Web dirtbagsbaseball.blogspot.com

Jason Vargas Featured In Baseball America Daily Dish Today

Compiled by Kevin Goldstein, Chris Kline and Matt Meyers
May 10, 2005

GREENSBORO, N.C.--Jason Vargas didn't last long in Greensboro. Drafted in the second round by the Marlins out of Long Beach State, the lefthander dominated the short-season New York-Penn League for eight starts last season before earning a promotion to low Class A Greensboro at the end of the season.

Vargas, who was a two-way player in three college stops, began 2005 at Greensboro and was nearly unhittable. In five starts, he went 4-1, 0.80 with 33 strikeouts in 34 innings. It was no surprise he earned a promotion to high Class A Jupiter by May.

We caught up with Jason before his trip to Jupiter and talked to him about his odd golf tendencies, his various college stops and his relationship with former college teammate Jered Weaver.

On his first full minor league season: "You have to find ways to stay busy on the bus whether it is sleep, play video games, play cards. I am not much of a card player, so I am kind of stuck with sleeping and playing video games. So far it has been a bit of a grind. Spring training was tiring. Not necessarily hard, but day in and day out just doing the same thing wears on you. You have to figure out a way to stay busy and make every day different the best you can."

On video games and his golf game: "My favorite (video) game is Tiger Woods golf. If I wasn't doing this, I would probably be trying to play golf. I don't know much it would work out, but I'll shoot in the mid- to high 70s. When I get a chance to practice I can get it down there. I hit lefthanded and play golf righthanded but putt lefthanded. Growing up, I never had a lefthanded set of clubs. I started playing when I was in junior high. All we had was old set of clubs in the garage, and I started hitting them in the front yard righthanded, and never picked up a lefthanded club."

On his college odyssey: "I went to three different spots. I started out at LSU my freshman year, ended up transferring to Cypress Junior College and then to Long Beach State. It all worked out in the end. I loved Long Beach, I love that area, I love the coaching staff. I really think it was the best fit for me and I really wish I could've been there longer."

On Jered Weaver: "I talk to Weaver, I'd say a couple of times a month, maybe every week to see how things are going. We don't really talk much about what is going on with him, because I know it is stressful for him and I know things haven't really gone his way. I really feel bad for him because he really is a great guy. He is not what people make him out to be, some money-hungry, greedy kid."

On having to chart pitches between starts: "I can't stand being in the stands. I would much rather be in the dugout any night of the week than be in the stands. The radar chart is a little tedious; the pitching chart keeps you in the game a little bit more. You need to follow the pitches closely and if you don't you can make mistakes. No job is better than being in the dugout or being on the field."

--ALAN MATTHEWS AND MATT MEYERS