Friday, February 26, 1999

Bere likely No. 4 starter

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BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jason Bere works out with a medicine ball Thursday. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        SARASOTA, Fla. — One of the T-shirts Jason Bere wears underneath his Reds jersey bears the exhortation, “Pitch inside!” Bere hardly needs any reminders, having brushed back doubts and setbacks in his brief but eventful career.

        Bere's latest survival act is currently unfolding at the Reds spring training camp. The right-hander appears destined to capture the No.4 spot in the starting rotation, having overcome an elbow injury that nearly thrust him into baseball oblivion.

        “It's looking good at this point unless somebody else changes my mind,” Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said Thursday.

        Bere has regained the crackling fastball that enabled him to post brilliant records in his first two major-league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, 12-5 in 1993 and 12-2 in '94. Perhaps more importantly, the arm problems led him to realize that pitching is a matter of finesse as much as force.

        “When I was younger, it was always harder, harder, harder,” said Bere, 27. “I should be a better pitcher mentally and situationally. When it's a hectic inning, I've already been through worse than that. I know how to pitch now because I've gone out there without good stuff a lot.”

        That almost never happened when Bere starred with

        the White Sox on a staff that included two other precocious pitchers, Wilson Alvarez and Alex Fernandez. Injuries derailed each of them, and none is with the Sox now. Fernandez underwent major shoulder surgery after finishing 17-12 in 1997; Alvarez endured shoulder tendinitis last year and was 6-14.

        Bere was struck first. He had tendinitis in his biceps in 1995 and his elbow the following year, which led to “Tommy John” surgery. Dr. James An drews reconstructed Bere's elbow, transplanting a leg tendon to help reinforce the ligament and re-attach a muscle group.

        Athletes typically need two years to fully heal from such extensive procedures. But Bere pitched in 1997, making nine rehabilitation appearances in the minors before recording a 4-2 mark with the White Sox.

        Chicago lost patience with him last year after he went 3-7 with a 6.45 ERA. The Reds claimed Bere on waivers on July 21 and watched him finish 3-2 with a 4.12 ERA, including 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in his last three starts.

        “I was going to be fine, regardless, just because I knew the (two-year) timetable,” Bere said. “I tried to remain positive throughout the whole thing.”

        Still, he acknowledged that last season's late surge had its benefits. “The team saw my velocity creep up a little bit at the end and get close to where it was.”

        Bere indeed finds himself close to where he began his major league journey. He's training with his Reds teammates at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, which the White Sox vacated after 1997. Instead of joining Alvarez and Fernandez in a formidable starting rotation, he's behind Pete Harnisch, Denny Neagle and Brett Tomko.

        “We had the same of atmosphere in Chicago,” Bere said. “It seemed like everyone rubbed off on each other. I think probably that's what will happen here.”

        What's different is that Bere now can complement his fastball and changeup with a decent curveball.

        “He was a little concerned about his curve last year, and that was one of the toughest things,” Gullett said. “I told him he just didn't have the arm strength to throw it the way he wanted. ...But I've seen some good curveballs the last couple of times he has thrown here ...

        “The arm strength is as different as night and day.”

       

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