By John Klima
October 23, 2008
The Rays were only four years old when James Shields signed his first contract with the team in 2001, at a time when the major league roster looked like a Triple-A team loaded with mercenaries playing out the string and prospects who never quite made it.
For a time, Shields didn’t look like he would be any better than the rest. It took him four years to pitch his way into Double-A and he missed all of 2002 after shoulder surgery. After learning that he could not take his talent for granted and bringing his change-up to the major league level, Shields should be patron saint the for the 2008 Rays.
It isn’t that he has been a part of the organization there since the days when Tanyon Sturtze was the big club’s best starting pitcher and Esteban Yan was the closer. It is that Shields, like his team, has developed toughness to a laidback nature. That was on display in Game 2 of the World Series Thursday night at Tropicana Field, when the change-up throwing 26-year old right-hander put the Rays back in the series with a 4-2 victory.
You can call any game in the World Series a must-win, but going on the road down 2-0 leads to all kinds of speculation that, well, you better book last rights. Shields grinded through 5 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits but allowing no runs while the Phillies staggered to 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
It seemed fitting that it would be Shields, who walked two and struck out four and used to wonder if he would get to the big leagues, who would get the franchise’s first-ever World Series victory. With his four fingers often flared out like a dealer spreading cards across the table, Shields mixed his change-up with his breaking ball and his fastball and coaxed enough bad swings out of enough Philadelphia hitters who looked as desperate for a big hit as the Rays once looked for a single ounce of respectability.
“My changeup was exceptional tonight,” Shields said.
That’s why he won.
He talked about the Phillies being patient, a suitable match for the trait he required to do what he did Thursday night.
“I've been with this organization for eight years, and I've seen every single losing season we've had,” he said Wednesday night. “As a player it's disappointing to watch that, year in and year out.”
In Game 2, he made the Phillies frustration mount. He had only one perfect inning, the first, and then spent the rest of his outing proving he knows what the hell he is doing.
He worked around Ryan Howard’s double in the second inning, striking out Greg Dobbs looking and getting Pedro Feliz to line to center field.
He pitched around Carlos Ruiz’s leadoff double in the third, changing speeds to cut through Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Chase Utley. More magic in the fourth, pitching around Howard’s leadoff single. Theatrics in the fifth, pitching around a leadoff walk with defensive help. A tip of the cap to the fans who have watched him grow in the sixth, getting the Rays deep enough to make David Price a factor for the first time in this series.
Shields is a Southern California kid from the baseball-rich Santa Clarita Valley, the kind of kid who was always the best on the field, and grew up to learn that he didn’t have to be the best to win. He just had to do what he was best at to win. One can be cool and competitive. One thing losses will bring is perspective.
“It's good to see,” Shields said Wednesday. “ The two guys that I always go back to is Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli. Those are two guys that kind of went through the organization with me and have seen all this. And to see guys like that on this team right now succeed, especially Rocco, what he's gone through, it's pretty amazing.”
John@KlimaInk.com
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