Ready for the opening act
Anderson is set to make his debut
In his 12 years in the major leagues, Brett Anderson has become something of an expert on blisters.
He's had two that have been troublesome enough to send him to the injured list, including one on his left index finger that's currently in the final stages of healing.
And treatment isn't quite as cut and dried as one might believe.
"They've got rubs and laser treatments to try to dry out the skin so it doesn't become so soft. I think over the course of my career I've done everything but pee on it," Anderson said Wednesday from Appleton, where he was wrapping up his preparation for his Milwaukee Brewers debut against the St. Louis Cardinals a couple days later.
Urinating on one's hands, well, that's a method some baseball players have reportedly used in the past to toughen their skin. Moises Alou, a tremendous hitter in his day, is normally mentioned when this topic arises.
"You take all measures," Anderson
continued. "I haven't haven't gone that drastic, but other than that I've pretty much tried everything – pickle juice and certain things like that. It's more so just give a little time to dry out and monitor it and make sure the skin doesn't peel back.
"It's crazy how one little piece of skin on your finger can affect the whole pitching performance. That's kind of the nature of it."
Anderson was initially scheduled to start the Brewers' second game of the season against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Instead, he was placed on the injured list after the blister that had formed on his left index finger became too much to try and pitch through.
Corbin Burnes slid into Anderson's spot while time and treatment healed the 32-year-old's finger enough to allow him to pitch a simulated game Sunday at the Brewers' alternate training site in Appleton that, including warmups, accounted for a total of between 60-70 pitches.
Anderson then threw a bullpen session Wednesday morning, which served as his final tuneup.
"I feel good. Arm feels good. Body feels good," Anderson said. "For the first time out, I don't expect to throw a complete game by any stretch and go out there and be Kyle Hendricks, But I can give our team a chance, keep us in the game and let the game dictate how long I go.”
In Appleton, the Brewers have two distinct groups of players -- one staying ready for a potential call-up and the other top minor-league prospects who have been afforded the opportunity to try and make something out of an otherwise lost 2020 season.
Anderson has mostly driven back and forth between Milwaukee and Appleton and been on his own program when he's up there. But he did offer a few insights into what's been happening there, and singled out left-hander Angel Perdomo and right-hander Drew Rasmussen as pitchers who have stood out in his time there.
The mention of Perdomo is interesting in that he had been quarantined previously with COVID-19 (he was asymptomatic).
"I've got to give them credit because it can get a little tedious and a little monotonous here because you can only play against yourselves and stuff like that," Anderson said. "So your willpower and 'want' to be good and help the team has got to be in full force here because doing this day in and day out is a grind.
"I was only here for four or five days and it's already getting a little old. I can't imagine being here for 60-some odd days. It's a little 'grindy' for them, I'm sure, but it gives you that much more drive to be ready to help the big-league club whenever necessary.
"We've seen with the Marlins here lately and some other teams, you're one test away from being in the big leagues. It's got to be all hands on deck ready to go.”
As for Anderson's Brewers debut, it will come in the team's home opener played in an empty Miller Park. In a normal season the pomp and pageantry that would normally surround the unofficial holiday wouldn't have affected Anderson anyway.
“Good thing I looked. I assumed it was a night game and then I looked today and it's not," noted Anderson, a veteran of 188 major-league appearances and 176 starts. Indeed, first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
"That was step one of the process, figuring out what time it was and going from there. Obviously being a home opener this year is not as big of a deal as in years past, but pitching for a new team, obviously you want to put the right foot forward and make a solid first impression.
"Nobody really puts more pressure on me than myself. Just go out there and give us a chance like our other starters have for the most part and good things will happen.”