Thursday, April 12, 2001

It's deja vu for Oquist

Trapper pitcher from '97 knows this isn't such a c-o-o-old city

By SCOTT ZERR -- Edmonton Sun  

Mike Oquist was one of the few players at spring training who was destined for Edmonton and not petrified of the impending forecast.

 Having been here before, the 32-year-old pitcher was well aware that the icebergs would long be melted and the mukluks put away for another winter by the time the Trappers arrived for their home opener.

 Heck, Oquist was already thinking about where he could get in his first game of golf, his clubs having shown up the last week of camp and rarin' to get popped out of their bag.

 A FEW POINTERS

 What Oquist also showed his new teammates during their lengthy practice sessions at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, was a few pointers on how to master the strike zone against opposing hitters.

 He looked and sounded like a coach, but ...

 "I've never really looked at that part of the game," said Oquist of his teachings. "I've got a family plumbing business back home that I do in the off-season and I like to be back home.

 "Who knows, I might get into that when the time comes. I've had a couple offers but I still feel I can pitch in the big leagues."

 Oquist also demonstrated to his fellow Trappers a streak of perseverance that runs long through his six-foot-two, 190-pound frame. He enjoyed some success with the Oakland A's after being groomed for the big leagues in Edmonton and winning a Pacific Coast League title with the Trap in 1997.

 But Oquist wasn't able to keep his spot, winding up last year playing for Detroit's Triple-A squad in Toledo and putting together a dismal 7-15, 5.20 ERA mark with the famed Mudhens.

 It might have seemed like the best time to call it a career, yet Oquist was able to sign on with the Twins in a quietly arranged transaction and, through hard work and a few lessons learned on his own account, the native of La Junta, Colorado, just might finesse his way back to the top.

 "That's what everybody is here for, to get back to the big leagues. If I didn't feel I had good enough stuff to get back there, I wouldn't be here," said Oquist.

 Throwing off the Telus Field mound could be the secret to Oquist's return to glory. It was from there in '97 where he recorded a 6-1 record with a talented Trap squad that featured a number of soon-to-be Major Leaguers who would get their shot with the A's.

 Since that time, however, Oquist lost something from his game and rediscovering it was the mission to be accomplished at spring training in 2001.

 STUFF NOT AS ALIVE

 "The last year and a half, my mechanics got screwed up to where I was throwing as hard but my stuff wasn't as alive," explained Oquist.

 "I came here and Andy (pitching coach Rick Anderson) helped me with this one drill that helps me stay back and I feel back to where I was when I was in Edmonton before.

 '`Last year at one point, my curveball, which is one of my main pitches, was not sharp and guys were hitting it and I didn't know what to go on. This drill has helped me make it sharper and I'm able to spot the ball better.

 "Last year was a bad year for me and I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I feel a lot better.

 '`I'm probably throwing as well as I have at any time in the past."

 Anderson has noticed the change as well and with it comes the fact that Oquist gives the Trappers a seasoned and skilled No. 2 starter behind ace Matt Kinney with the quality arsenal to beat anyone who steps to the plate against him.

 "I'll tell you what, people look at him and say he's put that time in the big leagues and now he's just trying to come back and do it again," said Anderson.

 "But he's still got his good stuff. He's going to pitch in the big leagues again, I really believe that."

SLAM! Sports

Tuesday, June 5, 2001

By SCOTT ZERR -- Edmonton Sun

 Mike Oquist isn't much for stats - keeping or, for that matter, his own place in history.

 Otherwise, the veteran Edmonton Trapper wouldn't have been caught off-guard to learn that when he takes to the mound tonight against the Memphis Redbirds, he'll have a shot at reaching a milestone most pitchers never last long enough to achieve.

 Oquist needs one victory for 100 as a pro, a career that began in 1989 with a 7-4 season in Erie and has carried him through stops in such places as Hagerstown, Rochester, Las Vegas, Vancouver and Toledo.

 MAJORS AND MINORS

 The 33-year-old from La Junta, Colorado, has a 74-67 record in the minors in addition to a 25-31 log in the majors coming from stints with Baltimore, San Diego and Oakland.

 But when you've been around for 12 years, the games just seem to run together and it's not easy to look back and pick out highlights.

 "I really didn't even know I was going for 100," smiled Oquist, who sports an overall 9-5 mark with the Trappers including 3-4 this season. "I remember seeing something that I had 900 and some strikeouts (952 in the minors), but I had no idea I was getting pretty close to 1,000. There's not too many guys who reach 100 guys - it's taken me a quite a while to achieve it but it will be nice.

 "I remember a couple of good games in the playoffs back in Single-A and one game in the playoff in Triple-A I threw a one-hitter complete game."

 Finding out about his crack at the milestone actually brought some mixed feelings for Oquist, a lean six-foot-two, 190-pounder who joined the Minnesota Twins organization as a free agent during the off-season.

 "It's kind of a good thing and bad thing," explained Oquist. "I've been here too long to rack up that many, but it is pretty nice.

 '`It'll be something to say."

 If nothing else, it's a testament to Oquist's longevity. Over 1,600 innings on the mound and 19 complete games certainly shows that the former University of Arkansas Razorback has survived all the complications and hurdles that can drive lesser souls from the rat race and has made worthwhile contributions at every stop along his route.

 "That's the reason I'm still here. If I still didn't feel like I could pitch in the big leagues, I wouldn't be here," said Oquist, who returns home ever winter to help out at the family plumbing business.

 RIGHT OPPORTUNITY

 "I haven't pitched that bad in the big leagues and it's just a matter of getting the right opportunity with the right team. With Oakland, they gave me that opportunity and I pitched well for them but they had some young guys coming up and you can't fault them for wanting to do something with them.

 "I'm just trying to get back like everyone else.

 '`I feel real good right now and I feel like I'm close to where I want to be."

 A member of the '97 PCL championship Trap club, Oquist has added a revamped version of a changeup to his arsenal, which had aided in racking up 48 strikeouts in 11 starts this year along with a respectable 3.26 ERA.

 Oquist credits Trap pitching coach Rick Anderson with getting him on track this year and Anderson passed back the compliment when he learned of Oquist's nearing accomplishment.

 "That's being pretty consistent throughout your career," said Anderson.

 "That's why he pitched in the big league and that's what he's shown this year. As you watch him, what you're looking for is consistency and throwing all your pitches for strikes and he's shown both.

 "He keeps doing what he's doing and there's no question he should be back pitching in the big leagues."

Wednesday, June 6, 2001

Eight-run first inning by Trappers sets up pitcher Oquist for his 100th victory

By SCOTT ZERR -- Edmonton Sun

 Mike Oquist needed only one inning of run support from his teammates to earn his 100th career victory last night.

 The Edmonton Trappers notched eight runs in the first inning for the veteran right-hander on their way to a 9-4 thumping of the Memphis Redbirds before a crowd of 5,376 at Telus Field, who saw the home side tie its season-high winning streak at four

 Oquist worked 81/3 innings and struck out six batters.

 "Eight runs in the first, that was nice and I was able to settle in and make some pitches, got a little luck here and there. Just wish I could have finished it," said a tired Oquist after uncorking a bottle of bubbly in the clubhouse. "Now we go on, go for No. 101."

 Casey Blake began the first-frame assault with a two-run single and the Trap's fourth straight hit was an RBI single by Javier Valentin.

 Todd Sears then cranked a bases-loaded double off the base of the center-field wall to end the night for Memphis starter Rick Krivda (3-4) who was yanked after not retiring any of the seven batters he faced.

 Larry Huff's triple and a Mike Moriarty double, both off Rick Huisman, completed the early attack. Huff knocked in the Trap's other run with a second-inning base hit.

 Stubby Clapp and Lou Lucca each had four hits for Memphis with Lucca supplying a solo homer in the third and an RBI double during the Redbirds' three-run ninth.

Wednesday, May 26, 1999

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- After walking the leadoff hitter in each of the first two innings, Mike Oquist was just hoping to survive. He ended up taking a no-hit bid into the sixth and turning in his longest outing of the season.
Oquist allowed two hits in 6 2-3 innings as the Oakland Athletics snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
"After the fifth inning, I saw zeros up there," A's manager Art Howe said, referring to the no-hit bid. "I wasn't even thinking about it up until that."
Oquist (5-3) did not allow a hit until Carlos Febles' bloop single fell about five feet in front of right fielder Matt Stairs after a leadoff walk in the sixth.
Oquist also gave up a line-drive single in the seventh to Larry Sutton and immediately was taken out of the game. He walked three, struck out two and was charged with two runs.
"I'm not a Roger Clemens or a Pedro Martinez. I'm not going to go out there and blow people away," Oquist said as two of his young sons listened quietly from a chair in front of his locker. "I just want to go out and keep the game close."
Oquist, who has pitched parts of seven seasons for Baltimore, San Diego and the A's, started the year in the minors but now has become the most consistent starter for Oakland.
"He never gives in, and that's his plus," Royals manager Tony Muser said. "He throws a breaking ball when he's behind in the count. And when he does throw his fastball, it's never in the middle of the plate."
Doug Jones pitched two innings for his third save and the 294th of his career. Mike Sweeney had an RBI grounder in the ninth.
Stairs had a two-run double in the third, a ball that went off the glove of right fielder Jermaine Dye. The A's scored their third run in the fifth when first baseman Sutton misplayed Stairs' grounder with a runner on second.
Oakland added two runs in the seventh on a solo homer by Tim Raines off the foul pole in right field, a double by Jason Giambi and three consecutive errors by the Royals.
The Royals' first run came in the sixth on a run-scoring groundout by Carlos Beltran. Chad Kreuter added an RBI single in the seventh off T.J. Mathews.
Kansas City starter Jose Rosado (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1-3 innings.
"I'm not helping my team right now. I'm not getting deep in the game and I've been kind of wild," Rosado said. "I got deep in the count on a lot of guys."
The Athletics' win came in the first game of a nine-game homestand. They were coming off an 0-6 road trip, which followed a six-game winning streak.