Picture this:Bronson Arroyo, the majors most reliable pitcher
Rob Bradford
BOSTON - Bronson Arroyo may be gone, but he made sure he wasn't forgotten.
The former Red Sox pitcher, who contributed to Boston's agonizing season by finishing 2006 as the major league leader for most innings pitched (2402/3) with his new team in Cincinnati, wanted to make sure his achievements hadn't gone unnoticed in the Sox clubhouse.
So in the midst of the last week of the season, Arroyo sent an overnight package to his former teammate Curt Schilling. In the envelope was a reminder that his former teammate might have underestimated what the guitar-playing, right-handed hurler could offer a big league pitching staff.
"(Schilling) said a couple of years ago I would never pitch 230 innings with this body," Arroyo said. "So I sent him a note with a picture of me standing with nothing on but a (sock)."
In the accompanying message, Arroyo joked to Schilling something to the effect that to throw 230 innings it wasn't how big a body you had, but rather how much intestinal fortitude one had.
The delivery was - as Arroyo is quick to point out - sent in good-natured fun to one of the many Red Sox players he continues to respect and admire. But in the bigger picture (besides that of Arroyo in his birthday suit), he wanted to send the message of what kind of player he developed into this season.
Arroyo, who the Red Sox traded just before the start of the beginning of the '06 season for outfielder Wily Mo Pena, has become something many in Boston never thought he could be - a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.
"(Red Sox general manager) Theo (Epstein) called me before the All-Star game to congratulate me (on making the National League team). He was joking around about how he couldn't go anywhere in the city without somebody yelling at him about trading me," said Arroyo, while driving from Cincinnati to his offseason home in Florida.
"Over time, you earn your respect. I've always been a guy who has been borderline, 'Is he a starter or a bullpen guy?' But now I think I've shown I can be a No. 3 on any team in baseball. So now I've gotten over that hump. Now I have to prove that I can be a guy who can do it two, three, five or 10 years in a row."
The ironic part of Arroyo's journey this season is that despite his initial hesitancy about leaving Boston, especially after signing a three-year, $11.25 million deal in February, it seems to have all worked out for the best for the 29-year-old.
He not only finished the season with a 14-11 mark and a 3.29 ERA (fourth best in the NL), but Arroyo got to once again pitch in a pennant race, and doing so this time as his team's ace.
"The thing I always didn't understand about the trade was why would you trade away a young, 200-inning arm," Arroyo said. "Even if Wily Mo hits 40 home runs, I think with what's going on in baseball as far as getting rid of steroids and stuff, it's becoming harder for people to pitch 200 innings and stay healthy year after year. I can see pitchers becoming more of a commodity than they were five or six years ago."
So, does he regret inking the deal with the Red Sox?
"Not in a million years," Arroyo continued. "I did what was right for me, and that was staying in Boston, secure myself, and not feel the pressure of pitching for a contract. I don't regret in any way.
"I was disappointed with the move, but it is probably going to help me out in the long run, because I'm coming over to (Cincinnati) with a little more responsibility, showing I didn't need the Boston Red Sox lineup to stay out there and win ballgames. In the end, as a free agent, I have become worth more than if I stayed in Boston and pitched out of the pen."
That said, Arroyo's intentions for his next deal haven't wavered since spring training. His goal is to build up his reputation and ink an even heftier contract - with the Boston Red Sox.
There is a reason, after all, he is keeping his Boston home until his contract runs out two years from now.
"I still miss playing in that uniform, especially when I turn on the TV and they are 10 games out of first place and there is still a crowd that is maybe more enthusiastic than any crowd in the game," Arroyo said. "You never know what's going to happen in the next couple years."
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