It's way too early to know whether he will win a spot in the Brewers' bullpen, but veteran left-hander Scott Schoeneweis is sure he made the right decision to give it a shot.
Schoeneweis signed a Minor League contract with Milwaukee last month to try a comeback after a year of tragedy. In May, his wife, Gabrielle, died suddenly from what later was revealed as a drug overdose. The couple has four children, and Dad struggled for the rest of the summer to juggle his family responsibilities and his desire to seek normalcy during his day job with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Statistically, he suffered to the tune of a career-worst 7.12 ERA. Emotionally, he suffered, too.
Now, back in baseball with the blessing of his kids, Schoeneweis is finding that sense of normalcy again, even if that meant working a lightly attended "B" game against the Reds on Monday morning in nearby Goodyear, Ariz.
"If you had asked me six months ago whether I was going to be able to play this year, I would not have had a clear-cut answer," Schoeneweis said after his scoreless, one-inning stint. "There were parts of last year that were just really difficult, and it was a tough time to play, but my love for the game never died.
"So now, my main concern is my family, and I'm just happy for the opportunity [with the Brewers]. So far I like how things set up here, and I know I can bring something to the table. But that's not up to me."
The Brewers already have one situational southpaw in Mitch Stetter, who limited left-handed hitters to a .175 batting average last season. Manager Ken Macha and general manager Doug Melvin are intrigued by the idea of a second bullpen lefty, and Schoeneweis, 36, is one of the candidates, along with Rule 5 pick Chuck Lofgren, non-roster pitchers Zach Braddock and Chris Capuano, and, perhaps, if he doesn't win a starting spot, Chris Narveson.
Whether the Brewers' bullpen has room for a second lefty remains to be seen, and Melvin says he made that clear to Schoeneweis' agent, Scott Boras. The Brewers made sense for Schoeneweis because they spend Spring Training relatively near his Fountain Valley, Ariz., home, and because they hired pitching coach Rick Peterson over the winter. Peterson previously worked with Schoeneweis with the New York Mets.
Melvin asked Peterson to speak with Schoeneweis before the Brewers made their offer, just to make sure the pitcher was sure.
"I give him a lot of credit," Melvin said. "I told him that if he needs help with anything at all to let us know."
Said Stetter: "I can't even imagine how his year changed last year. It's really nice to see that he has obviously regrouped and is back to doing what he does best."
Schoeneweis' story is only the latest reminder that players live lives outside of baseball.
Soon after the 1977 season, Indians first baseman Andre Thornton and his son were injured in an car accident that took the life of his wife, Gert, and their three-year-old daughter. Thornton responded with a 33-homer, 105-RBI season in 1978, and in 1983 turned the experience into a book, "Triumph Born of Tragedy."
"Physically, I worked hard in camp, doing what came almost instinctively after so many years in baseball," Thornton wrote. "But mentally, I didn't feel ready to resume playing baseball. The game seemed so insignificant after what I'd been through."
One of Schoeneweis' D-backs bullpen mates last season, Clay Zavada, went through a similar struggle. His father passed away after Zavada's first season in Arizona's Minor League chain, and he quit baseball to fulfill a promise made to his dad to get a college degree.
That was 2007, and in '08, with his degree in hand, Zavada was convinced to sign with the independent Southern Illinois Miners. He re-signed with the D-backs in June and by 2009 was in the big leagues, appearing in 49 games and gaining notoriety for his Rollie Fingers-style handlebar mustache.
"I didn't want to be miserable because I gave up. Because I quit," Zavada told MLB.com last year. "Being out there delivering furniture, I could do it, but it wasn't fun for me. I can't work an office job. The only thing I know is baseball. It's the only thing I've ever known."
Baseball also became a source of strength last season for Giants pitcher Barry Zito, who lost his mother, and catcher Bengie Molina, who lost his father. In July, Pirates third-base coach Tony Beasley unexpectedly lost his father to complications from an infection. Last November, Cubs reliever Angel Guzman's brother was shot and killed in Venezuela.
All found out the same thing that Schoeneweis is discovering -- the game provides a support system.
"To be with the coaches, to be with the team, that was probably the best thing that happened to me at the time," Beasley said. "I was able to cry and to have people to talk to and shoulders to lean on. They were just so supportive. They gave me strength that I didn't know I had."
Understandably, though, those first few days were tough.
"I had to keep shaking myself and telling myself to get focused and locked in," Beasley said. "My mind just wasn't really there."
Schoeneweis is staying focused. He's a bit concerned about the prospect of moving his kids to Milwaukee this summer, but they encouraged him to continue his playing career. Schoeneweis' mother lives 10 minutes away and has been a big help.
He wishes he would have spent more time on the bereavement list last summer before returning to action. But he does not blame anyone for his decision to return early.
"There is no blueprint for that," Schoeneweis said. "I'm not upset with baseball or the team or psychologists or agents. Nobody knows what the right thing is. I didn't know, and I think I'm a pretty knowledgeable person."
What he does know is that he has some life left in that left arm.
"I really wanted to play," Schoeneweis said. "I know now that my kids are going to be fine and I feel like my career is unfinished. It was very abrupt last year, and I found that I wasn't mentally or physically done playing. It would have been a shame to go out this way."
"My oldest [daughter] is 15, and we'll work it out. We've worked it out so far. Hopefully I can play this season and see how it goes, and if it's a miserable experience, I'll know. If it works out for everyone, then I know I can play again. We'll go year by year and see what happens."
No comments:
Post a Comment