Swarzak bouncing back

By KEN LIPSHEZ
New Britain Herald Press

NEW BRITAIN - Four New Britain Rock Cats starting pitchers in succession had been pounded mercilessly.

Manager Riccardo Ingram needed a stopper Tuesday - a pitcher who could give him a quality start and enable his league-leading offense to carry the team to victory.

A win would allow the Rock Cats to gain a split of the series in Reading and an acceptable 6-6 record for the season's longest road trip, but just as significantly restore team pride. New Britain was leading 2-0 in the third inning on Monday but by the time the fifth ended, the Phillies had put up 21 runs.

After watching his associates give up 23 earned runs in the previous 16 2/3 innings, the pressure was on for right-hander Anthony Swarzak to come through.

Swarzak's outing was significant for another reason. The 21-year-old native of Ft. Lauderdale, is trying to put a 50-game suspension for violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy behind him.

"Honestly, and I know it's a cliché people say all the time, but I was really trying to get better every day," Swarzak said, about his mindset during the inactivity. "I was working on little things in my delivery. I really picked up my whole work ethic day to day and busted my butt to get in good shape to come back and make a push for the second half."

The suspension was levied against him because a drug test in spring training revealed the presence of what the policy terms a "drug of abuse," a recreational drug as opposed to a performance enhancing substance. It was his second offense.

The negative implications that such an incident musters can force a young man with unlimited potential (2nd-round draft pick in 2004) to gain a new perspective.

The suspension came down in mid-April. He spent the next month in New Britain, and then was sent to the Twins' extended spring training program in Fort Myers.

While he was "throwing in simulated games, working out in the hot sun and getting my legs back under me," he had plenty of time to wax philosophically.

"I realized I was taking the game for granted, just a little bit," he said. "I really got that passion for the game, not that I lost it, but I kind of put things in perspective. ... I'm trying to make the best out of a bad situation."

Prior to the suspension, Swarzak pitched in two games, lost both and allowed seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. His ineffectiveness, he says, had nothing to do with the sobering news that was coming his way.

"I prepared myself for spring training, got in great shape for camp," he said. "I got tested and about a month after that, I got caught. I kind of crossed my fingers."

Swarzak's first outing after the suspension came on June 13 with the high-A Fort Myers Miracle. In three Florida State League starts, he allowed four earned runs in 15 2/3 innings (2.30 ERA), walked five and struck out 18.

The confidence that convinced Baseball America's experts to rank him as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins' system was back.

"I started to pitch my game to my strengths instead of throwing to the hitters' weaknesses," he said. "I just attacked the hitters."

In his Double-A return, Swarzak struck out eight in 5 1/3 frames but yielded three runs on six hits. But in his second post-suspension Double-A start, he gave Ingram and the struggling Rock Cats staff exactly what they needed.

"He seems to be a little more focused," Ingram said. "He probably had a little bit of pressure on him from that situation and leading up to it. Obviously it's going to affect you. ... He had time to clear his head. He realizes the talent he has and doesn't want to waste it. That's what he's shown the last two outings and hopefully he can continue."

If he does, and he can somehow inspire his colleagues to follow suit, the Rock Cats' quest for a winning season and some postseason fun aren't yet out of reach.

If he does, he will reshape how history reflects on a sobering 2007 season.