Ready for relief
Stagg product McFarland looks to get back on track as Oakland A’s open against White Sox
Stagg product, left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland looks to get back on track as Oakland A’s open against White Sox in wildcard series.
Mind over matter usually doesn’t work, so major leaguers know they can’t rush back froman injury.
Similarly, trying to hasten one’s way out of a slump can only make matters worse.
In this case, however, relief pitcher T.J. McFarland was on a deadline.
After a hurried and harried 2020 regular season, the Stagg graduate needed to get back on track for Tuesday afternoon, when the Oakland Athletics begin their wild-card series at home against the White Sox.
“Any player goes through a little slump,” he said. “But in this short of a season, a slump can really stand out. You can’t force it.
“You go back to basics. It’s slowing the game down. For me, it’s throwing more strikes with my sinker. You can’t press. Everything feels great for me, and I’m healthy.”
Every pitch counts in the postseason, which often feature tighter games. So the left-handed McFarland had to balance reason with urgency as he tried to right himself going into the playoffs.
McFarland, 31, had one of the best stretches of his eight-year MLB career in August with a 2-0 record and 0.84ERAin 12 games. But in September, he was touched for 15 hits, four homers and nine runs in 7 1/3 innings over eight games.
Still, McFarland will have extra motivation now to get outs. This will be his first exposure to the postseason. He did not appear in any playoff games in 2017 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The third-seeded Athletics, the American League West champions, will need every edge, including home-field advantage. The A’s have won just one of 10 playoff series or wild-card games since 2000.
While McFarland and his teammates hope to be focused on the field, they look around and take note of the eerie atmosphere in empty stadiums.
“Even with expanded playoffs, you don’t discredit any team who makes it,” McFarland said. “It’s a huge deal. But it’s going to be different with no fans in stands. I’ve watched some very loud playoffs games, but not this year.
“They can blast the music and other sound as loud as they can. It’s not the same as a loud crowd.”
McFarland will have a big rooting base watching back in Orland Park.
His parents, Tim and Dawn, said they have seen every pitch he’s thrown with the A’s, Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles via the MLB Extra Innings package.
That has meant a lot of heavy eyes and yawns with Phoenix and Oakland two hours behind the Midwest.
“His mother and I are up every night,” said Tim, who grew up a White Sox fan in Mount Greenwood. “We don’t miss nothing. He thinks we’re nuts. We are crazy parents— since travel ball.”
Their son appreciates the backing, especially since McFarland discovered the 60-game season has been the most challenging he has ever experienced.
“Since Game 1, it’s been very competitive, very strenuous,” he said. “Every loss is that more meaningful. You’d think 162 games would be worse. But to be honest, the quick 60 games were more mentally draining.”
Since the final week of the season, players were quarantined in their hotels to prevent coronavirus disrupting the schedule, which happened previously for
the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.
“It’s not bad,” McFarland said. “You’re not confined to a 400-square-foot room. Youcan go out on the hotel grounds.”
McFarland’s wife, Jenna, left their Chicago home to join him in their Bay Area apartment, but he has to make big concessions to league protocols.
A competitive golfer who was taught the game by his father, McFarland had to scratch regular outings with teammates.
“I’m not going to sit here and complain,” he said. “It’s a change. Butwe’re lucky to play this year.”