Closer Chin-Hui Tsao emerged from the dugout into the bright Philadelphia sun, looking nothing like a shy kid who signed out of high school. His hair is long, his English growing, his shoulders broad and strong enough to serve dinner.
At 217 pounds, Tsao is a man. If proof is needed, check out the radar gun. Unlike so many forgotten Rockies relievers of the past, Tsao doesn’t bring the humidity. He brings the heat.
He has registered everywhere from 96 mph in Arizona to 100 mph in Colorado and 98 mph in Philadelphia during his past three appearances.
“I am throwing long toss every day, and it is making my arm and shoulder stronger,” said Tsao, whose last-place Rockies face the first-place Dodgers in a three-game series this weekend. “It doesn’t feel like I am throwing harder, but people keep saying that I am.”
While pitching coach Bob Apodaca is delighted with Tsao’s velocity, he has cautioned him about falling in love with his four-seam fastball. Not too many major-leaguers make a living throwing one pitch, regardless of how sexy it may be.
“It’s nice to have an arm like that with all that power. But the slider has to come into play,” Apodaca said. “It’s not just throwing it, but becoming more familiar with it and how to attack with that pitch as well.”
In his last outing Wednesday, Tsao threw 29 pitches, including 22 fastballs. Recovery remains an issue. He has worked back-to-back games only once this season, making it important for his appearances to become more economical.
“We thought the velocity might be there in this role,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “We need to keep him healthy. He has a chance to be something special.”
Tsao is growing more comfortable as a reliever, admitting he enjoys “the pressure of getting the final outs.” The right-hander is even considering having a Chinese rock song played when he enters home games.
“I don’t know yet,” Tsao said. “It’s something I am thinking about.”
Barmes’ glowing review
Rookie shortstop , who entered Friday’s game hitting .448, continues to catch good-natured grief from his teammates. Said second baseman : “I told him the other night he was glowing in the dark he was so hot.”
Barmes has a shot of setting the team record for highest monthly batting average (Larry Walker, .528, September 1998).
Troy Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
