Williams can't afford to give up any runs

By Andrew Baggarly
Special to The Advertiser

Jerome Williams hates to run, but it has helped him lose 22 pounds since spring training and allows him to pitch late into games. Advertiser library photo

San Francisco Giants pitcher Jerome Williams of Waipahu has absorbed a few bad outings in the past three months, and is a better pitcher for it. But the real difference, he says, hasn't come on the day he pitches but the four days between starts.

"I have to take better care of myself between starts,'' Williams said. "That's important, and I didn't take it that seriously last year. In spring training, when I was a little overweight, it affected me. I wasn't doing the right thing between starts. I learned a lot about myself. I learned I'm human.''

The 6-foot-3 Williams said he weighed close to 260 pounds when he reported to camp in February. Pitching coach Dave Righetti quickly got on his case. He needed to run. He needed to watch his diet. He needed to hang with the right crowd, which would encourage him to lead a responsible lifestyle.

He needed to be more professional.

"The biggest thing was the running,'' said Williams, who now weighs 238, with a goal of getting to 230. "I hate running. Whoever knows me as a baseball player growing up can tell you that. But running is part of the game. Even though I'm a pitcher. If I run, I can go to the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.''

But you don't need to be able to enter a 10-K to strike out hitters, right?

Williams laughs at the question.

"Just use your arm out there and see what happens,'' he said. "You won't last four innings. When you get tired, you lose your legs. You don't get as much velocity on the ball or, in my case, your arm will drop.''

Williams' arm dropped too much in spring training and he didn't have much life in his pitches. He believes his arm angle also led to biceps tendinitis, which forced him to miss a start last month.

Noah Lowry pitched well in a spot start, and since Williams has minor-league options remaining, there is always the chance the Giants would send him down if he fails to perform.

But the Giants have confidence that Williams will be a strong second-half performer. Williams will be entrusted with starting the second-half opener today at Coors Field in Denver.

Giants manager Felipe Alou and Righetti agreed to align the rotation that way so All-Star right-hander Jason Schmidt could get extra rest between starts. But they also wanted to send a message to the 22-year-old Williams, who is second on the staff in victories (8-6, 4.66 ERA in 17 starts) despite some of those sophomore lumps.

"If he wins seven more, that's big," Alou said. "If you can win 15 games, that's a big season for a second-year kid."

Alou said he felt Williams turned a corner with his last start, an 8-3 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday. Williams battled through early command issues and made good pitches with runners on base.

"He has (grown)," Alou said. "He would have lost that game (in the past). ... He grew up a lot in that game. He became a baseball player, I believe."

Williams also showed off newfound agility on a bunt play, and yes, even looked impressive running the bases. He went from first to third on a single.

"He went to work, otherwise he (would have been) gone, out of the ballgame," Alou said. "When something like that happens to a young kid, he finds out there is always a way to fight and stay in the game. The message is don't quit. ... He might win a lot of ballgames in the second half if he keeps in mind what he did in that last game."

Williams plans to keep up his ambitious running schedule and will do things differently this winter. He doesn't plan to spend much time in Honolulu because he often lapses into bad habits with friends. Instead, he said he plans to remain in San Francisco and go back to Hawai'i for the holidays.

And he'll keep breaking a sweat between starts.

"It was suggested to me from the day I got drafted but I didn't listen,'' Williams said. "It took me a long time to understand it but I understand it now.''

Andrew Baggarly is a reporter for the Oakland Tribune.