It has been a busy May for Nationals right-handed pitcher Jason Bergmann.
There was the exhausting, wee-hours bus ride from central Ohio to eastern Pennsylvania last Friday and a solid outing for the AAA Columbus Clippers.
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Then came the arrival of his first child, a baby girl named Alexandra. And the Nats will top it off by recalling Bergmann to start tonight’s game against the New York Mets.
That’s a lot on short notice. But all of it was good news to Bergmann, who tries to reestablish himself in the Nats’ rotation after two poor starts in April led to his demotion.
“We had just lost nine in a row. Something was going to happen and they decided I was the guy,” said Bergmann, sent down after a poor relief appearance April 12 against Atlanta. “It kind of pissed me off. But I was mad at myself, too, for not throwing the ball the way I should.”
Bergmann, 26, showed promise in 2007 with a 4.45 ERA in 21 starts despite two stints on the disabled list. But even after a solid spring training, two disastrous innings against Philadelphia and Florida in early April led to a bullpen demotion. Three days later he was in Columbus.
Thingsonly got worse with nine runs allowed in his next two starts. But some work with Columbus pitching coach Steve McCatty helped. McCatty told Bergmann he wasn’t using his legs enough and made minor tweaks to his wind-up. Bergmann took off, allowing three runs over his next 21 innings and gaining another chance.
“Not once at Columbus did I even think about getting recalled,” Bergmann said. “[Nats general manager] Jim Bowden told me to go down there and get better. If I did that, everything would take care of itself.”
