Yates catching wave for Mets
New York Daily News - Sports -
Yates catching wave for Mets
By ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
PORT ST. LUCIE - Tyler Yates was surfing off the island of Kauai after completing his season with Class-A Visalia five years ago, when he turned to his father, Gary, and said, "This is a pretty easy life for me right now.
"Work at night, surf during the day and then play ball for five or six months of the year and get paid for that," said Yates, whose winter routine included busing tables at the same five-star restaurant that employed his father. "I wasn't about to complain to anybody about it."
Yates, a native Hawaiian, still finds time to surf during the winter, driving his truck 45 minutes to a secluded beach on the west side of the island. And while his elbow threw him a curveball that made his ascension in the Mets' organization difficult, Yates is on the verge of establishing himself as a big-league starter ... or maybe reliever.
While Scott Erickson and Grant Roberts lead the race for the final spot in the rotation, Yates has impressed and should be part of the Mets' staff in some role this season, even if he begins at Triple-A Norfolk. His mid-90s fastball and hard slider make him an ideal candidate to close games, but to guarantee innings, the Mets have used him in a starting role since he returned from Tommy John surgery.
"I would probably say I'm better off starting, because I don't go out there for one inning and blow it all out and the next couple of innings I'm tired," Yates said. "I'm a guy who can go out there for six or seven innings and throw with the same velocity I did in the first inning."
Yates, 26, vividly recalled the June 2002 pitch that set back his career a year. Releasing a fastball, he felt a burn through his fingers, like "a big stinger in your shoulder that you get when you play football." Yates disregarded the sensation and threw another pitch. The radar gun in right-center field at Norfolk's Harbor Park registered 100 mph, and Yates walked off the mound, headed for surgery.
"This year it's night and day how amazing my arm feels," said Yates, who was scratched from his last appearance because of a hamstring strain but threw a bullpen session last night and may pitch tomorrow.
Before hurting his arm, Yates compiled a 2-2 record with a 1.32 ERA and six saves at Norfolk in 2002. He would have made an appearance in Flushing last September, but he broke a finger punching a water cooler while with the Tides last year.
"It was a stupid mistake and it cost me some money and it cost me some time that I can't ever get back," Yates said. "I'm a guy that doesn't show emotion on the mound. I try to keep everything in, never show anybody that I've been defeated or anything like that. ... I come in and I just saw the water cooler and I hit it and I was like, 'You're an idiot for doing that.' It was a lesson learned with a pinkie, but it was also a lesson learned just to like, 'Why show anybody that you've been defeated?'"
So much for all surfers being laid-back.
"You guys think a lot of surfers are mellow," Yates said. "A lot of them are pretty crazy. There are some guys out there that if you get in their way, they let you know about it."
Yates catching wave for Mets
By ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
PORT ST. LUCIE - Tyler Yates was surfing off the island of Kauai after completing his season with Class-A Visalia five years ago, when he turned to his father, Gary, and said, "This is a pretty easy life for me right now.
"Work at night, surf during the day and then play ball for five or six months of the year and get paid for that," said Yates, whose winter routine included busing tables at the same five-star restaurant that employed his father. "I wasn't about to complain to anybody about it."
Yates, a native Hawaiian, still finds time to surf during the winter, driving his truck 45 minutes to a secluded beach on the west side of the island. And while his elbow threw him a curveball that made his ascension in the Mets' organization difficult, Yates is on the verge of establishing himself as a big-league starter ... or maybe reliever.
While Scott Erickson and Grant Roberts lead the race for the final spot in the rotation, Yates has impressed and should be part of the Mets' staff in some role this season, even if he begins at Triple-A Norfolk. His mid-90s fastball and hard slider make him an ideal candidate to close games, but to guarantee innings, the Mets have used him in a starting role since he returned from Tommy John surgery.
"I would probably say I'm better off starting, because I don't go out there for one inning and blow it all out and the next couple of innings I'm tired," Yates said. "I'm a guy who can go out there for six or seven innings and throw with the same velocity I did in the first inning."
Yates, 26, vividly recalled the June 2002 pitch that set back his career a year. Releasing a fastball, he felt a burn through his fingers, like "a big stinger in your shoulder that you get when you play football." Yates disregarded the sensation and threw another pitch. The radar gun in right-center field at Norfolk's Harbor Park registered 100 mph, and Yates walked off the mound, headed for surgery.
"This year it's night and day how amazing my arm feels," said Yates, who was scratched from his last appearance because of a hamstring strain but threw a bullpen session last night and may pitch tomorrow.
Before hurting his arm, Yates compiled a 2-2 record with a 1.32 ERA and six saves at Norfolk in 2002. He would have made an appearance in Flushing last September, but he broke a finger punching a water cooler while with the Tides last year.
"It was a stupid mistake and it cost me some money and it cost me some time that I can't ever get back," Yates said. "I'm a guy that doesn't show emotion on the mound. I try to keep everything in, never show anybody that I've been defeated or anything like that. ... I come in and I just saw the water cooler and I hit it and I was like, 'You're an idiot for doing that.' It was a lesson learned with a pinkie, but it was also a lesson learned just to like, 'Why show anybody that you've been defeated?'"
So much for all surfers being laid-back.
"You guys think a lot of surfers are mellow," Yates said. "A lot of them are pretty crazy. There are some guys out there that if you get in their way, they let you know about it."
posted by DP at 2:25 PM
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