July 19, 2007

Suzuki getting baptism of fire

Anna Liu, Chronicle Staff Writer

The A's handed over a big responsibility to a rookie catcher. It has made Kurt Suzuki a very busy man.

Suzuki already was learning how to work with new pitchers and studying opposing hitters before he was thrust into a starting job when the A's traded Jason Kendall and his 12 years of experience to the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

Now Suzuki has been immersed in watching game tape and poring over scouting reports. He sits in on every pregame meeting with the starting pitcher and relievers as they discuss how to pitch to hitters. During games when Suzuki didn't play, he would sometimes conduct simulated games on the bench with A's pitching coach Curt Young, where Young would ask him what he would do in certain situations.

"I joked with him the day he got called up. I said, 'Catchers don't play cards; if you have an extra hour free, you're watching other teams, you're reading the reports,' " A's manager Bob Geren said. "He took that comment very seriously, and he's been doing it."

Geren, a former catcher for the New York Yankees (1988-1991) and the San Diego Padres (1993), said Suzuki has all the things needed in a developing catcher.

"He's very bright, he's athletic and he's a hard worker," Geren said. "I told him 'Be yourself, take your past experiences and use all your resources to gain valuable insight.' "

As Suzuki settles in to his new role, he has yet to make his mark offensively, going 0- for-9 with two walks and an RBI during his three starts since Kendall's departure.

Kendall was leading American League catchers with 80 games started and has started 1,069 games behind the plate since 2000, the most in the majors.

"I can't really say how much I learned from that guy," Suzuki said. "He's full of information and he's always open to answering questions. We're kind of similar in the intensity that we play with, but those are definitely some big shoes to fill."

Suzuki said he is working on repetition as he gets more comfortable behind the plate. The advice he got from Geren was to try not to do too much.

"He just told me to relax and have fun and keep doing what I'm doing because what I did is what got me here in the first place," Suzuki said. "I mean just to go out there and have fun, not try to do too much. It's going to be natural to try to do that just because I'm a rookie and I'm trying to follow in Jason's footsteps."

The 23-year-old has already made his mark in the baseball books. He and right-handed pitcher Shane Komine became the first Hawaii-born battery in major-league history during the eighth inning of Tuesday's loss to the Texas Rangers.

Komine, who is from Honolulu, said he kept the ball after the game, his second relief appearance after being called up from Triple-A Sacramento on July 3. He and Suzuki have played together in the minors the past three years.

Born and raised in Wailuku, Maui, Suzuki moved to California for college in 2002. He was a walk-on starter his freshman year for Cal State Fullerton and was drafted by the A's in the second round in 2004. After working his way through the A's farm system, Suzuki made his major-league debut June 12 and has 13 appearances, including 10 starts, since he was summoned from Sacramento. With the River Cats, he hit .280 with three homers and 27 RBIs. He lives in Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) with his wife, whom he married in January.

A's left-handed pitcher Lenny DiNardo, who threw a career-high seven innings of shutout ball against the Rangers on Wednesday, said he is seeing constant improvement in the young catcher.

"He's getting better and better every time he goes out," DiNardo said. "He's getting used to his pitchers and we're getting used to him ... that's all I can ask for."

As far as getting in sync, DiNardo said it was all there during the 6-0 victory.

"A couple times when he was putting down the sign, I already knew what he was going to put down and I was just lifting my leg out," DiNardo said. "I did that a lot with Kendall."

Not only is Suzuki on the same wavelength with pitchers, he is also becoming comfortable around his new teammates.

"He's a great guy. He really is," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "You know (Suzuki) is kind of thrown in the fire. Obviously, he's got some big shoes to fill with the exit of Kendall, but you know what, he's totally capable of doing that."

Suzuki may also have more in store for him off the field, as well. As far as any friendly welcome pranks?

"No, not yet, it's still young. Still a lot of time to do a lot of things," said Swisher, who was a rookie in 2005. "I'm in charge of the outfits for dressing the rookies this year. I think I'm going to come up with something really, ah ... really fun."