NATIONALS NOTEBOOK
Bergmann Building on Strong Starts
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Saturday, August 9, 2008; Page E11
MILWAUKEE, Aug. 8 -- When General Manager Jim Bowden speaks about the prospective pieces in his 2009 starting rotation, he mentions three pitchers, all 23 or younger, all drafted since 2005: John Lannan, Collin Balester and Jordan Zimmermann. With those arms, the Washington Nationals will build.
But one pitcher outside that group -- Jason Bergmann, 26, drafted in 2002 -- has used his recent consistency to make a dark horse charge to join it. Counting his seven-inning, one-run effort on Thursday against Colorado, Bergmann has now started 17 games for the Nationals this season. In 10 of those starts, he's allowed two or fewer earned runs. In the process, Bergmann has slowly wiped away his reputation for unreliability and convinced Manager Manny Acta that he deserves a spot in the 2009 rotation.
"He's done a good job for a very extended period of time now, which he hadn't done in the past," Acta said. "So I hope that's the way he's feeling and he continues to do it for us, so he can pencil himself in here for the future."
Bergmann's case is unusual because his previous problems were so perplexing. On days when Bergmann pitched with conviction, his fastball could hit the mid-90s. But some days, trying to be exact with his location, Bergmann's velocity topped out at 89 or 90.
The right-hander moved up and down. After giving up a combined 12 earned runs in his first two outings this year, the team shipped him to Class AAA Columbus. When he returned, he had three exceptional starts: 19 2/3 innings, no runs. Then he smacked into his former self. Next three starts? Four runs or more every time.
His consistency since then has solidified his standing.
Said teammate Tim Redding: "When he first came back up [from Columbus] it just seemed like he was pitching with so much confidence. He just knew he could get people out. It didn't matter what pitch he threw, what the situation was. He did a phenomenal job. And it seemed like he almost thought it was too good to be true. And that's when he started getting rattled a bit more. It's just one of those situations where only now is he starting to realize that he belongs here at this level."
