http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/082006/08142006/213673

8/14/2006


By TODD JACOBSON



WASHINGTON--He was young and trying to make a good impression in his first
professional organization, so when the Cincinnati Reds asked Ryan Wagner to
change his delivery--to throw over-the-top--he was unsure, but he went along
with the change anyway.

But Wagner had grown comfortable throwing sidearm, a motion that bred a nasty
slider and helped the native Texan to quick success at the University of
Houston, and later, in his first two seasons with the Reds.

Throwing straight over the top--a change the Reds thought might lessen the
strain on his right elbow--never felt right.

"It could've been good. Maybe it would've just taken longer, but it was one
of those things where I was just got tired of getting beat up," Wagner said.

Before he was traded to the Nationals last month, Wagner was a first-round
pick of the Reds in 2003, and after just nine games in the minors, he arrived
in Cincinnati, his sidearm slider a key tool in making hitters look foolish.

But he struggled the past two seasons with the new motion.

"I was as happy as can be, not just coming here but basically getting out of
there," Wagner said. "Nothing against the Reds, they were trying to do what
they thought was best for me, but it just didn't work out."

Wagner has been one of the least-mentioned names in the eight-player trade
between the Reds and the Nationals July 13, but in a deal in which Washington
gave up a pair of relievers in Bill Bray and Gary Majewski to get a pair of
everyday starters in Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez, the balance of the
exchange could swing on the arm of the 24-year-old right-hander.

Because as lost as Wagner looked the past two seasons--he had a combined 6.21
ERA in 84 innings split between Triple-A Louisville and Cincinnati over the
last two years--the Nationals still believe he can one day be the pitcher
general manager Jim Bowden envisioned when he grabbed him with the 14th pick
of the 2003 draft.

Wagner was the first player from that draft to appear in the big leagues, and
he was 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA in 17 appearances that season.

"When we get him back there he has a very nasty sinker and an unhittable
slider, which we haven't seen yet, but we are going to give him time," Bowden
said.

Wagner has been working with Nationals pitching coach Randy St. Claire to
return to his old mechanics.

"I think he can get back there," St. Claire said. "It's a major difference
from where he was when he was signed and brought up to where he was when I
saw him his first game here."

The going has been tough thus far. In four appearances since being promoted
from Triple-A New Orleans, Wagner has allowed seven runs. His ERA has
ballooned to 13.50, but there are small signs that he's close to his old
form.

The slider that was his go-to pitch in college and early in his professional
career is starting to come back, and he's added a changeup to go along with
his sinking fastball.

By spring training, he is hoping to be back to his old self.

"It's tough to struggle at anytime but I know once I get back to where I was
I am going to have success," Wagner said. "That's a good feeling."