Arroyo becoming a quiet warrior

CINCINNATI Bronson Arroyo, long blond hair blowing in the breeze behind him, sprinted to cover first base on a play in the first inning Friday night in Great American Ball Park. As he reached to take a toss from first baseman Joey Votto, his feet became entangled with each other, the first base bag, the dirt and the chalk line and he went crashing to earth. His leg hurt, a tweak of the Achilles tendon, but he remained in the game and pitched seven respectable innings but was not the pitcher of record when Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run in the eighth for a 5-3 victory. The fact that Arroyo stayed in the game is a testament to what he is all about. Bronson Arroyo is a warrior, said manager Dusty Baker. You have to drag him off the mound. And while his Achilles aches a bit and he is cutting back on his between-starts workout, when Arroyos turn to pitch arrives Thursday in Washington, hell be standing on the hill peering in for signals. When it comes to keeping his appointments, Arroyo is as consistent as any postman who ever walked a beat. In nearly eight seasons, Arroyo has never missed a start. Not one. Never skipped a start and never missed a start. He has been scheduled to pitch 283 times over the last eight years and made every start. A disabled list has never carried the name of his tall, skinny righthander with a body that appears frail, a body that seems more suited to ballet dancing than baseball tossing. Asked about his promise that he will be on the mound Thursday, as he always is, Arroyo said, For 12 million a year, Im going to grind it out every game I can. I dont want (owner) Bob Castellini to think Im a piece of garbage. Garbage? This is a guy who has pitched 200 or more innings for six straight years and has gone 1,813 innings without skipping a beat or a start. He has won 15, 15 and 17 games the lasts three seasons for the Reds and while he is only 7-9 with a 5.31 ERA in 24 starts this season, he continues to gut it out. Arroyo, 34, is a Key West, Fla. native and his mother loved the actor Charles Bronson and named his son after him. And he has lived up to Bronsons tough-guy silver screen demeanor. Arroyo contracted mononucleosis during spring training and lost 10 pounds, a weight loss that the 6-4, 196-pound body cant afford. Although the disease is highly debilitating and a lingering ailment, Arroyo hasnt missed a turn. I know Arroyo hasnt had the typical Arroyo year, but this guy is as dedicated as anybody I ever had, said manager Dusty Baker. He comes in to work on off days and he never takes time off during the All-Star break. He comes in and works. What has happened this year is not due to lack of preparation or commitment, said Baker. Everybody thinks he is a party animal, but this guy takes this profession very seriously. You dont pitch all those games without missing and all those innings without being dedicated. When asked the last time he nearly missed a start, Arroyo thought and thought and thought and couldnt conjure one up. After chatting for a while, it hit him and he said, I rememeber now. It was three years ago and we were in spring training a few days before Opening Day. I was having hand problems all spring and we thought it was carpel tunnel. It was less than a week before he was to pitch when he was injected with cortisone and they told me, Now go out to the bullpen and throw and if you look like crap you arent pitching, he said. I went out there and I was spot-on. Arroyo isnt afraid to admit that he is proud of his durability reputation. I almost missed a few spring training starts, he said with a laugh. Almost. But Ive never missed one of those, either. I did push one start back a couple of days when I was sick, when I had mono. Asked if what he has accomplished is a source of pride, he said, Yeah, sure. The one thing you get paid to do in this game, well, it isnt always win or lose if you can toe it every time and give them a decent outing. Thats what you get paid for. Wins and losses and ERA and all that stuff is going to be different year to year, but if you can out there 34 times a year. Arroyo said he was thinking about something to distract himself when he was running in the outfield in Chicago last week. It has to be a great experience for the fans to come to the ballpark and see the same guys all the time and know, Brandon Phillips is going to be at second base game after game after game and year after year after year, instead of having guys come and go. I can imagine being a kid and going to the ballpark and knowing exactly who is going to pitch that day. Thats part of the specialness of rooting for your team. And if anything is for certain with the Cincinnati Reds, it is that every fifth day Bronson Arroyo will be, as he puts it, Out their on the mound toe-ing it.