PRO BASEBALL / MIKE HISERMAN : Suppan Wins Faster by Throwing Slower

Sometimes in baseball, the numbers lie.

Until recently, Jeff Suppan had a won-loss record that would give anyone the wrong impression. Five decisions. Five losses.

He knew he could do better, and that he already was better.

“I was pitching decent,� said Suppan, a starter for the Class-A Sarasota Red Sox. “But everyone in this league can hit the fastball, and my first couple of starts I’d get behind (in the count) and they’d be sitting on it.�

The result: He has allowed a Florida State League-high eight home runs.

Lately, however, big hits--in fact, any hits--off Suppan have been few and far between. The hard-throwing, 6-foot-1 right-hander from Crespi High has won his last three games.

The fastball remains Suppan’s signature pitch, but he has added an effective off-speed, split-finger pitch to his arsenal.

Suppan has pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two starts--a complete-game two-hitter against the Lakeland Tigers and an eight-inning effort in which he allowed the Charlotte Rangers only four hits.

Suddenly, he is among league leaders in categories other than gopher balls allowed. Suppan, the league’s pitcher of the week, is third in the circuit with 77 1/3 innings pitched and second with 68 strikeouts.

Last season, after signing as the Red Sox’ second-round pick, Suppan simply blew rookie Gulf Coast League hitters away. In 58 innings, he allowed 52 hits and only 16 walks while striking out 64.

Even so, there were times he questioned his decision to pass on a scholarship offer from UCLA.

“We’d work out at 8 in the morning and play our games at noon, in the heat of the day, and there’d be about four people in the stands,� Suppan said. “Now we’re playing at night, the crowd is about 1,000 or so, and you can get your rest.

“I feel a lot better about why I signed.�

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Royal challenge: Since signing with the Kansas City Royals out of Valley College in 1986, Dennis Moeller kept the same goal: to become a starting pitcher in the major leagues.

Until this season.

Moeller, a former Cleveland High standout, is enjoying his new role as a relief pitcher.

“This is a new challenge for me, so I want to conquer it,� the former 17th-round pick said. “Whatever gets me to the big leagues.�

Moeller, a 6-foot-2 left-hander, had two saves in his career before this season. He has tripled that total in his first two months with the Royals’ triple-A affiliate in Omaha, Neb.

“My job here is to get the left-handed hitters out,� Moeller said.

So far, so good. American Assn. hitters are batting .235 against him. “And that’s exaggerated a little bit because there have been a lot of (cheap) hits,� Moeller said.

Moeller spent last season bouncing between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the club’s triple-A Buffalo club. His numbers at both places weren’t very good--a combined record of 4-4 with a 5.93 earned-run average.

The Royals, who the previous season traded Moeller along with another pitcher for second baseman Jose Lind, took him back this winter in a draft of six-year minor leaguers.

Moeller pitched briefly for the Royals in 1992, but neither of his major league stints have been impressive.

“People kept telling me, ‘Just do whatever it was that got you there,’ � Moeller said of his big-league experiences. “It sounds so easy. But unfortunately I never followed the advice. I was always reaching back, trying to throw harder or throw a real nasty curve.

“I don’t think I’ve pitched (in the majors) the way I’m capable of pitching.�

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Leader of the pack: He’s at it again. After tearing up double-A and playing well after a promotion to triple-A last season, Rich Aude struggled during fall instructional league.

Those trying times apparently are over. Aude, who signed out of Chatsworth High, is among the team leaders at triple-A Buffalo in almost every offensive category.

He also is in a major logjam of young talent at first base within the Pittsburgh Pirate organization.

“It’s one of those baseball oddities, where you once in a while get a string of talent right down the line,� said Cam Bonifay, the Pirates’ general manager.

As for Aude’s chances of becoming Pittsburgh’s first baseman of the future, Bonifay said, “It’s very important that he stays (at Buffalo) for a season and puts up the kind of numbers he’s putting up right now against pitchers the second and third time he sees them.�

One knock of Aude has been his defense, but that, Bonifay said, is improving with hard work.

“We have him on a program where he takes extra infield work every day,� Bonifay said. “He’s put in a lot of time with it. He won’t ever be a great first baseman, but we don’t expect him to be.

“We’ve told him, ‘We don’t need (slick-fielding) Mark Grace. We just need Rich Aude to hit like he can and become an average major league first baseman.’ �