On the mound, Halsey has mettle

 

TORONTO - The scouts are armed with radar guns and stopwatches, but even the best equipment can't discern the makeup of a pitcher.

That quality manifests itself on the mound, in pressure situations. In Brad Halsey, the A's may not have a left-hander who wows people with his velocity, but they have a competitor who won't shrivel up in tough situations.

That attribute was immediately distinguishable in his major league debut for the New York Yankees on June 19, 2004, in front of a packed house at Dodger Stadium and with a national TV audience watching.

``We weren't sure what we had,'' Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said. ``We knew he was a left-hander with a lot of grit. He was tough. He was someone who could make the most of his ability. He doesn't have a blazing fastball but has deception.''

Halsey, whom the A's acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for reliever Juan Cruz in late March, said the announcers were ``ragging on me a little bit, saying I looked 13,'' but the boyish looks are deceiving. During a heated game in Boston in late September 2004, Halsey whizzed a pitch near Dave Roberts' ear, clearing the benches in the eighth inning, a move in clear retaliation for Boston's Pedro Astacio throwing behind Kenny Lofton.

Halsey was slapped with a three-game suspension but earned his teammates' respect.

``He has great disposition,'' said Neil Allen, Halsey's pitching coach at Triple-A Columbus before moving to the Yankees as bench coach. ``You don't know whether he's upset, calm or wants to take a swing at somebody. He has a great demeanor.''

There was further proof that Halsey relishes big games when he faced fellow University of Texas alum Roger Clemens last May 19 in Houston. Halsey, pitching for Arizona, beat the Astros 6-1.

``The Clemens thing, you know, he's another pitcher in this league, and a very good one,'' Halsey said at the time.

Another pitcher? Cashman didn't orchestrate the trade that sent pitcher Javier Vazquez, catcher Dioner Navarro and Halsey to Arizona for pitcher Randy Johnson in January 2005. It was handled by Yankees President Randy Levine, who worked in conjunction with Diamondbacks owner Jeff Moorad.

``He has a bright future,'' Allen said of Halsey, who is 1-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 11 appearances for the A's. ``We had no other young left-handers coming up in the farm system, to replace Andy Pettitte, for example. I wasn't happy when they traded him. But you know the Yankees. If there's a big name out there, they're going to get him.''

Halsey will return to the Bronx for the first time this weekend. He is scheduled to pitch Saturday, perhaps against Johnson.

Not that he's all jazzed up about the return.

``At this point, going on the road, it would be like going to any other ballpark,'' he said. ``Aside from the fact that they have a great lineup, you have to respect them like any other team.''

Just another ballpark? Just another team? Hmm.