It’s a workload he’s used to, of course. Being used as a swingman for most of your career is like that. The difference this season is that he’s being used in nothing but a reliever’s role. When he’s in the game, however, he’s in the game. At his rate Alfama will probably wind up with just under his career best mark of 180 innings pitched back in 2034, when he was 24.
Which has led some to ask if Alfama can win 20 baseball games this year, a feat that has only been done twice in team history, the latest being Alberto Sanchez’s 2029. That’s right. LaLoosh never did it. Chavez neither. Today the extremely complicated BNN projection system says he’ll manage 18, falling just short, but his team mates are buying rather than selling. “There’s a thing around him where every time he starts heating up you figure you’re going to win,” said rookie outfielder Jose Machado. “It makes a difference.”
DREAMLAND SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY
To none if his teammates’ surprise, Alfama himself isn’t overly concerned about the question. “DL sees things in weird ways,” said infielder Bob Frazier, using the clubhouse lingo of “DL” for Dreamland, the Venezuelan’s nickname. “I don’t know if he’s exactly smart, but he’s like some kind of Astral Planey Zen-master when it comes to pitching. While everyone else is off talking arm sots and spin rates, Tristan is just kind of trying to be one with the ball.”
It’s a situation Alfama doesn’t deny. “I’ve always kind of swam against the current,” he explained. And today, maybe that “always” explains why he doesn’t think much about 20 wins, explains why, in fact, the line he really has his eye on is Steve Olin’s marks of 115, 111, and 105 appearances, which he set in the 1990s.
“I like pitching,” Alfama said. “I don’t see why I couldn’t throw 200 or 250 innings if Bill (manager Bill Inkster) wanted me to. The idea of being ready to pitch every day is exciting to me. I’d rather set that record, to be honest.”
That’s not going to happen this season, of course. At 44 appearances, and only 73 remaining to be played, Alfama would almost literally have to throw every day from here on. But you get the idea from talking to him that he knows exactly what he’s doing, and that, while his gaze is on winning this year, his words are meant to soften Inkster up for 2039.
“We’ll see what happens,” the manager said when asked about Alfama’s goal. “My mama said to never rule anything out.”