Posted on Fri, Mar. 26, 2004

MARLINS | JUSTIN WAYNE

 

Mound over mind

 

Stanford grad Justin Wayne has retooled his mental approach to pitching, hoping he can secure a bullpen spot.

 

BY KEVIN BAXTER

 

kbaxter@herald.com

 

JUPITER - There was a time when a baseball player with a college education was as rare as a 3-0 curveball. And anyone who took a book on a road trip was considered an intellectual.

 

Judged by that scale, the Marlins clubhouse is the baseball equivalent of MIT. Thirteen Marlins attended four-year colleges, with some, such as third baseman Mike Lowell, graduating with honors. Even Miguel Cabrera, who started his pro career at 16, distinguished himself academically, earning his high school diploma a year ahead of his class.

 

''You're getting a more intelligent kid in the game now,'' said manager Jack McKeon, who studied German, among other subjects, at Holy Cross and Seton Hall before earning a liberal arts degree from Elon College in North Carolina. ``They come and ask you questions now. If you tell them to go do something, they'll ask you why.

 

``When I played, we would never think of asking the manager a question.''

 

But knowledge doesn't always translate into baseball success. Consider the case of right-hander Justin Wayne. He has a degree in economics from Stanford, but that has done nothing to ease him into the majors.

 

''He's very intelligent, and you wonder if sometimes, because of his intelligence, he wants to analyze every part of his delivery,'' said minor-league pitching instructor Dean Treanor. ``I [don't]want him to think so much about it.''

 

NEW EDUCATION

 

So Treanor took Wayne to Puerto Rico during the winter to, well, dumb him down a little. Or, as Wayne calls it, to provide ``the new education of Justin Wayne.''

 

And that might be the last course Wayne needs to graduate to the majors.

 

''There were some mechanical differences that we adjusted. But a lot of it was mental,'' said Wayne, who has not allowed a run in four spring appearances after giving up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings last summer. ``A lot of it was the approach that, if you don't go in expecting and wanting to win, then you really don't have a chance. It's that aggressive bulldog mentality that you need out there.

 

``I guess you could say I was very laid-back in my approach to fighting for a job. And that's what it came down to last year. I didn't take the opportunity, and now it's a dogfight to get back.''

 

In a way, Wayne's failures last season paved the way for the Marlins' championship run. When three starters went down with injury in the first four weeks, the Marlins called up Wayne from Triple A Albuquerque and gave him two starts. He gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings the first time out, then failed to retire a hitter in his second outing, throwing four strikes in 23 pitches.

 

He was optioned back to the minors that night, and the Marlins replaced him a week later with a minor-leaguer named Dontrelle Willis.

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

Now Wayne is trying to prove he's smart enough to have learned from the mishaps.

 

''I came away with my confidence really shot,'' Wayne says. ``And that's the thing that Dean noticed. You can get it back two ways. One, believing in yourself. And, two, the experience of going out there and winning and competing and doing well again. That was the biggest thing for me: letting myself know that nobody can get in my way.''

 

Well, perhaps nobody but McKeon. The Marlins manager has 10 days to cut his roster to 25 players, and Wayne is among 11 pitchers competing for four open spots in the bullpen. That's going to lead to a lot of sleepless nights between now and opening day, Wayne said. For him, the whole thing reminds him of finals week at Stanford.

 

''`There's a lot of guys fighting for spots. And every day you have that test, that exam,'' said Wayne, who is scheduled to pitch against the New York Mets today. ``Whether it's a final exam or just one of many, you've got to go out there and treat every game as if it's got to be your best.

 

``I could get away with 10 sleepless nights if I keep pitching well.''

 

Nice to see Wayne changing his mental attitude for a winning one, hopefully this helps him secure a spot in the pen. I always was interested in his potential so it should be nice to see him pitch some this season.

 

 

Article

:pimp :super

Who's Admin?

 

 

 

 

I only know Lurry :hat

Prior to seeing Justin Wayne pitch (I think it was in Vero) I read, and heard Boog in pre-game radio say that Wayne was getting a start and would be going to AAA because they want him to be a Starter and not a Reliever.

I thought that a little strange.

Then, after seeing him pitch (particularly in light of the other reliever "prospects"), I thought that assessment was dumb.

Wayne looked good, really good. I hope he is actually being considered for the Pen, regardless of what the "experts" said of his future.

LOL...When I saw the topic of this thread I thought it was a Huizinga Bashing article. I was all excited to read more trash about that bastard I just love seeing people bad mouth that colossal prick. Ok rant over.

Excellent stuff. I'm hoping to see him make the team this season and prove the doubters wrong.

Isn't Wayne pitching a 0.00 ERA? Yea he has 9 IP 5 H allowed and 5 StrikeOuts with 0 ER. Not too Shabby

Also M. Perisho's Numbers are good this spring

 

0.84 ERA 10.2 IP 7 H 1 ER 7 SO

 

You guys think he has a chance at a spot also?

**** Wayne! :fyou

 

 

 

 

:blink:

 

 

 

Oh, you mean THAT Wayne :thumbup He's alright in my book and hope to see great things from him.

If Perisho and Wayne keep pitching like this, why wouldnt they get a shot? I have never liked Wayne, but as long as he pitches well I'll be his number 2 fan (behind Admin of course).

And who is this Lurry character everyone keeps talking about? :lol

Hopefully Wayne can stay and help out the bullpen in the long relief role along with Tejera.

 

Wayne pitched a very very good game his last start, then after the bullpen blew the game.

 

His last start of the spring better be good if he wants to stay...

wayne is great i met him in pr i wish im the best :thumbup