Karstens integral part of Pirates’ resurgence
PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥� Jeff Karstens heard the chatter. Hang around the fringe as long as the Pirates right-hander has and it鈥檚 hard to ignore.
Manager Clint Hurdle heard it too. He saw the reports labeling Karstens a 鈥渇ive and 75 guy,鈥� meaning once he got through five innings or 75 pitches, things started to get ugly.
Did it bother Karstens? Sure. But considering his lackluster numbers during his first five seasons with the New York Yankees and the Pirates 鈥� a 12-27 record with a 5.07 ERA 鈥� he couldn鈥檛 exactly blame scouts for placing him with the not-so flattering tag.
鈥淭hey had the stats to back it up,鈥� Karstens said with a shrug of considerably slight shoulders.
Not anymore.
The 28-year-old Karstens is arguably the biggest surprise on one of baseball鈥檚 biggest surprises. Thrust into the rotation when Ross Ohlendorf went down with a shoulder injury in April, Karstens is having the kind of breakthrough year he wondered would ever come.
Scan the list of lowest ERAs in the National League and there鈥檚 the usual suspects like Philadelphia鈥檚 Roy Halladay and San Francisco鈥檚 Tim Lincecum. And then there鈥檚 Karstens, shipped from the Yankees to the Pirates three summers ago as a throw-in on a trade that sent Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to New York and heralded prospects Jose Tabata and Daniel McCutchen to Pittsburgh.
Karstens was an afterthought then. He looks like a steal now.
The guy, who never met a corner of the plate he didn鈥檛 like to nibble on, is 8-5 with a 2.28 ERA 鈥� second best in the league among eligible pitchers 鈥� while becoming Pittsburgh鈥檚 most consistent starter.
How鈥檇 it happen? Karstens isn鈥檛 quite sure. Hurdle thinks Karstens simply got tired of reading the scouting report on himself and decided he was at the point in his career where opportunities to change people鈥檚 perception were starting to run out.
鈥淪ometimes what bothers people is when (the perceptions) are accurate and you can鈥檛 get out of it,鈥� Hurdle said. 鈥淥h, he鈥檚 a 5 and 75 guy, you keep going 5 and 75 and the barrel starts showing up (and) the noise and the madness. You either do something about it or that鈥檚 who you are.鈥�
In four months, Karstens has morphed from long-reliever to workhorse. He鈥檚 pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last nine starts, including a typically efficient seven-inning outing in a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Karstens needed just 77 pitches to get through one of baseball鈥檚 most productive lineups. He didn鈥檛 overpower the Reds 鈥� he doesn鈥檛 overpower anybody, really, with his middling 88-91 mph fastball 鈥� but now he knows he doesn鈥檛 have to.
He knows he鈥檚 got eight teammates around him who can catch the ball easier than he can throw it past a hitter. He鈥檚 more than happy to let them do their job.
鈥淕et them involved,鈥� said Karstens, who hasn鈥檛 struck out more than five hitters in a game all year. 鈥淭he more they鈥檙e involved, the better they鈥檙e going to be at the plate and in the dugout.鈥�
Pitching coach Ray Searage says Karstens has developed into 鈥渁 pitcher鈥檚 pitcher,鈥� relying more on control and confidence than electric stuff.
鈥淗e鈥檚 playing a chess game with the hitter and the hitter is going to try and figure out his chess game, his strategy,鈥� Searage said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to go out there and try and have the hitter hit his pitch and get himself out.鈥�
Even if Searage chides the reserved, laid-back San Diego native for being too 鈥渞ocket scientisty鈥� at times.
鈥淗e鈥檒l overabuse a certain pitch because he can throw them from a couple different arm slots and he鈥檒l go a little bit too crazy on it,鈥� Searage said. 鈥淚 tell him to use it when you want, but don鈥檛 abuse it. He picks it up and goes 鈥榶eah, you鈥檙e right鈥� and he kicks himself in the butt saying 鈥業 should have known better.'鈥�
Karstens is no longer prone to repeating the same mistakes, and is going deeper in games because of it. He has thrown at least 77 pitches in each start over the last two months, and has become effective deeper in games because he鈥檚 taken his ego out of the equation.
鈥淚鈥檓 maybe not as 鈥榙umb鈥� when I鈥檓 pitching,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not trying to throw a fastball by a guy.鈥�
Something he tried to do too often earlier in his career. Coming up, Karstens figured the point was to get the batter to swing and miss. It led him to be too tentative. He鈥檚 gotten knocked around enough to know he鈥檚 going to get hit. His job now is to try and make sure the ball gets hit at somebody.
For the most part, it鈥檚 worked. Though he was undone Wednesday by a pair of unearned runs on errors by shortstop Chase d鈥橝rnaud, Karstens was also bailed out three times by spectacular plays in the field.
鈥淗e has our trust,鈥� centerfielder Andrew McCutchen said, 鈥渁nd we trust him as well.鈥�
Karstens is doing his best not to get ahead of himself. But it鈥檚 getting tougher, isn鈥檛 it?
After all, the Pirates are in the middle of their best season in nearly 20 years. And he appears to finally have grown comfortable in his own skin.
For a guy who wasn鈥檛 quite sure of his role four months ago, he鈥檚 been a key cog to one of baseball鈥檚 best stories.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to love watching him go out there and pitch,鈥� closer Joel Hanrahan said. 鈥淲hen he was in the bullpen, we always saw him as a starter in our eyes.
鈥淎nd man, he鈥檚 doing it.鈥�