Stars reliever ready to take hill

Marc Kroon doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, but his baseball career is tattooed on his body.

Every time the Las Vegas Stars relief pitcher looks over his left shoulder, two sets of eyes stare back at him. They are the masks of drama -- comedy and tragedy -- etched forever on his skin.

Thus far, the conflicting images have come to symbolize Kroon's five-year professional career.

There are reasons to smile, especially when he considers how highly scouts regard him. They claim Kroon's fastball may be the best in all of baseball. On April 27, the day before he was called up to the San Diego Padres, his heater was clocked at 99 mph.

Then there are reasons to frown. Six days after the Padres welcomed Kroon, they sent him back to Las Vegas; in one-third of an inning over two appearances, the right-hander allowed two runs on four hits. Despite being the Stars' closer, he has yet to pitch for them since his return. Tendinitis has kept him on the bench.

"At this point, I'm tired of watching," said Kroon, who leads the Stars with four saves in as many chances. His ERA is 3.27 with 20 strikeouts and two walks in 11 innings. "It's difficult to sit in the bullpen, especially when the eighth and ninth innings roll around, and I know I'm not going to play."

Stars manager Jerry Royster has been assessing Kroon on a day-to-day basis, but Kroon claims he won't be ready for at least three more days. He is being treated with ultrasound, cortisone patches and ice.

"Every time I throw, I feel it," said the 24-year-old Bronx, N.Y., native. "It's not excruciating, but it's a nagging pain."

Some within the Padres organization feel the same way Kroon's arm does. He was projected as the big club's closer of the future after posting a 2.89 ERA with an organization-best 22 saves with the Class AA Memphis Chicks last year. Newspaper reports out of San Diego and Memphis, however, describe the Padres' displeasure with Kroon's sloppiness and predict he will be traded this year.

But if Stars pitching coach Sid Monge has any input, Kroon will remain Padre property.

"He is a major-league-caliber pitcher," said Monge, a veteran of 10 big-league seasons. "The sky's the limit for this guy. One of these days he'll be there to stay, and that's the day he becomes consistent.

"He's going to have to refine his off-speed stuff: slider, change. We're also working on adding a split-finger fastball."

Not throwing those pitches with the Padres likely was the cause of Kroon's arm pain.

"He definitely pitched out of character when he was up there," Royster said. "He didn't do what he did to reach the major leagues. He tried to overpower hitters up there, but that league doesn't work that way."

Kroon admits his eagerness may have cost him, even though it wasn't his first taste of the Show. He reached the Padres in 1995, giving up two runs in 1 1/3 innings to go 0-1.

"Being young, being in the big leagues, you want to do well," Kroon said of his recent stint. "I was hyper, there was a lot of adrenaline flowing."

Despite the setbacks, Kroon keeps confident. He'll respect the drama constantly on his back as he tries to discover that balance between tragedy and comedy.

At the same time, he'll proudly display his other tattoos. On his right arm is the Tazmanian Devil with the words "Kroon Dog" scripted above. On his left is a flaming baseball.

"I want to make sure I get back to the big leagues," Kroon said. "I'm confident, and I'll be working hard at it. I'm not afraid to fail."

archive