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09/09/2006 1:17 PM ET
Notes: Kuo rewards Dodgers' faith
After impressive outing against Mets, lefty earns second start
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Acey Kohrogi, director of Asian operations for the Dodgers,
remembers scouting Hong-Chih Kuo in an international tournament in Japan
in 1999.
"He was just a 17-year-old boy, but he was dominating men," Kohrogi said
of Kuo, who dominated the Mets in six scoreless innings of his first
Major League start on Friday night.
"Everybody was scouting two pitchers there, but the director of the
Taiwan national team said to get the lefty because of his courage."
For $1.25 million, the Dodgers made Kuo the first Taiwanese high
school player to sign with a Major League organization. After five
years of elbow problems and only checkered success as a Major League
reliever, Kuo has earned a second start Thursday in Chicago off his
clutch effort at Shea Stadium.
Kuo came to Spring Training this year as a long shot to make the
Major League club, and he didn't help his cause any by participating
for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, because it robbed him of
innings in front of the eyeballs of a new management team needing
to make player evaluations.
To Kuo, however, his decision to pitch in the World Baseball Classic
was a no-brainer: represent his country while satisfying a military
obligation that had been deferred while he chased his baseball dream.
As it was, he made the Opening Day roster with an overpowering spring --
0.75 ERA, 14 strikeouts and one walk in 12 innings.
No no-no for Kuo: Although Kuo took a no-hitter into the fifth inning
(ruined by David Wright's leadoff single), manager Grady Little said
he was prepared to lift Kuo around the 100-pitch mark, regardless of
the game situation. Little was watching out for Kuo's left elbow,
which has undergone two Tommy John operations.
Little was quick to note that he has already lifted a pitcher with
a no-hitter intact -- Greg Maddux, after six hitless innings against
Cincinnati in his Dodgers debut, because of an extended rain delay.
Only three pitchers have thrown no-hitters in their first Major League
start -- most recently Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns against
the Philadelphia A's in 1953; also Charlie Jones of Cincinnati against
Pittsburgh in 1892 and Ted Breitenstein of St. Louis against Louisville
in 1891.
Little said he had no problem with Kuo pitching out of a stretch
during the entire game. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Kuo
made that decision when he resumed starting at Triple-A Las Vegas
in August because he felt more comfortable.
"The game is dictated by the starting pitcher and whatever way
he feels most comfortable doing, I don't care," said Little, a
former catcher. "We've got to remember what the kid has been through.
He's come a long way to win that game last night. Whatever he's
comfortable with, we are too."
Stults' turn: Buoyed by the success of Kuo in his first big-league start,
Little looks for a repeat with another lefty making his first Major League
start on Sunday: Eric Stults.
"It goes without saying, not that we'd do anything different, but
you feel a lot better after watching that [on Friday] night," said
Little. "And the other kid [Stults] probably feels better after
seeing what took place. We have a lot of confidence in what that
kid can do. We saw a lot of him in Spring Training and we've got
[Las Vegas pitching coach] Kenny Howell with us now, and he was with
him all season. He's given us a good read. He won't shy away from batters,
and he's got quality pitches to work
with."
During Spring Training, Stults pitched in three games with the
big-league club and had a 2.00 ERA with five strikeouts and four
walks in nine innings.
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