SCOTTDALE, Ariz. –- J.J. Putz had a career year in 2011, but you cannot tell by his routine this spring. The price of major league success is the subtle adjustments required lest opponents catch up, so Putz is working on varying his pitches and pitch sequences this spring, the better to help the Diamondbacks defend their NL West title.
To a layman it would hardly seem necessary. Putz had streaks of 16 and 24 consecutive save conversions while reaching a career-high 45 saves in his first season with the D-backs, and he got there despite missing almost a month because of a right elbow strain suffered in late June. The proactive D-backs will mind his workload this spring, manager Kirk Gibson said, even after his first 8-minute session of throwing batting practice Monday went well.
To Putz, however, the only constant is, if not change, at least purposeful refinement. It is one of the lessons he learned from mentor and friend "Everyday Eddie" Guardado during their time together in the Seattle in the mid-2000s.
"You can’t get complacent. You get complacent and you stop working, and there are hungry kids in this game right now. They’re champing at the bit to take your job, so you have to keep working, no matter how long you’ve been in this game," Putz said.
"That is something my man Eddie talked about since Day 1. Always work. Always work. Always work. When you wake up and are on your way to the field every single day, know what you want to accomplish. That way, when you get there, there is no down time. He was something.
"He’s the reason I’m here."
More than a work ethic, Putz also credits Guardado for fine-tuning the split-finger pitch that has been the staple of Putz’s career. Putz, 35, has 151 major league saves and made a 2007 All-Star appearance with Seattle in 2007, his second year as the Mariners’ closer after serving as setup man for Guardado in 2005, when Guardado had 36 saves.
"I was throwing a split and it wasn’t very good, and he kind of changed my grip a little bit, and from that day on it has all worked out," Putz said.
The two remain close, and Putz made it a point to attend Guardado’s bowling tournament to benefit autism this offseason.
"If you can find someone who says a bad thing about (Guardado), bring him here, because I want to fight him," Putz said.
Only three major leaguers had more saves than Putz last season, and only two --Detroit’s Jose Valverde and Milwaukee’s John Axford -- had a better save percentage among closers who had as many as 35 opportunities.
Putz finished the season with 24 consecutive saves, breaking Gregg Olson’s team record of 22, as the D-backs pulled away in the NL West. He was the main reason the D-backs were an NL-best 84-0 in games they led after eight innings.
For all that, the D-backs consider his clubhouse presence equally valuable. Putz was closer/den mother in a bullpen that was mostly a collection of young arms last season, teaching them the ropes while also keeping things light. The inclusive approach was not something he felt as a young player, but he feels it's the right way to promote team chemistry, and that seemed to make a difference in the D-backs last season.
"That’s how the game has changed. It used to be when you were a rookie, you got beat down on. You feel like you can’t do anything right. They (veterans) kind of wear you down and wear you down, just non-stop making you do stuff. Get them this. Get them that," Putz said.
"That’s one of the reasons I was brought in here, to keep things light but at the same time be serious when we need to be serious and address things that need to be addressed. I think we are having fun right now. Winning will do a lot for that, but you are going to have up-and-down times during the season, and during the down times you have to have something to keep you from thinking about that and move forward. That’s when you try to carefully time when to do something to build morale up a little bit."
Sometimes it requires some forethought. Putz found a manufacturer to make neckties with Gibson’s likeness on them for the players and coaches to wear on their trip to Detroit last year, a plan that was six weeks in the making. He also was the brains behind the rookie Renaissance Festival trips the rookies have taken the past two springs, and he's a magistrate in the clubhouse "kangaroo court" that was reintroduced last season.
Putz also found Internet images of a young Sean Burroughs and posted them in the clubhouse during the D-backs’ series in Atlanta last August after a rough start on a critical trip. It may be no coincidence that Burroughs hit a game-winning two-run homer in Washington, D.C., three days later, his only homer of the season.
"On the field, his numbers and the bullpen’s numbers speak for themselves," said Daniel Hudson, whose 16-13 record was in part due to Putz’s seven saves behind him.
"The shenanigans off the field keep the clubhouse light and a lot of fun."
Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
