Jiménez putting thoughts of free agency on hold

SARASOTA, Fla. - Ubaldo Jiménez is back in his contract year, free agency looming like storm clouds over one of the practice fields.

Will a team make it rain?

The Orioles were mighty generous on Feb. 19, 2014, giving Jiménez $50 million over four years in the largest deal handed out to a free agent pitcher outside the organization. The return hasn't been acceptable, to say the least, though his contributions in September pushed the Orioles into the wild card game and offered renewed hope that he can ride the wave into this summer.

Entering the market again in November isn't a focal point for Jiménez.

"That's crazy how time flies in baseball, especially when you are in the majors," Jiménez said. "In the minors, no. The year takes a long time. But I'm not even thinking about it. That's what I'm putting in my mind is to come here every day and try to help the team out. This is probably my last chance to do what we came here to do. That's why I'm putting it in my mind.

"I think in baseball, you put too much pressure on yourself and if you put more, it's going to make it even worse."

Ubaldo Jimenez Orange day.jpgBecause free agency isn't occupying Jiménez's thoughts in camp, he can't gauge whether he feels differently compared to the spring of 2013 with the Indians.

"No. I don't think so, but like I said, I'm not even thinking about that," he said. "That's not what I have on my mind."

Jiménez has gone 26-31 with a 4.72 ERA and 1.466 WHIP in his three seasons with the Orioles, moving in and out of the rotation and teasing them with the occasional dominant outing that serves as a reminder of why they pursued him.

The quirky delivery can make Jiménez extremely difficult to hit - lots of moving parts - but it also presents its own challenges to the man holding the ball. It's easier to repeat the dialogue from a three-hour movie.

"I've thrown two bullpens already and I feel really good," he said. "Everything is working, everything is where it's supposed to be about my mechanics. Pitches are coming around and just working hard every day.

"That's everything for me, to get my mechanics down right away. Especially this year it's going to be even better because we came here earlier, so that's going to allow me to get in a groove a little bit faster."

If only it were easy to just go out and do the same thing after retiring the side in order, but it's not as simple as 1-2-3.

"Especially with my mechanics," said Jiménez, who retired only one batter and lasted 2 1/3 innings in back-to-back starts against the Blue Jays, went only 1 1/3 innings on July 8 versus the Angels and again came out of the rotation.

"I have a lot of movement so everything has to be, I guess, in the perfect place for me to repeat my mechanics and deliver the pitch as I want it."

Each failed start seems to lead us back to his mechanics. The strike zone moves on him like a water bug. He's averaged 4.3 walks per nine innings with the Orioles and been showered with boos at home - not the preferred method for making it rain.

"A lot of it has got to do with his delivery," said manager Buck Showalter. "Like I said before, there's a lot of good things. I challenge you to find a guy who posted up like him for that many years in a row. I think he's probably one of one."

Beginning in 2008 with the Rockies, Jiménez has made 34, 33, 33, 32, 31, 32, 22, 32 and 25 starts. He was selected to the All-Star team and finished third in Cy Young Award voting in the National League in 2010.

"The pitch count gets him a lot, but for two or three years running, he might have been the best pitcher in baseball," Showalter said. "The command hasn't been there as much for him to take his experience and use it to stay in that same category, but curious to see what type of ...

"I know what year he's capable of. Be nice to see him get in a groove."

New pitching coach Roger McDowell will try to keep him in it. He'll go where others have failed, through no fault of their own. Former pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti worked on Jiménez's special delivery, lowering his hands and reducing the movement, but the results weren't consistent. Old habits die hard.

"Also excited about, as good as Wally and Dom were, getting a fresh set of eyes on some of the things he does mechanically," Showalter said.

"It's one of the things I like about Roger. He isn't going to come here first day and see him throw two pitches and go, 'Oh, there's what it is. I've got it. He puts his left leg over his right ear. This is what it is.' You've got to step back, you've got to watch the sides, you've got to get to know the person, you've got to watch spring training games, you've got to watch major league games in the season.

"Roger's not coming in here trying to reinvent the wheel and everybody else is stupid and he's smart. But he knows the challenges of trying to keep that delivery, and more importantly, Ubaldo does."

Jiménez, 33, hasn't noticed much of a difference between Wallace and McDowell. The transition has been smoother than, yes, his delivery.

"Those guys have a lot of experience," Jiménez said, "and especially this early they just want to read you and to see how you do things and then after that they might find a way to help you out with things you might need."

The rotation held down the Orioles for much of the 2016 season, but it produced the lowest ERA in the majors in September. Jiménez went 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 0.829 WHIP in five starts, and his complete-game victory at Tropicana Field was worthy of a parade down Pratt St.

The key to Jiménez's success takes us down a familiar road. His warmup music should come from Mike + The Mechanics.

"It was the mechanics," he said, singing a familiar tune. "I was working on stuff that I was able to get down in the last month of the season and that was everything."

Free agency beckons again for Jiménez and the Orioles likely will pass, hoping that they get the best out of him this year, win a championship and lean more heavily on their younger starters going forward.

"I wouldn't want to say it's a big year for him because he's in a contract year, but he knows what he could mean to our club if he could be as consistent as he can be," Showalter said. "He's gone through periods since he's been here where he's been real good and some others where it's been a challenge for him. Ubaldo, he's the kind of guy under the radar a little bit that may be a difference-maker for us."

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