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Nats' Ace Not Used to Being the One
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"The next start, we'll take him to 85-90," Manager Manny Acta said, "so the next one [Opening Day] he'll be 95-100. He'll be fine. I liked the way he threw the ball today. He looked loose today, and free."
Patterson, though, understands that he needs to have a breakthrough season to fully be free of his reputation as a pitcher who has, to this point, shown more potential than performance. The season that is considered his breakout year, 2005, he went 9-7 with a 3.13 ERA. This year, he insists he wants more than that, beginning with 30 starts and 200 innings -- the latter a total he has never reached as a professional.
"He's got to win," Fick said. "He's got to keep us in the game. He's got to pitch deep into games. He has to set the tone. He's the old guy on the staff."
As Fick said that, he couldn't hold back a chuckle, a reflection of what the rest of the Nationals' rotation will look like. Patterson is 29, in what should be the years in which he still is physically capable of dominating hitters yet understands what it takes to get them out as well.
But as his ability to win baseball games evolves, Patterson believes his position on the team is evolving, too. Friday, before his start, Patterson stood in the center of the clubhouse, the team's representative to the players' union. Donald Fehr, the union chief, and other executives were on hand. It was Patterson's first time at the helm of a preseason meeting since he replaced catcher Brian Schneider midway through last season.
"I think it makes you a leader, and it makes you want to be a leader," Patterson said. "Guys have questions or concerns, they come to you to get the answer, to point them in the right direction. . . .
"I feel like I have some things to offer, some experience in different situations. This is my 11th spring training. I've seen some things. I feel like I've learned. Maybe I can help some people."
In the next two weeks, the Nationals will begin to find out how much, in 2007, John Patterson can help himself -- and how much that will, in turn, help the team.
