Perez Expects a Change for the Better

Carlos Perez eagerly anticipated spring training because he wants to prove something to the Dodgers.

And himself.

The person who went 2-10 with a 7.43 earned-run average in 1999 vows he will be a different pitcher in 2000. Perez said he pushed himself in the off-season because he owes the Dodgers much after producing the worst season of his big-league career.

Perez believes he has turned a corner, and is appreciative of the organization’s help. Now, it’s payback time, Perez said.

“When you have that type of year, people think bad things about you, I know that,” the left-hander said Sunday after completing pitching drills at Dodgertown.

“It’s hard for people to believe you’re a good pitcher, [that] you want to do good for your team, but I do. I had problems last year and my team helped me. That wasn’t me.”

Perez lost velocity on his fastball for some still-unexplained reason, missed a start in Montreal after suffering a mysterious knee injury and finished the season on the disabled list with a leg injury after being demoted to triple-A Albuquerque. And Perez was only 3-3 with a 5.92 ERA with the Dukes.

The problem?

Perez said it was mechanical--and mental.

“You have to have your confidence in this game,” Perez said. “I didn’t have my mechanics good when I start the season, and then I don’t pitch like myself.”

Jim Benedict, minor league pitching coordinator, twice traveled to Perez’s native Dominican Republic to coach him. Benedict and Perez have been close since Benedict tutored Perez while they were in Montreal’s farm system.

“He used to help me figure out my problems when we were in Montreal, that’s why he came to help me,” Perez said. “We worked on my velocity and location, and I got better. I went over there throwing 86 and [after] 10 days I was throwing 90.”

General Manager Kevin Malone said the Dodgers are encouraged because of Perez’s work over the winter, and also because he asked for help. “You do everything you can for someone when they ask for help,” Malone said.