Young Hopes to Be Better Able to Focus on the Job at Hand

When Roger Clemens made his MacArthur-like arrival Sunday at the Boston Red Sox spring training camp, there was Matt Young at his side. And for a brief, bright moment under the Florida sun, they personified the different ends of the Red Sox spectrum.

Clemens, of course, is regarded in Boston as a deity. Perhaps the best pitcher in baseball the past decade, Clemens appears destined for the Hall of Fame on the strength of three Cy Young awards and his lifetime 152-72 record and 2.80 ERA. He remains the foundation on which the Red Sox hope to rebuild.

Young, of course, is regarded throughout the Red Sox nation as a villain, the black sheep. An enigma in the potential/actual performance category, Young, a left-hander, is infamous for his non no-hitter last year against the Cleveland Indians, his $6.35 million contract, his career-long inability to throw to bases and his 54-89, 4.33 record. He remains a problem the Red Sox wish would go away.

The Red Sox aren’t even subtle about it anymore. Ask General Manager Lou Gorman about Young and you get the notion that spring isn’t always about beginnings. “Maybe he’ll have a great spring and somebody will have some interest in him,” Gorman said.

Manager Butch Hobson said Young, 34, is in the running for a middle-relief role. “I thought he pitched well for us last year out of the bullpen,” Hobson said. But he does everything but wink when he says it. Young was 0-4, 4.58 last season (0-0, 2.92 in 20 relief appearances). Still, Hobson asked the front office to release him last year.

And the fans? No one is treated to more abuse at Fenway Park than Young. It got so bad last year that fans accosted his wife, Susan, at the park.

Young manages the venom and frustration as stoically as possible, especially for someone from Southern California. Sort of like Job with a tan.

Asked about his tenuous future with the Red Sox, Young merely shrugs. “You’re asking me to speculate on something that’s completely out of my control,” he said.

Young worked hard in the off-season to shed about 18 pounds. He rode his mountain bike up the inclines of the San Gabriel mountains near Pasadena, Calif., pouring all of himself into the spokes, tires and chain, so as to leave his frustration on the trails and fire roads.

But his greatest reason for optimism is medical. Young was diagnosed last year as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), a medical condition that makes it difficult to focus on singular tasks. His younger brother, William, was diagnosed with the same condition two years ago because he was struggling in high school.

“You don’t realize you have it or anything like that,” he said. “You really have a difficult time keeping your concentration on one thing for long periods of time. Not all the time, but sometimes. Like I’m thinking about the catcher and trying to throw a strike, and then in the middle of my windup, I’m thinking ‘Maybe this isn’t the right pitch to throw.’ And then I’ll get further on in my windup and say, ‘Ah, I probably should throw a slider here.”’

He started to experiment last season with dosages of the drug Ritalin, which often is given to hyperactive children. He and his physician believe they have found the proper dosage.

“Technically, I couldn’t tell you what (the drug) does,” Young said. “I’m able to focus now a lot better than I used to.”

It shows. Young has not made any of the errant throws or ridiculously wild pitches this spring that have set him up for such ridicule in the past. He looks infinitely more confident in all phases of his game.

The malady is gaining some notoriety. Kate Wenner, a staffer at ABC’s “20/20”, confirmed Tuesday the show contacted Young as part of research toward a possible story on ADD.

“I told them that if I was going to be interviewed for it that I would rather discuss it in terms of quality of life,” Young said. “Talking about it in terms of baseball would just put an unfair amount of pressure on me to have a great year.”