Ted Green: Jason Schmidt’s return is encouraging, but it’s not a cure-all

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I’m sure Jack won’t mind if we borrow the title of one of his movies, because Monday night at Dodger Stadium, it was all About Schmidt.

Jason Schmidt, now 36, made his first big-league start in two long years. Twenty-five months, actually, a time that was nightmarish and that tested his character, even though he was set financially and would never have to worry about money ever again.

In the first inning against the Reds, who are no longer either big or a machine, Schmidt gave up more wall-bangers than a generous bartender -- three extra-base hits, all rockets, and three runs. The call to the Dodger bullpen was almost immediate.

It had to be Ned Colletti‘s worst-case scenario, a 10 on the embarrassment scale, the GM’s greatest and most costly miscalculation on bare-naked display for the world to see. It was $47 million worth of Ned’s biggest blunder making everyone squirm in both the dugout and the stands. Twenty or so very awkward and uncomfortable minutes.

After that, though, Schmidt settled down, sort of, shutting out Cincy for four more innings to finish with five innings on a 91-pitch night of mixed results.

His fastball sat in the mid-80s, topping out at 87 mph. For a man who made his living for years, good, productive years, as a power pitcher who hit 95 on the gun, throwing in the mid-80s is like pitching with one hand tied behind your back. He had a very nice curveball, but his fastball, such as it is, was erratic. He was wild high and up far too often in the zone.

While he doesn’t get extra brownie points for rehabbing from two surgeries on his permanently weakened shoulder -- the Dodgers, after all, were paying him exorbitantly during that time -- it is true he could have taken all that money and run but didn’t. And so the competitive heart he always displayed with the Giants and Pirates before he came to L.A. still beats to the same rhythm. And for one night, as Vin Scully said so poetically as Kevin Costner‘s personal play-by-play man in ‘For Love of the Game’, Schmidt was able to push the sun back in the sky for one more day. So to that extent, the story felt good.

But there is a reality check. Remember, Schmidt was pitching against a comparative Little League team with a payroll of about 10 cents. The Reds are barely a major-league team.

So much as we all enjoy the good comeback story, unless a power pitcher whose gun is out of ammo can morph into Greg Maddux in the next two weeks, getting his fastball to move two or three feet so it flummoxes the hitters, fair to say Jason Schmidt is not going to be the answer in the Dodgers’ search for a reliable fifth starter.

Or putting it another way, I don’t think Schmidt’s performance convinced Colletti to take any other GM’s off speed dial.

But it was somehow poignant and commendable to see the big, balding guy out there competing so hard, against both the odds and the reality of a shoulder that is shot, to give the Dodgers something for all that money. You can’t boo a guy like that, and I’m glad Dodger fans mostly didn’t.

-- Ted Green

Green formerly covered sports for the L.A. Times. He is currently senior sports producer for KTLA Prime News.