Aces of Diamonds

Baseball Digest, July, 2000 by Gordon Edes

Phillies ace Curt Schilling, who started the season on the disabled list after elbow surgery, disputes the notion that aces are more vulnerable.

"It's just part of the job," he said. "We do stuff with our arms that is just not normal."

Reds pitching coach Don Gullett, who pitched for World Series winners in Cincinnati and New York (Yankees), said he was able to throw a 95-mile-an-hour fastball for at least seven years before tearing his rotator cuff. But he. too, does not believe the ace is at greater risk than other pitchers.

"It all has to do with mechanics, and there's a certain amount of luck involved," said Gullett. "Guys with bad mechanics or different types of body can't take it.

"I liken an arm to a piece of machinery, a car or a lawn mower. They only run for so long, then something is going to break. You're lucky if you pitch 15 or 16 years. That's a freak of nature."

As important as an ace is to a staff, La Russa said, it may be more important to have depth in your rotation,

"If you have a great No. 1 but are shaky from 2 through 5, you're not going to win as big advantage in the postseason. If your ace wins the first game of a short series, that's a major advantage. Over the course of a season, I'd take a deep rotation."

A hitter's approach changes against a No. 1. Phillies batting coach Hal McRae offers his take:

"You know you're not going to get many good pitches to hit. You know you're probably going to get one shot at this guy. He has to give you something, and you hope you can take advantage of it.

"Your biggest fear is you'd better get him now, because as the game progresses he's going to get better. There's some sense of urgency that is an advantage to the ace, because as a hitter, you don't feel like" you've got all day.

"You usually think, `If our guy keeps us close, we'll get the other guy. He'll make a mistake and we'll hit him.' if you don't get an ace in the first three innings, he'll kill you."

Intimidation works in an ace's favor, especially when he throws as hard as a Pedro Martinez or a Randy Johnson. But Stewart, whose "death stare" was famous when he pitched for the Oakland A's, warns not to overstate its importance.

"I don't think it's so much intimidation as just being prepared to what you have to do to win," said Stewart. "I wish it was as easy as putting on a face. Intimidation comes from building success, not from putting a face on. When you start having success and run off five, six wins in a row, all well-pitched games, you feel better. You know you're pitching well. All of a sudden, you build yourself a wall that people can't break."