Nomo, who will likely start the season opener, quietly goes about becoming the best pitcher he can.
VERO BEACH -- The identity of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher remained one of the big mysteries throughout last year's spring-training camp.
This season it's little more than a formality.
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy surprised nobody Saturday when he said Hideo Nomo would start the April 5 opener against San Diego barring an unforeseen setback in the right-hander's recovery from offseason arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
"Is there any doubt if everything remains true to form?" Tracy asked. "Not in my mind. None whatsoever."
Nomo, who threw a four-hitter to beat Arizona's Randy Johnson 8-0 in last year's season opener, reacted to the news with characteristic understatement.
"It's still early in spring-training camp," Nomo said. "I'm not really thinking about that. I'm just working on trying to stay healthy."
Even though Kevin Brown's trade to the New York Yankees makes Nomo the Dodgers' unquestioned ace, the 35-year-old veteran has said he isn't preparing for this season any differently.
"I don't really expect that I have to carry the weight," Nomo said. "It's a team effort. Everybody's responsible for. Just myself will not be able to fill Kevin Brown's shoes. All I can do is come here in top condition and do the best I can do."
That means he merely will work as hard as anyone in baseball and make himself into one of the game's top pitchers.
"If he does what he's done the last couple of years, that's more than enough to identify yourself as being one of the guys, and also a lead for others to follow," Tracy said. "He's a terrific example. There's not a better role model to emulate.
"We're talking about what he does each and every fifth day when he goes on the mound. What a lot of us don't see is what he does in between (starts) in the weight room. His preparation is second to none, like no other."
Nomo has turned into a staff anchor even if he doesn't lead in the classic sense.
"If younger players want to learn from me, they can learn on their own by watching me," Nomo said. "Taking them by the hand and teaching them different things, that's not my style."
Nomo's circuitous path to stardom should serve as enough of a lesson. He can serve as an inspiration to rookies and veterans alike.
The 1995 National League Rookie of the Year bounced around between six different organizations from 1998-2001 before rejuvenating his major-league career in the place where it began.
Now he's pitching as well as ever.
Nomo went 16-6 with a 3.39 ERA in 2002 to keep the Dodgers in playoff contention even as Brown sat out most of the year with elbow problems. He followed that up by going 16-13 with a 3.09 ERA last year despite encountering shoulder problems down the stretch.
"He's been a model of consistency for this club the last two years," Tracy said.
The fact that Nomo continued to pitch effectively with a bad shoulder speaks volumes for his drive and discipline. That's nothing new to anyone who's seen Nomo or played alongside him.
Jeff Weaver grew up a Dodgers fan who followed Nomo's first stint in Los Angeles. The two pitchers then played together with the Detroit Tigers in 2000 before Nomo moved on to Boston.
Now they're in the same locker room again at Dodgertown.
Weaver says watching Nomo as a fan and as a teammate has taught him plenty about how to pitch in the big leagues.
"That's what being a leader is," Weaver said. "It's not all about being verbal. It's his professionalism and the manner in which he goes about his business."
Nomo's just about the only person who doesn't see himself that way.
"I don't really think of myself as an example," Nomo said. "I do what I can do."
He's done enough to help carry this pitching staff each of the past two seasons.
http://www.tcpalm.com
VERO BEACH -- The identity of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher remained one of the big mysteries throughout last year's spring-training camp.
This season it's little more than a formality.
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy surprised nobody Saturday when he said Hideo Nomo would start the April 5 opener against San Diego barring an unforeseen setback in the right-hander's recovery from offseason arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
"Is there any doubt if everything remains true to form?" Tracy asked. "Not in my mind. None whatsoever."
Nomo, who threw a four-hitter to beat Arizona's Randy Johnson 8-0 in last year's season opener, reacted to the news with characteristic understatement.
"It's still early in spring-training camp," Nomo said. "I'm not really thinking about that. I'm just working on trying to stay healthy."
Even though Kevin Brown's trade to the New York Yankees makes Nomo the Dodgers' unquestioned ace, the 35-year-old veteran has said he isn't preparing for this season any differently.
"I don't really expect that I have to carry the weight," Nomo said. "It's a team effort. Everybody's responsible for. Just myself will not be able to fill Kevin Brown's shoes. All I can do is come here in top condition and do the best I can do."
That means he merely will work as hard as anyone in baseball and make himself into one of the game's top pitchers.
"If he does what he's done the last couple of years, that's more than enough to identify yourself as being one of the guys, and also a lead for others to follow," Tracy said. "He's a terrific example. There's not a better role model to emulate.
"We're talking about what he does each and every fifth day when he goes on the mound. What a lot of us don't see is what he does in between (starts) in the weight room. His preparation is second to none, like no other."
Nomo has turned into a staff anchor even if he doesn't lead in the classic sense.
"If younger players want to learn from me, they can learn on their own by watching me," Nomo said. "Taking them by the hand and teaching them different things, that's not my style."
Nomo's circuitous path to stardom should serve as enough of a lesson. He can serve as an inspiration to rookies and veterans alike.
The 1995 National League Rookie of the Year bounced around between six different organizations from 1998-2001 before rejuvenating his major-league career in the place where it began.
Now he's pitching as well as ever.
Nomo went 16-6 with a 3.39 ERA in 2002 to keep the Dodgers in playoff contention even as Brown sat out most of the year with elbow problems. He followed that up by going 16-13 with a 3.09 ERA last year despite encountering shoulder problems down the stretch.
"He's been a model of consistency for this club the last two years," Tracy said.
The fact that Nomo continued to pitch effectively with a bad shoulder speaks volumes for his drive and discipline. That's nothing new to anyone who's seen Nomo or played alongside him.
Jeff Weaver grew up a Dodgers fan who followed Nomo's first stint in Los Angeles. The two pitchers then played together with the Detroit Tigers in 2000 before Nomo moved on to Boston.
Now they're in the same locker room again at Dodgertown.
Weaver says watching Nomo as a fan and as a teammate has taught him plenty about how to pitch in the big leagues.
"That's what being a leader is," Weaver said. "It's not all about being verbal. It's his professionalism and the manner in which he goes about his business."
Nomo's just about the only person who doesn't see himself that way.
"I don't really think of myself as an example," Nomo said. "I do what I can do."
He's done enough to help carry this pitching staff each of the past two seasons.
http://www.tcpalm.com
