SEATTLE — For lack of a better option, the removal of Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez from the starting rotation about three weeks ago has proven to be temporary, with the right-hander scheduled to make his third start since that brief banishment Sunday against the Seattle Mariners.
Jimenez's steadiness off the field, whether things are going well for him or not, is one of the reasons manager Buck Showalter feels fine sticking him back in there despite the 6.89 ERA that chased him out of the rotation.
"I think that comes with experience, too," Showalter said. "He's had to deal with reality. I was talking with [former Colorado Rockies manager] Jim Tracy. ... Tracy said, 'You've got to understand, for two years he was the best pitcher I've ever seen, ever in baseball.' He said, 'Think about when you're in the top of the mountain, then you're at the bottom, then you're somewhere in between — it takes a lot of mental toughness and a grip on reality to go through that.'
"I don't know how many of us could if you knew you weren't carrying the same bullets you were — none of us are — [as] at 25, 26, but he never quits competing. And I think he has a grip on reality."
Jimenez was removed from the Orioles rotation in favor of right-hander Yovani Gallardo after retiring just one of seven batters in a June 12 start at the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched poorly once in relief, but took the rotation spot vacated when Mike Wright was optioned for a second time.
In two starts since, Jimenez has faced the hapless San Diego Padres twice, limiting them to three earned runs on seven hits and eight walks with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings. In his last start against the Mariners on May 17, the Orioles lost, 10-0, and he allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings.
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