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Vargas Hopes Success Returns Along with his Hair
by Ben Volin, Palm Beach Post
February 26, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE--- The barber from Jupiter messed up the haircut, he claims.
That's why
Jason Vargas' brown hair was short and neatly trimmed last March in
Marlins camp, not long and curly like it was when he showed flashes of
potential as a Marlins rookie in 2005.
Vargas struggled last season without his locks. The left-hander began
the season in the rotation, was demoted to Class AAA in May and traded
to the Mets in a four-player deal in November.
"One of the first things I told him when we got him was, 'Look, you
grow your hair back, OK?' " Mets General Manager Omar Minaya said.
"Jeffrey Loria called me first thing (after the trade). Jeffrey said
when they cut his hair it was like Samson losing his strength."
The California mop is back, but everything else is different.
Last spring Vargas was a virtual lock to make the Marlins' starting
rotation. Now he is one entrant in the wide-open derby to fill the
back three spots in the Mets' rotation.
"There's a few of us competing for a couple of spots, and that's
all
there is to it," Vargas said. "I'm happy to be in a place where
someone wants me."
Vargas jumped from low Class A to the majors in 2005, his first full
professional season, after being drafted out of Long Beach State in
June 2004. He earned a complete-game win among his 13 starts and was
named Marlins rookie of the year after going 5-5 with a 4.03 ERA.
The 6-foot, soft-tosser entered last year's camp with a spot in the
rotation. But he was demoted to the bullpen after five mostly
disastrous starts, and spent much of the season in the minors. The
Marlins sent Vargas, and his 7.33 ERA, and right-hander Adam Bostick
to the Mets for pitchers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom.
Vargas said he put too much pressure on himself to improve on his 2005
season, and his former Marlins teammates said Vargas lost his
confidence last season after taking the fast track to the majors.
"We talked about it a lot," reliever Logan Kensing said. "Sometimes
you fight yourself too much. He was battling himself every time he
threw a bullpen (session)."
Minaya viewed Vargas as a great buy-low pitcher after last season, and
the Mets hope a different environment -- and maybe some tutelage from
another soft-tossing lefty, Tom Glavine -- does Vargas some good.
"He's one of those intriguing guys for me, a guy who is young, throws
good stuff, and has got a taste of pitching in the big leagues,"
manager Willie Randolph said. "Those are guys, sometimes they need
a
change of scenery to maybe take off or blossom."
Blossom like his long, curly hair did over the winter.
"I can't be real shaggy or anything, have to keep it clean,"
Vargas said.
"It's all right. It's just hair."
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