Rockies' Cook: From potential to potent

Pitcher has put it all together in an All-Star season

By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Doug Pensinger © Getty

Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook has lived up to his vast potential this season and has been rewarded with his first selection to the All-Star team.

Bob McClure remembers the questions about Aaron Cook, repeated frequently by other members of the Rockies organization.

In essence, those questions centered on Cook's future and whether his vast potential ever would blossom into sustained major league success and, if so, when.

McClure swore by Cook. They were together one season and parts of five others from 2001 through 2005, when McClure was a pitching coach in the Rockies system. McClure liked Cook's stuff, notably his vaunted sinker, liked his toughness and his competitiveness on the mound and even liked his stubbornness.

"It's a tough stubbornness," said McClure, who is in his third season as the pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. " 'I'm going to prove to you I can do it my way.' Sometimes it cost him, but at the same time, when you have that much conviction to do something and you're that determined, once you learn to do it another way, I think it helps because you have that type of personality with that type of conviction."

One of those asking questions of McClure was Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca. John Stearns, a teammate of Apodaca's 30 years ago with the New York Mets, had seen Cook in the minors and had raved to Apodaca about Cook's future greatness. At the time, Cook was trying to gain a foothold in the big leagues.

"And I remember my comment was, 'Well, I need to see it,' because I wasn't seeing it," Apodaca said. "I would just see flashes."

"He was always that enigma. Great ability, what's holding him back? And now, my God, (it's) how come it didn't happen sooner? Look how good he is. Hey, nothing's going to hold him back now."

CAREER SEASON

Cook, who never won more than nine games in any previous season, is 11-6 with a 3.66 ERA for a Rockies team that is 15 games below .500.

He's going to his first All-Star Game next week at Yankee Stadium, happily extending his stay in New York, where tonight against the Mets at Shea Stadium, he will try to become the first Rockies pitcher to win 12 games before the All- Star break.

It was against this reaching-new- heights backdrop that Cook took the mound June 25 at Kansas City. Naturally, McClure scrutinized Royals starter Luke Hochevar that night. But because McClure and his wife, Shirley, have "always had a close association with Aaron, and he's always been a special person, like part of your family," McClure was very attentive to Cook.

"He's a great young man," McClure said. "He's an enjoyable, blessed and giving person."

Cook, the Rockies' second-round pick in 1997, and McClure last were together in 2005 at Triple-A Colorado Springs, where McClure was the pitching coach and Cook made his fourth and final rehabilitation stop on his way back from life-threatening blood clots that lodged in both lungs while pitching in August 2004.

McClure didn't see a vintage 2008 Cook two weeks ago in Kansas City. He threw 71 of 98 pitches for strikes but lasted only 51/3 innings as he allowed eight hits and four runs, three earned, and lost 4-2.

"I said after that game, 'That wasn't a good Aaron Cook, obviously, but it was still 2-1 (Kansas City leading) going into the sixth inning,' " McClure said. "How about he leaves us after that game and ends up pitching a 79-pitch, complete- game shutout?"

That memorable outing, which was July 1 against San Diego, was Cook's second complete game this season and the eighth of his career. Cook repeatedly has said this season the key to his success has been the ability to slow the game, a trait he traces to simply gaining experience.

"Some people come by it a little bit quicker than others," Cook, 29, said. "For me, it took a while just to be in game situations where I didn't slow it down, things got out of hand. Finally, (it came to) just looking back, saying, 'You know what? It's not going to be the end of the world. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Figure out exactly what you want to do here.' "

TIME OF FRUSTRATION

Cook was unable to do much other than encourage his teammates as the Rockies won 21 of 22 games to reach the World Series last year. He went 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 25 regular-season starts, the last occurring Aug. 10, when he strained his left oblique muscle.

Gary Cook said his son went through "a trying time," particularly as the postseason unfolded because Cook said he was healthy and ready to pitch, but the Rockies kept waiting to activate him.

"I'd tell him, 'Aaron, God has a plan, whatever it is,' " Gary Cook said. "Just hang in there and go out and celebrate with them when they win because you are part of the team. Your time will come. There's a reason for everything."

Cook's time turned out to be Oct. 28, in Game 4 of the World Series. After being idle for 78 days, Cook held the Boston Red Sox to three runs and six hits in six efficient innings. His 70 pitches produced 12 groundball outs, but he took the loss as the Red Sox won 4-3 to sweep the Series.

Watching back in Hamilton, Ohio, near Cincinnati, where Cook is from, was Curtus Moak. He pitched in the Cincinnati and Oakland organizations and in an independent league and graduated from Hamilton High School with Cook in 1997.

Moak is a youth pastor and an associate pastor at Hamilton Christian Center, where Cook attends church. Much to his disbelief, he saw Cook, so happy to again be pitching, let alone in the World Series, smile and talk to one of the umpires.

It was much different the night of Aug. 7, 2004. Moak, watching in Hamilton as Cook started against Cincinnati at Coors Field, saw Cook leave in the third inning.

Because Cook was experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath, he was taken to Rose Medical Center, where tests revealed blood clots that had formed in his right shoulder had moved into his lungs.

Moak, with the help of Cook's wife, Holly, spoke with his close friend.

"I just had to talk to him, and I wanted to pray with him and encourage him," Moak said. "He couldn't talk much. But I did a lot of the talking and just spent a couple minutes with him on the phone that night."

Cook underwent two surgeries, the first an eight-hour operation in September that involved the removal of the first rib on his right side to relieve compression on a vein in his shoulder. Four years later, that life-threatening ordeal is a vivid memory.

"I can't really get away from it. I wake up and look in the mirror, and I got two scars to remind me every morning," Cook said, referring to a scar barely visible on his neck and another on his right upper chest. "I think life experiences kind of mold you into the person you are. And going through something like that that was life-changing just kind of made me realize baseball is just a game. Just come out here, play hard, have fun and it's a game. It's not the end of the world if you have a bad game."

NEW PERSPECTIVE

When Cook was being treated at Rose Medical Center, he said one of his thoughts was whether he would see his son Elijah turn 1 on Dec. 1, 2004. These days, Elijah, 4, visits the Rockies clubhouse and has some idea what his father does for a living.

"I know he cheers for me," Cook said. "I don't know if he gets everything that's going on. But the cool thing is, he always comes in, no matter what happened, 'Daddy, you did a good job.' He'll come up and give me a hug. That's another thing that just helps keep the game in perspective."

Cook, Holly, Lexi, who will turn 11 next month, and Elijah are about to welcome an addition to their family. Holly is due to deliver a girl July 24. Cook and his family will spend most of their time in their home in the Denver area instead of returning to Ohio, a decision that reflects Cook's secure future with the Rockies.

They avoided the possibility of him becoming a free agent after this season by signing him in December to a three-year, $30 million contract extension for 2009 through 2011 with a mutual option for 2012.

"We bet on his character, not his ability," general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "When we made that commitment, we knew he had ability. When we bet on kids, we're betting on their character and their ability to believe in themselves and believe in things bigger than themselves. 'Cookie' really fell in that line completely. He's an easy kid to bet on.

"He has really grown up in our organization and blossomed, both as a player and a human being, and we're very proud of him."