Brocail set to make 2006 memorable
03/02/2006
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Doug Brocail has pitched in 36 Major League ballparks across 11 seasons. He can't wait to make PETCO Park No. 37 when the Padres open their season against San Francisco.
"When I went out there [to San Diego] and stepped on the field and looked out," Brocail said, having signed a one-year, $1 million free agent deal on Dec. 14, "it was, 'Man -- that's Yosemite.'
"It was good to see how enormous it was in the outfield."
Durable and dependable, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Brocail, 38, spent the past two seasons in a smaller yard squarely in the Texas heat, reviving a career that he thought was dead when the Rangers expressed interest before the 2004 season.
He'd spent the previous two seasons idle, recovering from a pair of Tommy John surgeries. His medical history is such that he refers to his many arthroscopic procedures over the years as "cleanouts," comparing them to oil changes.
After 104 appearances in those two seasons in Texas, with nine wins in 13 decisions and 104 strikeouts in 144 innings, Brocail chose to return to his original organization. The Padres signed him in 1986 as a first-round pick, 12th overall, in the First-Year Player Draft.
"I didn't recognize the downtown area -- it's beautiful, what they've done around the ballpark," Brocail said.
He recalls those cool summer evenings by the Pacific, framed in stark contrast with "100-degree day games when it was 140 on the field" in Texas.
After pitching in parts of three seasons with the Padres, Brocail departed San Diego following the 1994 season in a blockbuster swap with Houston that featured Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley coming west.
As his personal fate would have it, the Padres began winning division titles (1996, '98) and reached a World Series ('98) after he left -- just as Houston would begin making playoff appearances after dealing Brocail to Detroit following the '96 season.
He had four productive seasons in Motown but remained idle in October, watching old friends play for the high stakes.
"I want to be a piece of the puzzle," Brocail said, explaining that his respect for manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Kevin Towers figured heavily into his decision to sign with the Padres.
Bochy was a coach and Towers was scouting director during Brocail's first tour in San Diego.
"There are other teams out there I could have signed with," Brocail said, "but I know K.T., and I know Boch. K.T.'s a straight shooter. I was roommates with enough guys in the game who played for Boch. I know how they are. I'm really excited about playing for them."
Echoing the words and thoughts of other veteran newcomers such as Mike Piazza, Vinny Castilla and Mike Cameron, Brocail sees no reason why this remodeled team can't successfully defend its National League West title -- and take it a step or two beyond the National League Division Series.
At this stage of his career, it's thoughts of an eventful October that move Brocail, who will miss his wife, Lisa, and their five daughters back home in the Houston area as he encamps in San Diego.
"The game drives me," he said. "These guys weren't that far off [in 2005]. Once you get there, anything can happen in the playoffs. It's a driving factor for me."
Bochy plans to make use of Brocail and a fastball he uses about 85 percent of the time in his familiar middle relief role.
"He's what you're looking for -- tough and strong, a guy who loves to be out there," Bochy said.
Brocail has appeared in 442 Major League games with a 37-40 record and 4.06 ERA. He had career highs of 70 appearances and 82 innings with the 1999 Tigers.
He has been a reliever since 1994 following elbow surgery at the outset of the season. He'd started 24 games for the Padres in '93, going 4-13 with a 4.56 ERA.
As down-to-earth as ballplayers get, Brocail is openly covetous of sparkling jewelry flaunted by some of his new teammates.
"We have five or six guys here with [World Series] rings," Brocail said. "That ring they wear is what we're playing for. Those guys know what it's like to raise their arm and say, 'We're the best,' to get those goose bumps and go, 'Oh my God, we did it.'"
One of his clubhouse neighbors at the Peoria Sports Complex is Cameron, a center fielder with few peers. Brocail sees the pieces fitting together nicely.
"All we want as pitchers is good defense -- and we've got it," Brocail said.
He's encouraged by the presence in the bullpen of a quality lefty, Alan Embree, one of four Red Sox champions in 2004 with the Padres. Embree joins an array of strong right arms. Scott Linebrink and the great Trevor Hoffman are late-game anchors with few equals.
Brocail came back to San Diego to pitch in, do his part to make 2006 memorable. He burns to play meaningful games in October, to add a few finishing touches to a solid career.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Doug Brocail has pitched in 36 Major League ballparks across 11 seasons. He can't wait to make PETCO Park No. 37 when the Padres open their season against San Francisco.
"When I went out there [to San Diego] and stepped on the field and looked out," Brocail said, having signed a one-year, $1 million free agent deal on Dec. 14, "it was, 'Man -- that's Yosemite.'
"It was good to see how enormous it was in the outfield."
Durable and dependable, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Brocail, 38, spent the past two seasons in a smaller yard squarely in the Texas heat, reviving a career that he thought was dead when the Rangers expressed interest before the 2004 season.
He'd spent the previous two seasons idle, recovering from a pair of Tommy John surgeries. His medical history is such that he refers to his many arthroscopic procedures over the years as "cleanouts," comparing them to oil changes.
After 104 appearances in those two seasons in Texas, with nine wins in 13 decisions and 104 strikeouts in 144 innings, Brocail chose to return to his original organization. The Padres signed him in 1986 as a first-round pick, 12th overall, in the First-Year Player Draft.
"I didn't recognize the downtown area -- it's beautiful, what they've done around the ballpark," Brocail said.
He recalls those cool summer evenings by the Pacific, framed in stark contrast with "100-degree day games when it was 140 on the field" in Texas.
After pitching in parts of three seasons with the Padres, Brocail departed San Diego following the 1994 season in a blockbuster swap with Houston that featured Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley coming west.
As his personal fate would have it, the Padres began winning division titles (1996, '98) and reached a World Series ('98) after he left -- just as Houston would begin making playoff appearances after dealing Brocail to Detroit following the '96 season.
He had four productive seasons in Motown but remained idle in October, watching old friends play for the high stakes.
"I want to be a piece of the puzzle," Brocail said, explaining that his respect for manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Kevin Towers figured heavily into his decision to sign with the Padres.
Bochy was a coach and Towers was scouting director during Brocail's first tour in San Diego.
"There are other teams out there I could have signed with," Brocail said, "but I know K.T., and I know Boch. K.T.'s a straight shooter. I was roommates with enough guys in the game who played for Boch. I know how they are. I'm really excited about playing for them."
Echoing the words and thoughts of other veteran newcomers such as Mike Piazza, Vinny Castilla and Mike Cameron, Brocail sees no reason why this remodeled team can't successfully defend its National League West title -- and take it a step or two beyond the National League Division Series.
At this stage of his career, it's thoughts of an eventful October that move Brocail, who will miss his wife, Lisa, and their five daughters back home in the Houston area as he encamps in San Diego.
"The game drives me," he said. "These guys weren't that far off [in 2005]. Once you get there, anything can happen in the playoffs. It's a driving factor for me."
Bochy plans to make use of Brocail and a fastball he uses about 85 percent of the time in his familiar middle relief role.
"He's what you're looking for -- tough and strong, a guy who loves to be out there," Bochy said.
Brocail has appeared in 442 Major League games with a 37-40 record and 4.06 ERA. He had career highs of 70 appearances and 82 innings with the 1999 Tigers.
He has been a reliever since 1994 following elbow surgery at the outset of the season. He'd started 24 games for the Padres in '93, going 4-13 with a 4.56 ERA.
As down-to-earth as ballplayers get, Brocail is openly covetous of sparkling jewelry flaunted by some of his new teammates.
"We have five or six guys here with [World Series] rings," Brocail said. "That ring they wear is what we're playing for. Those guys know what it's like to raise their arm and say, 'We're the best,' to get those goose bumps and go, 'Oh my God, we did it.'"
One of his clubhouse neighbors at the Peoria Sports Complex is Cameron, a center fielder with few peers. Brocail sees the pieces fitting together nicely.
"All we want as pitchers is good defense -- and we've got it," Brocail said.
He's encouraged by the presence in the bullpen of a quality lefty, Alan Embree, one of four Red Sox champions in 2004 with the Padres. Embree joins an array of strong right arms. Scott Linebrink and the great Trevor Hoffman are late-game anchors with few equals.
Brocail came back to San Diego to pitch in, do his part to make 2006 memorable. He burns to play meaningful games in October, to add a few finishing touches to a solid career.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
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