Short Rest Is Fine by Schilling

NEW YORK —  It came down to Curt Schilling’s power of persuasion.

And, of course, the power of his performance over the last seven months.

Schilling will start Game 4 of the World Series tonight on three day’s rest.

Although his Arizona Diamondbacks still lead the World Series, 2-1, despite a 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 3 on Tuesday night, Manager Bob Brenly clearly made the right decision, resisting a conservative approach to bring Schilling back on short rest in an attempt to regain a Series stranglehold.

The recent history of pitchers working on three days rest in the postseason isn’t promising, but Schilling isn’t any pitcher--or, at least, hasn’t been during a year in which he has enhanced his 22-6 record during the regular season by going 4-0 with a 0.79 earned-run average in the playoffs.

Now, Schilling will be in position to work Game 7, again on short rest, after Randy Johnson pitches Game 6 on normal rest--if the Series goes that far.

Acknowledging that it’s a gamble, Brenly cited Schilling’s low-pitch count (102) in his Game 1 domination, his insistence he’s ready and the cool temperatures, favoring pitchers.

“I mean, he didn’t do cartwheels or look at me like I was crazy,” Brenly said of Schilling’s reaction when informed that he would get his wish. “He knew there was a possibility that he would pitch in Game 4, and he prepared for it, whether I allowed him to or not. He’s mentally ready.”

Brenly’s initial hope, of course, was that the Diamondbacks would prevail Tuesday night, taking a 3-0 Series lead. In that case, Miguel Batista would have started tonight. Now, he’ll pitch Game 5, and there will be no attempt to pitch Johnson on short rest.

“He’s locked into [Game 6],” Brenly said. “We haven’t even discussed the possibility of bringing him back on short rest because of the amount of physical and emotional energy he puts into every start. That’s not to insinuate that Curt doesn’t, but Randy really leaves it all out there and has proven he is fantastic on regular rest.”

Since the 1999 playoffs, pitchers working on three days rest are 1-9 with a 9.73 ERA in 15 starts. In the current postseason, they are 1-5 with a 3.98 ERA.

Schilling has made only one career start on short rest, and that wasn’t a real test. He was limited to two innings in a July 18 start at San Diego because of a power blackout. He made so few pitches that he was able to start three days later in San Francisco and threw seven shutout innings in a 9-2 victory.

“You [reporters] make a big deal out of it, but it doesn’t matter to me,” Schilling said. “The way I felt [in Game 1], the way I’ve felt the last few days, the way I feel now, I’m ready to go. I told [Brenly] today that I wanted the ball and I didn’t want to short change us [by not being available] if the Series goes to a Game 7.”

After President Bush delivered the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday night, Roger Clemens turned in seven tenacious innings to pick up the Yankees still-slumbering offense--they have scored three runs in three games--and enhance the possibility of an extended Series. For the Diamondbacks, who have operated a mix-and-match rotation behind Schilling and Johnson all year, Brian Anderson provided more than they could hope with 51/3 solid innings, but now they have to hope the figures lie when it comes to a postseason starter working on three days rest.

“It’s a gamble, and the numbers show over the last two or three years that it’s not a good gamble,” Brenly admitted. “Some very good pitchers have failed on short rest in the postseason, but Schilling is a different animal. For a lot of reasons I’d expect him to pitch the same way he has on four days rest, at least very close to it.”

Although he has his own issues to deal with, Yankee Manager Joe Torre was asked his opinion of starting Schilling on three day’s rest and said it comes down to the individual pitcher.

“We tried it with Clemens and we tried it with [Andy Pettitte] in last year’s division series and neither got through the fifth inning,” Torre said. “That doesn’t mean some other pitcher couldn’t do it. Bob Brenly knows his pitchers better than I do. I think he understands the circumstances and is confident enough to believe Schilling can do it.

“But as far as what we’ve done here, we haven’t had a lot of success doing it and we really don’t have to do it because I have four guys with the ability to have pitched Game 1 at one time or another.”

Tonight, however, the Yankees must hope that Orlando Hernandez regains the No. 1 stature that eluded him this year.

Indeed, El Duque was as much a mystery on the mound as he remains off it.

Even now, as he completes his fourth major league season, it isn’t clear whether he is 32 or 36, whether he escaped from Cuba in a leaking, 17-foot dinghy or a high-powered motor boat.

He was 4-7 in 16 starts this year, his availability restricted by a toe injury that ultimately required surgery. He came out of games at various junctures complaining vaguely of not feeling right, of experiencing arm discomfort that resisted medical detection.

The Yankees are so down on El Duque that they will likely try to trade him rather than risk salary arbitration, but Torre, knowing the recent history better than most, resisted the temptation to bring Mike Mussina back on three days rest in favor of the enigmatic Hernandez, who has a 9-2 postseason record but has allowed 13 hits and six runs in the 102/3 innings of two struggling starts in the current postseason.

Putting his best face on it, Torre said, “It was a strange year for Duque in the fact that he did not pitch a whole lot, and when he did, he really wasn’t healthy.

“But I think he has pitched well since he came back [from the surgery] and, as far as pitching in the World Series, he’s done this and he’s done it effectively. He’s been a Game 1 starter for us several times, and he needs to be aggressive [tonight], as he has been when he’s pitching like a Game 1 starter.”

It’s an interesting matchup made possible by Brenly’s willingness to take a gamble and Torre’s unwillingness.