Wilmington Evening Journal - July 14, 1980
Phils lose a game, but regain a pitcher
By Ray Finocchiaro, Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA – Warren Brusstar says he never gave up hope that he would pitch again in the major leagues. A year of shoulder miseries couldn't deter him, so he won't mind if it takes awhile for Phillies Manager Dallas Green to regain complete confidence in the team's one-time relief ace.
"No, never did I say to hell with it," said Brusstar after adding what little positive note there was to yesterday's 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Veterans Stadium. The defeat cost the Phils their half-day's hold on first place in the National League East. Montreal, a 2-1 winner over Chicago, moved back in front of the Phils by one-half game.
"People are too good around here for me to quit."
But some people did quit on Brusstar, feeling his mysterious, almost-undiagnosable shoulder malady would make him another Mark Fidrych, a hot arm turned cold and virtually unusable.
Brusstar went to a series of doctors, all of whom shook their heads after finding no physical cause for lingering problems that had started on Tug McGraw's bikeathon two Februarys ago and were aggravated in spring training last year.
So Brusstar virtually took matters into his own hands, which meant a trip to a St. Louis chiropractor without the club's approval in late April. Club brass was annoyed and let that annoyance be known.
But, as Brusstar said yesterday, "I felt it was my arm, my future. At that point, I didn't know who to go see. A doctor in Oklahoma City told me there was nothing he could find."
Discouraged but still determined, Brusstar went to see Dr. David Fitzmorris on Steve Carlton's advice. Fitzmorris used something called "acupressure," jabbing his knuckles down Brusstar's sternum to stimulate the muscles, something like acupuncture without the pins.
"He saw me twice a day for 13 days," said Brusstar. "He stimulated the muscles, getting the blood flowing through them. I've gained a lot of strength back I'd lost."
If the strength was back, confidence was another matter. After throwing on the sidelines, Brusstar went to Peninsula in the Class A league and struggled in his first three outings before settling down.
"I was discouraged in Durham (N.C.) when I couldn't get loose," Brusstar said. "I reverted back to a mistake in my stride. I was not driving with my back foot, just throwing with all arm. Now I concentrate on throwing off my back foot and everything comes together."
Yesterday Brusstar worked two innings in relief of starter Nino Espinosa, who pitched seven innings of semi-finesse baseball and allowed three home runs, including one by winning pitcher Don Robinson.
Brusstar got the first two men he faced on two pitches, then allowed three singles for the Bucs' final run. But Bru got the Bucs on three ground balls in the ninth, which didn't hurt his confidence – or Green's.
"I'll probably keep using Bru like today until I'm confident to use him in a jam," said the manager. "Right now he needs about 40-50 pitches to warm up, which means you have to plan ahead. I guess there may be doubt in his mind for one reason or another that he'd be ready quickly."
Brusstar used to be the guy Danny Ozark waved in for a quick double-play pitch and then a shower. Green wants to regain that instant-out capability with Brusstar's wicked sinker. But it will take time.
"It's a matter of mutual trust," Green said. "He's got to trust himself and I've got to trust him to do it. If he can get a few innings of getting major-league people out, he might be over the hump.
While Green seemed satisfied with Brusstar's first appearance since last July 24, he was tentative in his appraisal of Espinosa's effort. An absolute marvel in his first start in St. Louis, Espinosa was hit hard yesterday.
The Bucs got six runs on nine hits off Espinosa. A four-run second, fueled by center fielder Garry Maddox's throwing error and capped by Robinson's first major-league homer, gave the Pirates all the runs they needed.
John Milner and Tim Foli added solo homers off Espinosa to make it easier for Robinson, a surgical victim himself for the second time after last year's World Series.
Against St. Louis on July 4, Espinosa finessed the Cards to death, allowing just two hits in eight innings. But it didn't work against the free-swinging Pirates.
"Like Dick Ruthven earlier this year, Nino has to get it into his mind that he doesn't have a sore arm anymore and he can get people out," said Green. "Finesse is super and it worked well in St. Louis. But it's not going to work 100 percent of the time, as was proven today."
Since Nino is not talking to the press, angered by printed comments from Green about Espinosa’s apparent hesitancy to pitch with pain, his rebuttal will have to wait.
"Nino pitches with his head as well as anybody on our staff," added Green. "With more velocity, he'll help us. In St. Louis, he showed pretty good ability to keep guys off-stride. He had some batters off-stride today, but they still got the bat on the ball, which they didn't do in St. Louis.
"All in all, it wasn't a bad performance. We made an error that gave 'em two runs and Nino gave up three home runs."
The Phils scored on back-to-back doubles by Pete Rose and Bake McBride in the first, Maddox's homer in the fourth and Greg Gross' triple in the seventh. Gross was out at the plate trying for an inside-the-park homer. Exciting, yes, but far short of what the Phils needed yesterday.
If Nino Espinosa regains his velocity and Warren Brusstar his steely-eyed confidence, the "lost arms" of Green's pitching staff may yet make their mark. And the Phils' their move.
It is far too early to think it can't happen. But then some people thought it was already too late for Brusstar.