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Wednesday, August 19, 1998
Astros pitcher irks some opponents with emotion
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) - Houston Astros starter Jose Lima tried only
one time to be like other pitchers. That was in 1990 and he hasn't
repeated the mistake.
On that day, Lima left his giggly personality at home and put
on the grim face that most pitchers wear on days they pitch. He
stayed very serious and quiet and didn't talk, he didn't smile
and he didn't tell jokes.
He also didn't win.
"I got toasted, really toasted, so now I know that it
doesn't work for me," Lima said. "I've never been negative
in my life but that one day I put myself in a negative way."
The Astros live with Lima's unorthodox approach because he
filled a void at the start of the season when manager Larry Dierker
was auditioning starters to replace injured Ramon Garcia and Chris
Holt.
Lima (11-6) has a pregame routine that is a mixture of wackiness
and superstition.
On the pitcher's mound, his emotional demonstrations anger
some players who think he's trying to show them up with his fist-jabbing
after a big out.
Lima says he's not trying to embarrass opponents, just celebrating
his own accomplishments.
"I have to get pumped up, that's the way I play,"
Lima said. "I don't try to show anybody up."
Milawukee pitcher Steve Woodard thought otherwise after Lima
beat the Brewers in the Astrodome last week, calling Lima's demonstrations
" a weak act."
"He needs to be careful what he says in the newspapers,"
Lima said. "We play them this week and I'm going to send
him a message by one of his teammates and tell him to keep his
mouth shut."
Lima feeds on emotion. He starts getting charged up when he
arrives at the clubhouse smiling and chattering with anyone who
will listen. The gab doesn't stop until almost game time.
He dons a dirty Astros cap with a tiny, silver angel pinned
on the front for good luck.
"The cap smells but I don't care - all of my hard work
is in that cap," Lima explains. "If I eat steak and
win, I'll eat steak the next time. I have to keep doing what works
for me."
On the field, Lima jams his glove on top of his head and makes
the rounds talking to players on both teams, carefully avoiding
stepping on any of the white lines to the field.
Just before the game, Lima does a fist-on-fist handshake with
Richard Hidalgo, a chest-bumping routine with Carl Everett and
a lot of handshaking.
"People say when you talk to the media you are wasting
energy and losing concentration," Lima said, rolling his
eyes. "Not true for me. I know how to prepare myself to pitch.
I come here, have fun and at 6:40 (for 7:05 night games) I go
take care of business."
Dierker likes Lima's numbers but he doesn't understand his
easy manner before games.
"I was usually irritable and liked to keep to myself on
days I pitched," Dierker said. "I wasn't particularly
friendly at home before I came to the ball park."
Dierker isn't fond of Lima's on-field demonstrations.
"The thing people don't like is him shaking his fist and
gestures after he gets them out," Dierker said. "They
don't like that any more than a pitcher likes a batter standing
at home plate admiring his home run.
"If he wants to continue that way it's fine, but he has
to understand that other teams are going to go harder against
him because they don't like it."
Dierker doesn't even like his players talking to opponents
before games.
"When I pitched, I wouldn't even speak to the hitters,
I didn't want to get too friendly with them," Dierker said.
"I've seen Mark Portugal (former Astros pitcher) standing
in the middle of the opposing team when they are stretching right
before he'd pitch a game."
Has Lima been guilty of such fraternization?
"No, but I'm sure he would," Dierker said.
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