Brian Walton
January 9, 2005
Mulder: Ready or Not?
By Brian Walton
I was catching up on some reading during this period of relative quiet in the world of baseball, when various thoughts began to come together about Mark Mulder and the weight of the 2005 expectations being placed upon him by the Cardinal Nation.
Certainly, when evaluating the 2005 Cardinals against the previous model, all favorable year-to-year comparisons begin with Mulder. Upon reading the good news that Chris Carpenter will be ready to go full speed in the spring, one commentator reasonably predicted that Carpenter will be penciled as the game two starter. Before throwing his first pitch with the team, it is another indication that Mulder is being anointed as “the man”.
Yet, there is that blind spot, that doubt that exists about Mulder.
At the time he started the 2004 All-Star Game representing the American League, Mulder had a sterling 12-2 record. He had managed to win his final first-half start despite giving up six runs in Cleveland. That game looked to be an anomaly. After all, in the entire first half, Mulder had just one other start where he allowed more than four earned runs, a mulligan at Yankee Stadium in early May.
But, during a dreadful second half in 2004, the situation got worse and worse. In that stretch, Mulder gave up seven or more runs in five different starts. Mulder secured his last win on August 24. He could not prevail in any of his last six starts, going 0-5 with an ERA of almost nine. His only shutout of the 2004 season had been way back on May 21 against the woeful Kansas City Royals.
What had gone so wrong? Wishful thinkers hoped for an injury. After all, Mulder had a history of late-season maladies. Yet the team, known in the past for being less-than-straightforward about injuries, and Mulder himself over and over again denied there were any physical problems. Mulder also would not admit fatigue was an issue.
On to mechanical difficulties. The A’s former pitching guru, Rick Peterson, who had nurtured Oakland’s “Big Three” of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mulder, had left the Bay Area to re-join former boss Art Howe with the Mets a year ago. Bad decision, Art and Rick. Anyway, the A’s replaced Peterson with former major-leaguer and veteran A’s organizational pitching coach Curt Young. Surely, Young and Mulder should have been able to diagnose and work out any mechanical difficulties together. Apparently not.
That leaves mental preparation. I read a piece where Oakland Tribune writer Josh Suchon opined that Mulder had lost his confidence. The theory went something like Mulder had never before experienced a long period of adversity. He had been the golden boy, the kid with size, and movie-star good looks; a high draft pick who had excelled at every level.
With other members of the Big Three each experiencing their own adversity, it was time for Mulder to step up. He couldn’t do it, nor could his team, as the A’s missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons and the first time in Mulder’s career.
ESPN and others reported that Mulder had met with a sports psychologist and based on the results demonstrated on the field, it seemed to be ineffective. Mulder went two innings during his final start on October 1, a crushing loss to the team who edged the A’s by a single game, the AL West division champion Anaheim Angels.
Mulder himself told Suchon, “I started thinking too much down the stretch. I was completely fine. There's nothing wrong with me. It was one of those things. I flat-out struggled. I've never struggled like that in my career — even when I was a rookie. More than anything, it was embarrassing for myself. I was trying so hard to get out of it.”
This November, at the time of his trade to the Cardinals and shortly after, Mulder seemed shocked. His public remarks, while certainly not negative in any way, left some with the impression that becoming a Cardinal would take Mulder time to get used to.
With that, I asked Dr. Richard Crowley, who works with players’ mental preparation for a living (www.sportsmaker.com), about the Mulder situation. Crowley noted that Mulder was not alone. Barry Zito also had a similar bug as Mulder as he went 12-12.
Crowley wondered that if the professional who worked with Mulder didn't do any good, whether Mulder would believe that his situation may be without hope. One might draw that conclusion if the person he saw had a reputation in baseball for helping players, but couldn't help him.
Said Crowley, “The sad part is that baseball does not know what to do with their players who all exhibit Mulder and Zito behaviors from time to time. A catcher I just started to work with from a Big 12 university had given up all hope. He believed that if the Yankees with all their money and resources couldn't help Chuck Knoblauch, there was no hope for the likes of him.”
Still, all is not lost. Crowley assumes that the Cardinals believe their coaches can reconnect Mulder. Our dialogue ended with a wish. “It would be wise to have somebody work with him now so he arrives in spring training "all better".”
Perhaps this is already happening behind the scenes. Perhaps the situation is under control. I have yet to meet Mulder and he is not a patient of Dr. Crowley. So, maybe we are all wet.
At least publicly, as would be expected, Mulder is not worried. "Is it something that I'm concerned with? No. I'll be ready in spring training. I hit a bump in the road. It was a big bump."
One thing is for sure. Fairly or unfairly, on his left arm, in his 6-foot-6 frame and in his head, Mark Mulder carries an inordinate share of the 2005 hopes of the Cardinals Nation. I sure hope he is ready.
