselves in some aspects, and they grow a little bit.”
BARTOLO COLON’S NEW TATTOO
Bartolo Colon has a new tattoo. It’s of St. Michael doing battle with Satan, and it’s on his left forearm.
Uhhhh Bartolo Colon has a new tattoo?? pic.twitter.com/ekdDF3xafy
— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) September 23, 2018
“It is St. Michael,” Colon explained after the game “I wanted to get it years ago. This year I made the decision to get it, but it was too hot. Then it got cooler, so I had it done on the (Thursday) off-day.”
I’m no tattoo expert, but I used to be a musician, and I’ve had friends with elaborate tattoos before. That does not look like a one-session piece of work to me. But hey, since when has Bartolo Colon been subject to what I think can and cannot be physically done? He’s still pitching at 45 years old.
Oh, yeah, and the Rangers lost 13-0 to the Mariners in their penultimate home game of the 2018 season.
(Top photo of interim manager Don Wakamatsu: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
