RossInfoMan Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Marlins' Oliver takes the fifth Left-hander cements spot in rotation with strong effort By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com MEXICO CITY -- As expected, Roger Clemens received top billing and the loudest player introduction when the Marlins and Astros faced each other Saturday night at Foro Sol Stadium. All eyes were on the Rocket and his anticipated three innings of exhibition work for Houston against the Marlins. The passionate fans hovering near the Astros bullpen warmly greeted Clemens and they applauded him as he took the mound. But ultimately, the night belonged to Marlins left-hander Darren Oliver. If there was any doubt before there isn't now as Oliver not only shut down the Astros, the 33-year-old cemented himself as the fifth starter in the Marlins' rotation of hard throwers. In 3 2/3 innings, Oliver gave up one run on one hit, a solo home run to right field by Jeff Kent. He struck out two, including slugger Jeff Bagwell looking, and made pitching in an extreme altitude look easy. The anticipated slugfest in hitter-friendly Foro Sol Stadium, located 7,200 feet above sea level, turned into a routine 6-1 Marlins victory. Saturday night was another example of how Oliver dealt with difficult circumstances and remained undaunted as he went about winning a spot in the rotation. "Oliver was very sharp," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "He gave us one of the better pitching performances we have had this spring." The son of former Major League infielder Bob Watson, Darren has previously experienced performing at high altitudes last year when he was with the Rockies. "You can't think about that when you are out there on the field, no matter where you are pitching," Oliver said. "You never know how you will do. Sometimes the guys are hitting the ball hard at people. When the pitcher is throwing strikes, anything can happen. If you make them keep the ball on the ground, you have a pretty good chance to get out of the inning." Work quickly, throw strikes and never allow batters to feel comfortable in the box is Oliver's formula to success. It's worked all spring. In two spring starts, and three total appearances, Oliver has an impressive ERA of 1.69, having given up two runs in 10 2/3 innings. From the day he signed as a free agent on Jan. 29, the Marlins tabbed him as the front-runner for the fifth starter spot. But the team didn't guarantee anything. Technically, Oliver was in competition for the fifth spot. Now, the job is his. The Marlins even went with a four-man rotation from the beginning of Grapefruit League games until this weekend's two-game series with the Astros in Mexico City. With Opening Day about three weeks away, the rotation is falling into place. "I'm just going out there to get my work in and try to prepare myself for the regular season," Oliver said. A 10-year veteran, Oliver has the most experience on the staff. "He will fit right in," McKeon said. "I thought he was a great acquisition. He's pretty smart. He knows how to pitch." Unlike power pitchers Josh Beckett, Brad Penny and Carl Pavano, Oliver relies on off-speed pitches and precise location to get batters out. Breaking up the three right-handers are Oliver and fellow lefty Dontrelle Willis. Pitching coach Wayne Rosenthal was impressed with Oliver's cut-fastball Saturday, as he sawed off a few bats. The way Oliver is throwing now, he tosses the cutter to both right and left-handed batters. The rotation is set as Beckett, Penny, Willis, Pavano and Oliver. That puts Oliver between Pavano and Beckett, offering a different look to teams in each series they are matched up. McKeon's preseason plan is to build up each starter to be able to throw 100 pitches by Opening Day. "I feel real good," said Oliver, who like the rest of the staff has not thrown as much in the past as he has this spring. "It's good. Sometimes you come out of Spring Training and you can't go five innings. We're working our way up to 100 pitches, which is cool with us. I don't mind. That's why I'm here for, to pitch. You won't hear any complaints from me." Oliver has had an up-and-down career, but his record reflects he has a knack for winning. Even though his overall numbers aren't always impressive. Last year he was 13-11 with a 5.04 ERA. And for his career, he is 84-76 with a 5.02 ERA. His ability to log innings -- 180 1/3 last year -- is a big reason the Marlins signed him. He's able to gain positive results in situations that aren't always ideal. In a hitter's park like Coors Field, he is 8-3 lifetime, going 7-3 there a year ago. Oliver has endured because he is able to adjust and adapt. Watching Clemens on Saturday night, Oliver observed his counterpart was throwing a lot of cut and split-finger fastballs. "He didn't have that when he was younger," Oliver said. "You've got to adjust because hitters are always catching up." That's going to be a challenge for the rest of the Marlins' relatively young staff. As defending World Series champions, the Marlins staff will be under more scrutiny as the expectations remain high. "They've been around a while now," Oliver said. "That's what gets kind of tougher, when you've been around for a while. Guys have seen you pitch and they know how you pitch. You always have to adjust." Exactly how long Oliver stays in the rotation isn't clear. The left-hander was signed to provide an established starter until A.J. Burnett recovers from his Tommy John surgery rehabilitation. That could be early or mid-May. When Burnett is back, McKeon said he will figure out how to slot the rotation. As of now, Oliver is part of the starting plans. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...4news&fext=.jsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishFan24 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 The rotation is set as Beckett, Penny, Willis, Pavano and Oliver. That puts Oliver between Pavano and Beckett, offering a different look to teams in each series they are matched up. Ohhh...so exciting Now that is a scary lineup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 He earned it for sure! And to start off the season able to throw 100 pitches.....hopefully will get us off to a fast start. :thumbup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins2003 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 This shouldn't be taken as anything negative about Olver or any of our starting five but... The only thing that worries me is that Jack pushed his starters from day one to go out and pitch, pitch, pitch. I think he did it because he wanted to build on the momentum of last season's wonderful success and to minimize the effects of losing the guys they did. Whereas alot of MLB starters are just now starting to throw in games our guys are way way ahead of most of the hitters they are facing because of their early starts. As the hitters start to catch up it will be interesting to see how our pitchers fare against them. Oliver has been lights out so far this ST. In fact, if you look at his accomplishments to date one has to say "Mark Redman who?", on paper Beinfest looks like the smartest GM in baseball trading Redman and his multi-million dollar contract for Oliver at a fraction of Redman's salary. But like they say, spring training games don't count. Let's see how he does in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickGold Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Looks interesting, I hope Pavano continues to excel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc marlin Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 This shouldn't be taken as anything negative about Olver or any of our starting five but... The only thing that worries me is that Jack pushed his starters from day one to go out and pitch, pitch, pitch. I think he did it because he wanted to build on the momentum of last season's wonderful success and to minimize the effects of losing the guys they did. Whereas alot of MLB starters are just now starting to throw in games our guys are way way ahead of most of the hitters they are facing because of their early starts. As the hitters start to catch up it will be interesting to see how our pitchers fare against them. Oliver has been lights out so far this ST. In fact, if you look at his accomplishments to date one has to say "Mark Redman who?", on paper Beinfest looks like the smartest GM in baseball trading Redman and his multi-million dollar contract for Oliver at a fraction of Redman's salary. But like they say, spring training games don't count. Let's see how he does in June. Hopefully we won't need him to be starting games come June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 There are two schools. One is to have your pitchers take it easy in spring. another is to work them to build up arm strength. Don't be surprised if Beckett, Penny, Willis and Pavano all pitch over 200 innings this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Card Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 This shouldn't be taken as anything negative about Olver or any of our starting five but... The only thing that worries me is that Jack pushed his starters from day one to go out and pitch, pitch, pitch. I think he did it because he wanted to build on the momentum of last season's wonderful success and to minimize the effects of losing the guys they did. Whereas alot of MLB starters are just now starting to throw in games our guys are way way ahead of most of the hitters they are facing because of their early starts. As the hitters start to catch up it will be interesting to see how our pitchers fare against them. Oliver has been lights out so far this ST. In fact, if you look at his accomplishments to date one has to say "Mark Redman who?", on paper Beinfest looks like the smartest GM in baseball trading Redman and his multi-million dollar contract for Oliver at a fraction of Redman's salary. But like they say, spring training games don't count. Let's see how he does in June. Jack knows best. That's my philosophy until proven otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Not counting today, here is how our pitching staff has fared so far this ST: Updated 3/13/04 Name IP H R ER BB SO ERA Beckett (L,1-1) 8 7 4 4 3 7 4.50 Benitez 3 4 2 2 2 4 6.00 Borland 3 9 5 4 1 1 12.00 Bump 3 3 2 2 2 3 6.00 Cave 1 1 0 0 0 2 0.00 Flannery (L,0-1) 2 4 2 2 1 1 9.00 Fox 4 4 1 1 1 6 2.25 Gracesqui 4 1 0 0 0 6 0.00 Manning 1 2 1 1 0 0 9.00 Neal (W,1-0) 3 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 Neu (S,1) 1.33 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Oliver (W,1-0) 10.67 8 2 2 4 4 1.69 Pavano (W,1-0) 8 3 2 2 0 4 2.25 Penny (W,1-0) 7 4 1 1 1 5 1.29 Perisho 5.33 5 1 1 1 5 1.69 Phelps (W,1-0) 4 6 2 2 1 3 4.50 Sanders (L,1-1) 3 5 2 2 0 6 6.00 Small 3 4 1 1 1 2 3.00 Tejera 5 5 1 1 1 2 1.80 Wayne (W,1-0) 2 1 0 0 0 1 0.00 Willis 5 5 3 2 3 7 3.60 x-Hutchinson 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 x-McLeary 1 2 0 0 0 0 0.00 x-Nannini 4 2 0 0 3 2 0.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildMarlinMan2003 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Those stats are a little off. Beckett has pitched 10 2/3 IP, allowing 12 hits and 6 earned runs for an ERA of 5.06. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Card Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Gracesqui, Perisho, Nannini, and Neal are looking pretty sound so far, granted they've only thrown in-between 3-6 innings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins2003 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Gracesqui, Perisho, Nannini, and Neal are looking pretty sound so far, granted they've only thrown in-between 3-6 innings. Hasn't Nannini already been cut/sent down to the minor league camp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman8316 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 It should be intresting to see whether Jack keeps Dontrelle or Oliver as a starter when Burnett comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Gracesqui, Perisho, Nannini, and Neal are looking pretty sound so far, granted they've only thrown in-between 3-6 innings. Hasn't Nannini already been cut/sent down to the minor league camp? Yes, Hutchinson, McLeary and Nannini have all been cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickGold Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 It should be intresting to see whether Jack keeps Dontrelle or Oliver as a starter when Burnett comes back. I think its dependent on Dontrelle's performance. If he has a first half like 2003, he'll stay a starter. Otherwise, they'll throw him in the pen and use him like they did in 2003 post season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geemoney Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Nothing surprising here.....I think we all had Oliver penciled in as 5th starter anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot4beckett Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Tough lineup. Pavano has been doing great so far. Beckett no so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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