Affeldt tackles big game

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Forget that stuff about forgetting all about it. Every closer, when pressed, can recall every detail of a blown opportunity.

Kansas City Royals lefty Jeremy Affeldt is no different. So let him tell you about the one that got away. There were three, actually.

Not saves.

Deer.

Affeldt spent two days this winter visiting bullpen partner Scott Sullivan in Auburn, Ala. The hook for the trip was the chance to speak at Sullivan’s church, Opelika First Baptist, and the opportunity to do a little deer hunting.

“He owns 800 acres,” said Affeldt, the Medical Lake native and Northwest Christian graduate. “So it sounds great. But Sully takes me all over his land and can’t even get one deer for me. I should have fired him as the guide.

“For one thing, he doesn’t allow me to get into the woods until 10 o’clock. Now what deer is going to be out there at 10 o’clock in the morning? And two, he puts me on these food plots that no deer comes to eat from.

“So how am I supposed to find a deer? I’m sitting up in a tree where the wind is blowing so hard that I’m swinging so far that I’m literally able to pick up dirt. My scent is getting blown everywhere. And he’s over there laughing at me.”

Affeldt’s pre-workout rant Friday, keyed by Sullivan’s arrival at camp, underscored a growing comfort level. Affeldt is entering his fourth season, but this marks the first spring where he isn’t dogged by physical doubts or uncertainty regarding his role.

“He’s healthy, and he’s the closer,” Royals general manager Allard Baird confirmed. “That’s where his career is now. That’s where it’s headed. Everything in front of him is a much clearer picture.”

Affeldt began last season in the rotation after proving he was no longer bothered by blistering on his middle finger. He was shifted to the bullpen in late May, installed as the closer, in a move that accompanied the promotion of rookie Zack Greinke from Triple-A Omaha.

“When they moved me to closer,” Affeldt said, “I thought, ‘Well, OK,’ but I fought it a little bit. After a while though, I enjoyed it. I liked pitching with the game on the line.”

He registered 13 saves in 17 opportunities despite a growing belief that he often tipped pitches. That problem, the Royals believe, is fixed.

“I remember a game I saw on TV,” new Royals pitching coach Guy Hansen said, “and it was obvious that every single pitch he threw, the pitches were covered or they were taken like the hitter knew what was coming.

“He had his glove in a very awkward position, but we’ve handled that.”

Hansen also has Affeldt, 25, working to add a change-up to a repertoire already stocked with a mid-90s fastball, a 12-to-6 curve and a split-finger fastball.

Short relievers rarely rely on more than two pitches. So adding the change-up helped fuel recent speculation that Affeldt might return to the rotation.

When he heard those rumors, he sought out Baird for clarification.

“I told Allard that’s not happening,” Affeldt said. “I can’t do it, for one. I just can’t bounce around any more.”

“I’ve been a ‘yes’ guy my whole career. I have no problems doing what it takes to help the team out. But I’m to the point now where it’s affecting my body physically. I’ve got to train my body a certain way.”

Baird dispelled any doubts.

“There was nothing to those rumors,” he said. “Jeremy is tired of switching back and forth? Well, I’m tired of him switching back and forth. He’s the closer. He’s got to perform, but he’s the closer.”

Now about those deer …

“Jeremy had just taken up bow hunting,” Sullivan said. “He was not hunting with a rifle. I told him that a rifle is not hunting. It’s killing. If you want to be a hunter, you take up primitive weapons like a bow.

“But his bow isn’t very primitive. It’s state of the art.”

Not that it helped much.

“There was one time,” Affeldt said, “that I was climbing up this tree in my tree-climber, which took about an hour because I’d never used one and Sully wouldn’t show me how to use it. He just hooked me up and told me to climb the tree.

“Anyway, I’m finally up in the tree, but my bow is on the ground tied to a string. So what happens? A little eight-point comes running by and looks right up at me – which is the worst thing that can happen to you.

“So I lock up and start pulling up my bow, but Sully is laughing so hard that the deer runs away. He blew that one, too. Just a terrible guide. He didn’t want me to use a gun, but if I had a gun, I would have had three deer.”

Instead, three blown opportunities. More than enough to make any closer start ranting.