Here’s something Seattle Mariners fans thought they’d never read: Ryan Franklin loves his role in the bullpen.
The guy whose resilient arm and versatility made him the perfect choice for both starting and relieving during his time with the Mariners now has a well-defined job with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’m still trying to learn how to be a reliever,” Franklin said last week as the Cardinals prepared for their interleague series at Detroit. “But I’m getting the hang of it,”
Uh, slightly.
Franklin is pitching late setup, being used in the seventh and eighth innings, usually for only one inning at a time. Entering Saturday’s game, he’d done a masterful job, having allowed two earned runs in 18 innings for a 1.00 earned run average.
And – get this – he’s happy about his place on the team.
That wasn’t always the case when Franklin pitched for the Mariners, even though he started 106 games between 2000 and 2005. If they weren’t bouncing him back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen, the M’s were saying they might.
There’s hardly a starting pitcher in baseball who’s comfortable with that, and Franklin openly disagreed that he was better off as a reliever.
He became a free agent after 2005 and signed with the Phillies, then was traded to the Reds midway through the season. He pitched 66 games in relief for those teams – with no starts – and became a free agent again.
Franklin would like to have returned to the Mariners this year, but they weren’t interested. The Cardinals, however, went into spring training with questions in their rotation and signed him with the idea he might start this year.
“I asked at the beginning what my role was going to be,” Franklin said. “But it seemed pretty clear in spring training. Then the five starters pitched unbelievable all spring – they had a one-something ERA – and I said to myself, ‘All right, I know where I’m going to fit.’
“I don’t want to bounce back and forth. Relieve start, relieve, start – it’s hard to get in a routine, much less get on a roll and in a groove doing two different things. If I’m going to be a setup man the whole year, that’s fine. Sure, I want to be a starter, but I’ve learned to accept this.”
Franklin became the Cardinals’ late-inning bridge to closer Jason Isrighausen, and he’s invigorated by the challenge.
“The games are won or lost in the seventh, eighth or ninth,” he said. “The setup role is a real challenge. When you’re pitching the ninth, hitters are more patient and they’re pretty much going to take a strike. In the eighth, you don’t know if they’re going to be taking or hacking, so you’ve got to make a pitch.”
Franklin throws as many as five different pitches – and he has always said he’d like to add a knuckleball – but his success this year is partly due to simplifying his repertoire. He’ll throw sinkers and sliders to right-handers; sinkers, cutters and splitters to lefties.
“I’m trying to minimize my pitches,” he said. “I’m trying to get outs as quickly as possible and not throw too many pitches so I can be available the next day. And, hey, I’ve even had a few strikeouts. I don’t try to strike people out, but there was a stretch where I struck out six or seven in a row, and that was fun.”
Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, who has achieved legendary status in some circles for his work in turning around Jeff Weaver last year, has been a big help for Franklin.
“I can’t say he’s better than Bryan Price was for me with the Mariners, but Dave has been good for me,” Franklin said. “Dave is big on getting a pitcher prepared to pitch. It’s not so much mechanically but he helps with pitch selections and how you’re going to pitch guys. He points out the weaknesses in hitters and has you put what you’ve got in your repertoire toward those weaknesses.”
Pitching in St. Louis almost is like being back home for Franklin. He grew up in Eastern Oklahoma, near Arkansas and Missouri in the heart of Cardinals country. He makes the one-hour flight home on off days to be with his family and, after school is out for the summer, his wife and kids will live in St. Louis with him.
“This feels more like home to me than anyplace I’ve played,” he said. “Growing up in Oklahoma, this is not that much different at all. I’ve had tons of friends come up and see me, people who hadn’t seen me since I’ve been playing.
“People are all down-to-earth here, and the fans are amazing. They don’t boo their own players and they applaud the other team if they make a good play. If the pitcher on the other team throws seven hitless innings but gives it up in the eighth, they’ll stand up and applaud him. That’s the way it should be.
“You don’t see people getting up and wandering around the whole game. Everybody is locked into the game, watching every pitch and every play. It’s just fun here.”
Even in the bullpen.
Kirby Arnold covers major league baseball for The Herald
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