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March 20, 2007 - 12:13AM
Gonzalez returns to once-promising form
Jack Magruder, Tribune
TUCSON - As Enrique Gonzalez shut down the Bay Area — San Francisco, then Oakland — in his first two spring starts, he took the Diamondbacks to a place they remember fondly.
“He looked exactly the way we saw him when he came up last year,” manager Bob Melvin said.
That is a good thing – Gonzalez was strong after his May 2006 recall.
Gonzalez threw four shutout innings Friday, and despite a rocky relief outing after his first start, has shown the capability of fitting snugly into a D-Backs’ rotation in need of two starters.
“He kept the ball down, threw quality strikes and made them hit it,” pitching coach Bryan Price said after Gonzalez’s last outing.
“He was very good.”
Just like he was in his early days with the D-Backs last season.
Gonzalez, 24, had six quality starts among his first nine after being recalled from Triple-A Tucson, adding stability to the rotation after Orlando Hernandez was traded and Russ Ortiz was disabled, then released.
Gonzalez’s early work made him appear to be a long-term solution to the D-Backs’ starting corps, adding weight to a resume that included his selection as the D-Backs’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2004.
He three-hit Cincinnati in his first start May 28 and four-hit Atlanta in his next appearance, pitching six innings in each game.
Gonzalez threw seven shutout innings against San Francisco on June 13 and gave up one run in seven innings against Seattle on June 29, after which he was 2-1 (two blown saves from being 4-1) with a 4.03 ERA.
But he scuffled in the second half, perhaps because of a combination of getting away from his normal pitching pattern and the weight of his longest professional season.
“He got into a little bit of a funk,” Melvin said. “I think he limited himself at times by going away too much. I think he pitched a little bit like a reliever, everything was fastball-slider.
“He was not afraid to shake off (a catcher’s signs) early and had a good idea of what worked for him. Then, maybe to an extent he doubted himself a little bit.”
Gonzalez is perhaps the most athletic starter on the staff, a good hitter who can field his position and keep the running game in check.
He is fresh and eager this spring after limiting his winter workload to prepare for 2007.
“I was tired” by the end of last season, Gonzalez said. “My arm feels strong now because I rested in the offseason.”
A native of Venezuela and a previous staple of the winter league there, Gonzalez pitched only 20 innings for La Guaira last winter after totaling 166 2/3 innings with the D-Backs and Triple-A Tucson in 2006.
Gonzalez pitched about 230 innings in 2005, when he was 11-8 with a 3.46 ERA in 161 1/3 innings at Double-A Tennessee before pitching a full winter season with La Guaira.
“This winter I got more rest,” he said.
“I’m going to work hard because I want to pitch in the big leagues again. Starting or relieving, it doesn’t matter.”
