19 Jul 2007

Doyle looking for consistency

By George Kostinas
GateHouse News Service

Thu Jul 19, 2007, 11:44 AM EDT 

    Cape Cod - Going from the bullpen to the starting rotation is a challenging task, especially for a young freshman playing his first season in the Cape Cod Baseball League. But Andrew Doyle of the Hyannis Mets is meeting that challenge head on.

    Doyle was used exclusively in relief in the spring at the University of Oklahoma.

    “I came out of the bullpen. Mainly I was the second or third guy utilized out of the bullpen,” says Doyle. “I pitched about 30 innings, which is good for a freshman.”

    Actually, he pitched 29 1/3 innings in 21 appearances and had a 1-0 record with one save.

    Then he came to the Cape League and found himself starting against some of the toughest lineups he has ever seen.

    But in five starting appearances for the Mets, Doyle is 3-1 and is one of the Mets’ ace pitchers.
The Mets have had an up-and-down season, winning a couple and then losing a couple and are in fourth place in the Western Division eight points out of a playoff spot.

    But there are a lot of games to play, and Hyannis field manager Greg King is looking to Doyle to help keep and get the Mets into contention.

    “We lose a couple of games and he [Doyle] comes in and gets a win for us. He’s been our stopper,” says King.

    Doyle won three of his first four starts, with one no decision, and showed King he is a battler who can hold his own, even when giving up some runs.

    “The guys have been great. They’ve gotten some early leads for me. And they never quit. It can be a 2-1 game or a 10-0 game and they’re taking their hacks and diving for balls,” says Doyle.
He has done his part, too. Doyle has not pitched fewer than six innings in his four outings, going into the seventh twice and the eighth inning another time.

    But Sunday against the Harwich Mariners, Doyle was unable to fill that role as he was rocked for two home runs.

    The first was a solo shot in the top of the second inning by Jake Opitz of Nebraska and the second a 3-run blast by Kent Matthes of Alabama that proved to be the game-winner and sent Doyle to his first loss of the season.

    “He left a couple of pitches up there [high in the strike zone]. When he pitches, he hits bats. He gets guys to swing; he forces contact. It’s usually not enough to get a hit, but he got a couple of pitches up and they hit him,” says King.

    But even in a loss like that, King likes Doyle’s competitive attitude and presence.

    “When I went to take him out of the game, I said to the guys, ‘A pitcher never likes to be taken out of the game,’ and I saw that look in his eyes like he felt he let us down. He didn’t let us down. He’ll go out and get them next time.

    “He’s a fierce competitor,” says King. “The other guys thrive off that. His presence on the mound says, ‘I’m going to win,’ and that is communicated to the rest of the team.”

    Doyle’s looks even bigger than the 6-3, 215 at which he is listed in the Mets’ program book. That might suggest a power pitcher who gets a lot of strikeouts, but it’s not the case; he’s a control pitcher who puts the ball in play for his teammates.

    “It’s definitely a lot easier to throw up here [in the Cape League] with a good defense behind me,” Doyle says. “I throw for contact, so I don’t get a lot of strikeouts, but the strikeouts will come.”

    Actually Doyle has struggled more with control, which he said is the big reason his earned run average has inflated to 4.22 in 32 innings.

    “I have one bad inning every game,” he says. “That aspect needs improvement. When my control is on, I can put up a lot of zeroes. When it is off, well, it’s not pretty.”

    His experience in the league has taught him he can’t afford to walk batters.

    “I’m working to throw strikes on my first pitches and get the leadoff batter out. I want to finish the inning early and get my team back in the dugout,” says Doyle.

    He made an adjustment in his throwing style from a sidearm delivery to a more typical overhand delivery, which he said has helped him be more consistent.