Carmona is focused, tough-minded

He came out of no where to win 19 games for the Indians last year.

GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — No discussion of Fausto Carmona’s professional baseball career is complete without some mention of the midges.

“You know, he picked about 35 dead ones off him when he came off the field that night — all from the shoulder up,” manager Eric Wedge recalled recently. “He’s competitive. He doesn’t give in to fight.”

Carmona’s improbable 19-victory season was certainly memorable enough, but perhaps its defining moment came during Game 2 of the Division Series against the Yankees.

When a fresh hatch of the pesky insects descended on Jacobs Field, and especially on the bodies of the opposing pitchers, Carmona persevered while Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain faltered. The Indians scored the tying run off the unnerved Chamberlain in the eighth inning. Carmona pitched through the ninth, allowing just three hits. Cleveland went on to a 2-1, 11-inning victory.

“He has a strong focus,” Wedge said. “He’s tough-minded.”

The 24-year-old right-hander finished second in the American League with a 3.06 ERA in 32 starts. He was fourth in the Cy Young Award balloting. All this from a guy who was supposed to begin the season at Triple-A Buffalo before injuries to Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook forced him to be retained through April and May.

“A lot of people out there are waiting for me to do what I did last year,” Carmona said through interpreter and bullpen catcher Dennis Malave. “That’s out of my control. I just have to do my work and get ready for the season.”

Carmona comes into this spring as the projected No. 2 starter in Cleveland’s rotation behind C.C. Sabathia. Wedge has spent much of the spring attempting to temper expectations for his talented young pitcher.

“We don’t expect him to win 19 games again,” Wedge said. “There will be adjustments he has to make. We expect him to make them.”

Carmona’s sinking fastball, his primary weapon, won’t need a lot of adjusting. He may need to mix in his changeup and slider more frequently to keep hitters off-balance.

“There are some fundamental things he can do at this point that he’s not doing right now which will allow him to pitch at this level consistently,” pitching coach Carl Willis said.

The Indians knew Carmona had the potential from the day they signed him, just after his 17th birthday. The only time that future appeared shaky was during a forgettable 10-day tryout as a closer in 2006 following the trade of Bob Wickman to Atlanta. Carmona’s first four appearances included a loss and three blown saves.

“Everybody focuses on those two weeks,” Wedge said. “They don’t focus on the six weeks before that, when he was the best setup man in the American League.”

Carmona can no longer walk down the street unrecognized, either in Cleveland or at home in the Dominican Republic.

“A lot of people knew me at home before this,” Carmona said. “Maybe people gained more respect for me, but I treated them the same way I did before.”

As good as Carmona was, Willis said, he believes the best is yet to come.

“There are issues that’s he’s going to have work and improve on,” Willis said. “But, if he can do those things, you’ll see a guy who can go out there and give us similar years to last year.

“He’s set a high standard. But, potentially, he can be even be better.”