Knight Smooths Dents in Armor

In the ever-fragile world of pitching, a hanging curveball here or a flat slider there can mess up a guy’s head and destroy his earned-run average.

Right-hander Brandon Knight survived a rough 1998 season with two minor league teams with his mind relatively unscathed, but not his ERA.

“I fell into some real bad habits,” Knight said.

Knight, 23, hit a snag in his fourth professional season out of Buena High and Ventura College, where he was converted to pitcher and was the state player of the year in 1995.

He had a combined 6-13 record and 7.09 ERA last year between double-A Tulsa and triple-A Oklahoma, both Texas Ranger affiliates.

The problem, Knight said, was a mechanical breakdown that left his pitches high in the strike zone and begging for trouble. He served up 27 home runs, 16 with Oklahoma in the demanding Pacific Coast League.

With the help of pitching coach Brad Arnsberg of Oklahoma, Knight corrected his delivery and is 4-0 with a 3.79 ERA. More important, he has allowed only three home runs in 38 innings, second-fewest among Redhawk starters.

“We made adjustments with getting his [bare] hand out of the glove quicker and he was throwing across the body a little,” Arnsberg said.

“He’s learning how to pitch down in the zone and reaping the benefits.”

Knight’s best pitch is the fastball, which he already complemented with big-breaking curve and effective change-up, but he is adding more to his repertoire.

“I’ve picked up a slider and it’s become my second-best pitch,” Knight said. “I can throw it for strikes pretty much at any time in the count. . . .

“I just picked up a cut fastball. I’m able to pitch backwards a lot more but I’m running out of fingers.”

The nightmare of last season is rapidly giving way to rekindled hope for Knight.

“I wasn’t ready for triple-A last year,” Knight said. “I’m much happier now. I’m pitching with a lot more confidence. If I keep pitching like this I’ll be really happy.

“The Rangers haven’t been afraid to call up players, so who knows.”

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Several minor leaguers from the region are getting long on the tooth but not short on patience, clinging still to the hope of sticking with a major league club.

Infielder Torey Lovullo (Montclair Prep) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Phillies) is 33, pitcher Bob Scanlan (Harvard-Westlake) of the New Orleans Astros is 32, catcher Tim Laker (Simi Valley, Oxnard College) of the Nashville Pirates is 29 and first baseman Rich Aude (Chatsworth) of the Birmingham White Sox is 27.

All are in triple-A except Aude, who is batting .308 with four home runs and 23 runs batted in for the Barons of the double-A Southern League. He batted .319 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs last year for Atlantic City of the independent Atlantic League.

“It’s another year in the minors, grinding it out,” Aude said. “I’m trying to stay focused, trying to get back to the major leagues.”

Aude, the starting first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995, wants a taste of the baseball high life again.

“I don’t like riding these buses or staying in these little hotels,” said Aude, who in October married longtime girlfriend Dana, a Los Angeles stockbroker.

“I can either do it or go home and get a regular job. The money is not great, but I still have a uniform on my back and I still have a chance.”

That’s pretty much Scanlan’s view. The right-hander has struggled lately with the Zephyrs, losing his last five starts and dropping to 3-5 with a 5.15 ERA.

But he remains unfazed.

“I knew when I got into this profession that there would be ups and downs,” said Scanlan, a 16-year pro who last year was 0-1 with a 3.08 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the Houston Astros, his fifth major league club.

“Today I’m pitching in New Orleans, but tomorrow I could be pitching in Houston.

“It doesn’t do any good to worry. Any energy spent on anything but how to be a better player is wasted energy.”

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Among those putting their energy to better use are Lovullo and Lake.

Lovullo, in his 13th pro season, is batting .289 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He last played in the majors with Cleveland last season.

Laker, a pro since 1988, is batting .302 with 11 doubles and 22 RBIs at Nashville. He has played with Montreal off and on.

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It’ll soon be officer Will Skett instead of center fielder Will Skett.

Skett, who played at Reseda High, Valley College and Cal State Long Beach, is trading his bat for a police baton.

Skett, 24, will attend the LAPD academy for 28 weeks of training starting in June. He retired from baseball over the winter when the Toronto Blue Jays refused to trade or release him.

“They made it pretty clear I would go back to double-A or Class A,” Skett said.

“With any other [franchise], I would have been in triple-A by now.”

Skett last season batted .250 with three home runs and 33 RBIs in 65 games for double-A Knoxville and .325 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 37 games for Class-A Dunedin.

He figured a promotion to triple-A Syracuse was around the corner, but the Blue Jays, who are loaded with young outfielders in Toronto and Syracuse, thought differently.

So Skett opted for a career change.

“I didn’t like the [minor league] lifestyle too much,” Skett said.

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Around the horn:

Jacksonville (Tigers) outfielder Kurt Airoso (Cal State Northridge) is third in the double-A Southern League with 50 hits. . . . JetHawk third baseman Luis Figueroa’s .357 batting average is third in the Class A California League. Teammate Mike Marchiano is 10th at .330.