Jim Bouton, the noted pitcher/author, concluded "Ball Four" by noting that while you spend your life gripping a baseball, in the end it's usually the other way around.
Jose Lima can relate. The game has its hooks into him and just will not let go, even if the business of baseball is not so obliging.
That's why he was on the mound in Long Beach's cozy Blair Field the other night with 917 fans scattered through the 3,238-seat grandstand, toiling in the lowest rung of professional baseball, yet having a great time.
"When you're down, Jose will pick you up," said Andy Bouchie, catcher for the independent Long Beach Armada. "And when you're up ... Jose will pick you up."
Lima has seen the bright lights, a 13-year big leaguer whose last big moments in The Show were with the 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers. Now 36, he's pitching in the independent Golden Baseball League, making $2,000 a month, enduring cramped clubhouses and small crowds and facing guys whose biggest achievement was to be on someone's Class AAA roster.
This is Lima's third season off the major leagues' radar since being released by the New York Mets in 2006. He spent 2007 in the Mexican League and '08 pitching for an independent team in Camden, N.J.
He's driven by the possibility of one more big-league call. But even if it doesn't come, they may have to cut the uniform off him to make him stop.
"I've still got bullets in my arm," he said. "I might be old, but if I still believe I can get people out, I'm going to try to go out there and do the best I can. I love it too much.
"I think I've got a chance. I'm not giving up yet. If I don't get picked up this year, I'll come back next year."
The best part? He's the one who lures reporters and TV crews out to see the Armada -- no small feat with two big-league teams freeway close -- yet he's indisputably one of the guys.
Lima roared with delight when pitching coach Sean Buller got him with a shaving cream pie in the face after Wednesday's 5-1 victory over St. George (Utah).
"He's been fantastic," Long Beach manager Garry Templeton said. "He hasn't brought that big-league mentality down here to independent ball. All he wants is to play. The kids love it, and I like it because I don't have to deal with some guy coming down here thinking he's all this and all that."
But can he still pitch?
Wednesday's eight-inning, seven-hit performance evened Lima's record at 5-5 and lowered his ERA to 2.93, including 4-1 and 2.17 in his last five starts. And yes, the caliber of opponent has to be taken into account.
But consider: He has issued 10 walks in 83 innings.
"If you can pitch with location, if you can hit your spots and change speeds, it doesn't matter how hard you throw," said Bouchie, who was in Milwaukee's big-league camp this spring. "You see guys in the big leagues that throw 87-88 (mph) and still get people out.
"When he's throwing, it's a day off for me when I'm catching because I rarely have to work. I put my glove up, and nine times out of 10 he hits it."
Templeton said a Philadelphia Phillies scout earlier this season had Lima at 88 and 89 mph. Yet when Lima went out to pitch Wednesday night, there were no scouts on hand.
"He started out really good, with three strong starts," Armada general manager Tony Soares said. "But it's almost like the magic number: They like to see at least four.
"I wouldn't be surprised (now) to see a few more people in the stands with radar guns."
Those teams that can't get help at the trading deadline might be willing to take a chance. And if not?
"I can pitch till I'm 45," Lima said. "Why not? I'm having fun. I enjoy it. It's not for the money."
After all, whether it's Blair Field or Dodger Stadium, the worst day pitching beats the best day working.
E-mail Jim Alexander at jalexander(at)PE.com
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
Post new comment