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Wednesday June 27, 2012

Bryan Sheehan (MLB Writer): Fourteen months ago, Roy Oswalt took a leave from the Philadelphia Phillies to be with his family after a series of tornadoes ripped through Mississippi. He left the team, where he was one of the showcased “Four Aces,” with a 3-1 record and a 3.33 ERA and returned with a sore back. He spent a short time on the disabled list, but returned to start in eight more games before once again landing on the DL with “lower back inflammation.” It is unclear whether his back troubles arose during his leave of absence, but Oswalt continued to pitch because he didn’t “want to be labeled a quitter.” Ultimately, his injury became too much, and during his latter stint on the DL there was doubt that he’d ever pitch again. He did return, though, and finished the year with a 9-10 record and 3.69 ERA. After his team faltered (or imploded, depending on how you look at it) in the playoffs, Oswalt declared free agency; his career was not over after all.

At age 34, Oswalt has appeared in eight playoff series, one World Series and three NLCS. When he hit the market last offseason, Oswalt made it clear that he wanted to play for a winner. More specifically, he wanted to play for a team that would have a great chance of winning it all. Like Roger Clemens in 2006 and 2007, Oswalt told teams that he would continue to stay in shape but wait until midseason to sign with the team that he thought would do the best in the postseason. On May 29th, Oswalt picked the 31-19 Texas Rangers and began his road back to the MLB.

At first Oswalt’s stats in Minor League rehab appearances didn’t look MLB ready: a 5.87 ERA in 15.3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A raised some concerns about whether or not Roy was back and healthy. When talking about his June 7 outing for Triple-A Round Rock, in which he game up five runs on six hits in four innings, he explained that he felt fine but hitters got to him by not allowing him to work on his fastball. He pointed out that though five of his six surrendered hits were on first-pitch fastballs, he felt that the pitch had good life and that he adjusted accordingly (you can see the video of the press conference below). Oswalt said he felt ready to return, and that his body felt “wonderful”

The Rangers trusted his opinion and on June 22 Oswalt returned with a gem. Throwing 6.2 innings and allowing just one run while striking out six earned him the win, and after 110 pitches there was no indication that Oswalt was anything less than healthy. His fastball had an average velocity of 91.4 MPH, almost identical to his 91.5 average last season (according to Fangraphs). His only run allowed came on his last pitch of the night, a two-out double surrendered to Colorado’s Marco Scutaro with an 0-2 count. While a quality start against the Rockies’ offense, ranked 19 in the league when hitting away from the mecca that is Coors Field, may not be the most difficult task in the world, it was a great return for the three-time All Star pitcher.

It is far too early to tell if Roy is back to classic form. While one start doesn’t crown the Cy Young winner, Texas manager Ron Washington was impressed with an Oswalt that looked true to past form. “He was ready to pitch and he pitched like Roy Oswalt,” Washington said postgame. With 81 of his 110 pitches being strikes, the veteran known for his tempo and straightforward approach to hitters was on his game last week. The next test for Roy will come tonight against the Detroit Tigers, who are 36-38 and third in the AL Central.

Only Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have had more than six at bats against Oswalt, and neither have hit him well historically. Cabrera, in 36 career at bats, is hitting just .139 with three RBIs and nine strikeouts and Fielder is just 3-15 against Roy. Nevertheless, Detroit has a decent offense that will make for an interesting second look at number 44.

Today’s feature was prepared by Baseball Writer, Bryan Sheehan. You can follow Bryan on Twitter (@BaseballHipster), read hisinterviews with Phillies’ minorleague prospects at PhightingOn.com and PhuturePhillies.com, and catch him writing the occasional article for ThroughTheFenceBaseball.com. Tweet him about this article and give him a follow and he will follow you back!

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