THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260678
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Whatever it was that ailed Jason Jacome in the big leagues this season, and it was plentiful, didn't trail him to the Harbor Park on Thursday night.
He and the Norfolk Tides lost to the Richmond Braves, 8-1, but the Tides' bullpen and Richmond's Jason Schmidt had more to do with that than anything. Schmidt's 90 mph fastballs and hard sliders were nearly unhittable for the six innings he worked before reaching his pitch limit. He allowed two of four hits.
Meanwhile, Jacome left a 2-1 game with two outs and two on in the eighth, but relievers Dave Telgheder, Jimmy Williams and Bryan Rogers all took the opportunity to blow up on the same night.
The Braves (26-21) scored once more in the eighth and five times in the ninth, matching the largest margin of victory over the Tides (30-16) this season.
``The bullpen's done a good job all year,'' Tides manager Toby Harrah said. ``They're human. Things like that are going to happen.''
Nobody was really sure what was in store from Jacome when he took the mound. The 24-year-old was thrashed in New York, going 0-4 in five starts and running up a 10.29 ERA. While he was there, Jacome openly spoke about his lost confidence and insecurity over what he considered a lack of moral support from the Mets' coaching staff.
But Jacome on Thursday performed like the guy who was 8-6 with a 2.84 ERA for the Tides and 4-3, 2.67 for the Mets last season. He gave up three hits and a run until the eighth, which started 1-1 because Ryan Thompson's seventh-inning home run pulled the Tides even. But doubles by Jose Olmeda and Bobby Moore off Jacome started the dribble that became a flood.
``I know I can pitch here with little or no problem,'' said Jacome, a changeup, breaking-ball pitcher who yielded five hits, two walks and struck out six in 7 2/3 innings. ``I wasn't nervous or anything at all.''
Tides pitching coach Bob Apodaca said, ``I didn't think he'd be that sharp. He can win in the big leagues with the stuff he had tonight. I asked him if he had that stuff in the big leagues and he said, `No.' ''
Jacome admitted that in New York he suffered the first confidence crisis in his five-year pro career and that coming down was ``actually a relief. The emotions that I was going through in the last two weeks, it was just bad. I kind of felt glad to get out of the big pressure situation, because the way it was when I was there isn't the way it's supposed to be.''
Now, he said, he knows it's up to him to get back on his own and to rely on himself when he does.
``When I was down I expected somebody to say, `Well, you'll get them next time,' or something like that, but I didn't get that,'' Jacome said. ``If it happens again, if things start going wrong, I'm not going to look to anybody to give me any encouragement. Because it's really not there.'' by CNB