Opportunity knocking at Andrew Heaney's door after pitching Angels to win over Yankees
When Andrew Heaney arrived in Anaheim, there were lofty expectations he felt he had to live up to.
First off, one of the Marlins' top pitching prospects who showed promise in his Major League debut, he was expected to come in and compete for a role with the big club right away.
And secondly, he was expected to be funny.
You might remember Heaney for his humorous tweet thanking the Dodgers for his time with them. Heaney was a Dodger for mere minutes, acquired by the Angels in exchange for Howie Kendrick in a blockbuster, three-team winter meetings trade, back in December. On a conference call a few days later, he promised that he really wasn't that funny in person.
He's right about not being funny. There was nothing funny about his press conference following his first big league win Tuesday night against the Yankees. Heaney, who gave up one run on two hits in seven strong innings, had only three words to describe his emotions: "It felt good."
That's it.
How did it feel to strike out Alex Rodriguez?
"Was good to get out of the inning," he said, with a shrug. No big deal.
Heaney might keep it simple with the media, but his stuff on the mound was dazzling. His slider, which has quickly become his signature out pitch, made bats miss. His curveball, which he was still developing when he came to the Angels, appears to be ready and his fastball command was exceptional.
He missed only once, and the result was a Mark Teixeira solo home run in the second inning.
"I was mixing fastballs in-and-out, I was throwing a some good changeups, a few sliders to the lefties," he said. "Just got some timely defense. I felt like whenever I got into a jam, I'd get a double-play ball. I get a liner off my glove that turns into a double-play ball and that doesn't happen very often. That helps a little."
That other expectation? That he would immediately be worth the offense the Angels gave up for him? That one is only now starting to come to fruition.
Heaney didn't make the big league roster out of spring like he was expected to. The coaching staff saw some issues and told him to work on them in the minor leagues. The work was put in, but the results were not immediate.
"For me, that was kind of a whole different thing," he said. "I was kind of fighting my own mechanics and fighting myself on the mound. Here, I've felt comfortable and I feel like I'm able to go out there and, for the most part, execute a game plan."
Now, it appears as though he's ready to put in work in the big leagues for an extended period of time.
Before the game, manager Mike Scioscia said that Heaney would take his next turn in the rotation, indicating that he would stay with the big club for the foreseeable future. It was a vote of confidence and it showed that the coaching staff believes he has fixed whatever it was they felt necessary to fix in Triple-A.
After a performance like the one Heaney turned in Tuesday, the manager saw no reason to back down from that decision.
"He did all of the things that you try to put together in a game plan," Scioscia said. "That's two really good starts that he had. Anytime a player gets an opportunity and performs well, he gets another opportunity again. There's no doubt that if he continues to keep pitching like he can, we're going to keep giving him the ball."
Opportunity is knocking at Heaney's door, and he's finally ready to answer it.
