FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Orioles had loaded the bases last week when Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki trotted to the mound, where Mike Pelfrey was grousing to himself about a bad pitch. Suzuki was in no mood to hear his complaints.
"He just got on my butt. He said, 'C'mon, [we need] damage control,' " Pelfrey said. " 'Just keep the ball down.' I like that. … He's all business."
A few innings later, a Brian Duensing breaking ball floated too high in the strike zone, and Henry Urrutia reached out and poked it over the fence, a two-out solo home run. When the Twins got back to the bench, Suzuki was furious. At himself.
"He's not throwing the ball, he's catching it," bench coach Terry Steinbach said. "But he was mad at himself."
That's because Suzuki believes each pitch is a reflection of his skill, not just the pitcher's, a mind-set that has made the Twins' new starting catcher a popular man with the pitching staff. "He's always communicating with you. He's always got ideas," Pelfrey said. "I'm really impressed with him. It's going to be fun throwing to him."
That's what the Twins had in mind when they signed the free agent, an easygoing, friendly presence in the clubhouse — and a no-excuses drill sergeant behind the plate.
"He's been perfect," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's not afraid to jump a pitcher and tell them what he thinks, and I like that a lot. He's not here to make friends."
But that's what happens, because the staff knows Suzuki — who has helped guide pitchers such as Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Steven Strasburg to big seasons — will do anything to make them successful, too. For one thing, said lefthander Scott Diamond, Suzuki "loves to work in the dirt. It just gives you that much more confidence as a pitcher to know you can get it down and really be a lot more aggressive."
