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Jeff Suppan is 9-5 with a 4.60 ERA in 20 appearances (19 starts) for Omaha this season (File photo: Gage Matthews / Kings of Kauffman) |
Suppan picked up his ninth win of the season, which ties him for second in the PCL, while at no point looking to be in control of the game.
“To me, that’s what pitching is all about,” Suppan said after the game. “Knowing what’s working, knowing what’s not. Changing speeds, trying to work as fast as we can. It’s one of those days where my fastball really wasn’t how I like it to be – down in the zone. Getting on top of the ball, getting underneath it and the cutter a lot, so I was having to change speeds in different ways.
“Threw some more BP fastballs, some more changeups and basically just tried to grind it out and keep it as close as I could.”
The 36-year-old was signed to a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals shortly before the season started and, if things worked out, he looked to have a decent shot at filling a spot in the Royals rotation sooner rather than later.
As expected, the Royals have had their problems with the rotation. With the exception of Bruce Chen, who is 5-3 with a 3.30 ERA, the rotation has been close to a disaster. Luke Hochevar, the number one guy, is 6-8 with a 5.29 ERA and still prone to the big inning. Kyle Davies is 1-9 with a 7.32 ERA. Jeff Francis is 3-11 with a 4.62 ERA. And Sean O’Sullivan (who is now in Omaha) is 2-5 in Kansas City with a 6.92 ERA.
But rather than bringing up Suppan, general manager Dayton Moore chose several others to attempt to bolster the rotation – all of whom were understandable choices since they are younger and presumably figure into the Royals future.
Vin Mazzaro was expected to start the season in the rotation, but was sent to Omaha early because Kansas City had so many off days in April. After being hit hard in Omaha, the Royals decided to leave him there for a while. When they brought him up, things didn’t exactly work out for him. He had the memorable game in which he gave up 14 earned runs (an outing that was so bad that it made the Huffington Post) and he’s been bouncing back and forth between Omaha and Kansas City (he’s currently in Omaha) ever since. In five appearances with Kansas City he is 1-1 with a 9.25 ERA.
Prized prospect Danny Duffy, 22, was called up to Kansas City in May and has put up decent numbers (4.58 ERA in 11 starts), but the Royals may shut him down in August due to a concern about the number of innings he has thrown.
In late May, Moore traded for Felipe Paulino, and he has settled into the rotation, going 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts) after a rocky start with Colorado (pun intended).
Mike Montgomery, the 22-year-old highly touted prospect who is 3-6 with a 5.33 ERA in Omaha, figured to be in Kansas City by now, but his control issues have kept him in the minor leagues.
By late June, with the Royals hoping to stretch out Francis (who has had shoulder issues the past two seasons), and presumably Duffy, they decided to go with a six man rotation: Hochevar, Francis, Paulino, Davies, Chen and Duffy.
So the Royals might just be in need of an innings eater soon, which could open the door for Suppan.
But he says he’s more focused on the here and now.
“Really the goal is to go out and give everything you’ve got every time you go out,” Suppan said after the game last night. “I can’t control what other people see in me. I can’t control the future. I can only control what I have to do right now, so my focus is here and being prepared to go out and pitch every time I get the ball in whatever situation it is. That’s really my focus.
“I think that if I keep that same mentality, I think that will help me to go out and be as successful as I can be. But those things are all hypotheticals – this and that – and I feel like I can pitch and I want to still pitch.”
And that’s what it comes down to for Suppan. He simply loves the game and he’s willing to play it at the minor league level. Earlier this season, he told the Omaha World Herald that he does have out clauses in his contract that would allow him to depart to another organization if he doesn’t reach Kansas City by certain dates. So far though, he has chosen not to do so. And why would he? He seems comfortable right where he is.
His interim manager, Tommy Gregg, is impressed by what he sees in Suppan.
“Soup pitched a good game,” Gregg said after the game last night. “He got into trouble in the first and little bit in the second, but he finds a way. He makes adjustments as he goes and he understands hitters and he knows how to pitch and it shows. He’s one guy who can get himself out of things because he can pitch.
“He pitches to contact. He’s not going for the strikeout. He’s wanting the ball to be put in play and expecting the defense to play behind him as they did tonight.”
So, is there room in Kansas City for a 36-year-old on a team that wants to go younger? That’s hard to say, but if there is a need, Kansas City can reach down to Omaha for a guy who still believes he has something to offer. And the fact that he has just one loss in Omaha since early May might just back up his belief.
