Ballpark Banter- Helloooooooo, Ervin

1) You could sit here and toss around the old adage, "What a difference a year makes", and that would be a justifiable statement, certainly. The difference between Ervin Santana of last year, and Ervin Santana of 2008 is like the difference between heaven and hell. But this isn't a matter of the luck of the draw, or anything like that. No, I don't believe in luck when it comes to getting major league hitters out. Good pitchers who make good pitches get hitters out.

As Santana allowed one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings Wednesday on a way to a 4-1 victory, the Angels found themselves with not one, but two pitchers who have started the season by going 5-0 in April. Prior to Joe Saunders' start on Tuesday night, the Angels only had one pitcher in franchise history to do that-- lefty Frank Tanana. But I'm telling you with conviction, this sudden resurrection of Ervin Santan is not about flipping the calendar over and crossingyour fingers.

There is a difference in this kid this year, one that took a whole year to bring to the surface. It took Santana being absolutely humiliated, getting his brains beat in, to injure his pride a little bit. He was supposed to build on a great 2006 and step up into the category of elite big league pitchers, possibly even contending for the Cy Young award. Turns out, Santant wouldn't have even been an elite pitcher in Salt Lake City.

But that is alright. Why? Because sometimes it takes this kind of failure to shake a kid and push him towards reaching his full potential. The Angels should be greatful that Santana faced these kind of struggles early on in his career. More importantly, he hit rock bottomg and has bounced back to where he is now. As we sit here today following his marvelous starts, we reminisce back to the days when Ervin was a rookie, where the sky wasn't even the limit for all the talent oozing out of his right arm. Santana has gotten himself back to that level, all through hard work and determination.

Mechanical flaws can go a long way towards shaping a pitcher, and certainly provide an area for great improvement. But I am not convinced that it is Santana's mechanics that really are the reason for his turn around. He had good stuff last year-- the problem was that 94 mph fastballs were belt high over the middle and were getting raked.

The fundamental difference this year is the newfound attitude and mentality of Ervin. John Lackey is known as the fiery ace from Texas on this Angels staff and is the guy who is ready to jump over the dugout rail any time an opposing pitcher brushes back one of his teammates. But Santana has made that leap effective insanity this season. The guy has turned into The Terminator on the mound-- "I give credit to nobody".

Wednesday night, Santana pounded his fastball inside, and for the first time in a while, actually used his high-octane gas to put the fear of death into some hitters. He used his 96 mph fastball under the chin of the Oakland A's, so his sharp slider on the outside part of the plate would be more effective. This tactic worked to the tune of four hits over the entire evening. This is what we have been waiting for from this kid. Santana in the past has looked bit timid on the mound. Major League stuff combined with Little League belief in himself and his arsenal. That was his problem.

No, no, not anymore. Ervin steps onto that rubber, chomps the heck out of his gum, and rears back and attacks. The swagger is indellible, and therefore the success is inevitable. Santana is starting to believe that he is a very, very good pitcher, and he has no reason to believe other wise. Belief is infinitely more important than talent when it comes to the success of an athlete. Why is Dustin Pedroia in the big leagues? Because he has the biggest belief of anybody he competes against. It is as simple as that. As Santana continues to build his confidence and moxie, there are going to be many more starts like the six he had in April.


2) When you're hot, you're hot. That applies not only to players, but teams as well. What would qualify as hot, you might ask? Well, when you put a pitcher up to pinch-hit, down by two with a runner on, and he takes the first pitch-- a slider on the outside part of the plate, no less-- and drives out of the park to opposite field to tie the game, you are scorching. I don't give a damn that Micah Owings is a great hitting pitcher, and a good hitter period. He still is a pitcher that regularly gets three at-bats once every five days. He is talented, for sure, but I would doubt that he puts as much time into his swing as the position players do. Actually, I don't doubt. I know. That is because he can't; he gets paid to pitch and get hitters out.

This is just how April has gone for these Arizona Diamondbacks, ruthlessly beating everybody into baseball's state of oblivion. Arizona finished April with a 20-8 record, the best in baseball, and by far the best in their own divison. The influx of young talent, from Justin Upton to Chris young to Mark Reynolds, has produced at a clip that is impressive for any ballplayer. But, yeah, 20 year olds aren't supposed to be playing like this at the highest level in the world. Shouldn't happen, but good thing it is because it is creating plenty of great baseball to watch.

This type of success could be taken in two ways, I guess. The first way is you could expect the Diamonbacks to continue on this pace and clinch the divison title by the trade deadline. Even Anton Chigurh from "No Country For Old Men" doesn't have a killing spree like this to his name.

I feel like I'm watching "Beverly Hills Cop" when I'm watching Arizona play lately. Remember the scene where Axel Foley goes to Victor Maitland's mansion, looking for his friend Jenny Summers who had just been kidnapped? Foley is being followed by Sergeant John Taggart and Detective Billy Rosewood of the FBI, whose only job is to make sure that they get Foley out of Beverly Hills and onto a plane back to Detroit. But Taggart and Rosewood know that Foley will not leave until he saves Jenny and Maitland is dead, so they have no choice but to go with him through thr mansion's grounds.

We have Foley running all over the place, diving behind bushes and marble statues, shooting people left and right. That is somewhat believeable, I guess; it is the MVP performance of the movie. But then we have Taggart-- a slow, overweight officer-- scaling concrete walls and squirming around on the grass like he has been ordered to Stop, Drop, and Roll. Rosewood is in awe of his own pistol, so how can we expect him to be a real enforcer, right? The thing is that all of these variables do not stop them from ripping through the complex like the tornado that they have formed, wreaking immeasurable amounts of havoc.

Apply this Beverly Hills Cop model to the Diamondbacks, and this is what we get: The pitching staff-- mainly Brandon Webb and Dan Haren-- are Arizona's Alex Foley. We knew how good they were and we knew that they were going to win games. That was a given. These two guys are the staple of the Arizona show and had to be good if this team wanted to reach its potential. Turns out that Haren has been just as advertised, and Webb has been out of this world. Wrote about Webb recently and how I never udnerstood what made this guy so good. I guess you just have to watch him enough before you get the hang of how he prefers to go about his work. Nonetheless, nobody in the National League can hit him. Does this guy ever give up three runs in one outing? Sure been a while since I have seen it.

Eric Byrnes is Sergeant Taggart for all intents and purposes, but admittedly is much more impresive than Taggrt. Will Byrnes be a stable force and the voice of reason? Yeah, we could expect that much from him. Was he going to match his 2007 output? I didn't, and still don't, think so, but the jury is till out on that as we work our way into May. Byrnes is there to provide some of the wisdom to the youngsters. The advantage that Byrnes brings to the table is that he doesn't play his age, in terms of his energy and enthusiasm for baseball. He may be the one guy in his thirties that can match the exuberence of a 21-year-old. That speaks volumes in and of itself.

Justin Upton is Billy Rosewood, although any of young trio could qualify. Upton has all the potential in the world-- seriously, we are already comparing him to A-Rod?-- and the confidence to make good on his talents now, rather than later. He needs to learn the ropes still, such as not taking lazy fly balls for granted, but those are minor tweaks that come with maturity and experience. The difference that bodes well for Arizona is that Upton, unlike Billy Rosewood, is not in awe of his "gun". He has a cannon, can hit for power and average, and can run with the best of them. The best thing about that? He knows damn well how good he can be. Upton has the confidence to back it all up, and that is what we are seeing right now throughout the entire Arizona clubhouse. If the attitude remains, who knows whether the Snakes can keeping rattling off wins at this pace while hot days turn to unbearably hot days in Pheonix.