February 17 2011 Last updated at 03:26 PM ET
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It was no great joy to be a member of the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks -- not during a season which saw the manager fired, the general manager fired and the owner, who pulled the trigger on both moves, saying "this isn't a complete makeover."The Diamondbacks of 2011 are looking to change the culture in the organization in general, and in the clubhouse specifically.
One of the men they hope will be a major contributor to the new way things are done is the club's new closer, J.J. Putz. The right-hander hasn't filled that role since 2008 as first the Mets, then the White Sox, used him as a setup man.
New Arizona general manager Kevin Towers went after Putz in free agency with the simple lure that "you will have a chance to be the closer," Putz said. And that was good enough for him.
Putz is, by nature, a leader in the clubhouse -- during his time in Seattle he took it upon himself to reward every pitcher getting his first career win or save with a whipped cream pie, a tradition that helped bond the members of the bullpen specifically and may well help to solidify an Arizona bullpen that was a wreck for most of last season.
"They've made it clear that they want to change the culture here," Putz said, "and that's what they're doing. I think maybe I can help. But what is most important is getting back to doing my job now that I'm healthy.
"I didn't have a problem with not closing the last two years. And I could have taken another setup job if the situation was right. But the combination of getting a chance to close and being able to stay at home with my family was too good to pass up."
Putz's time in New York and Chicago wasn't the stuff of legend. He went from closing with the Mariners to setting up for Francisco Rodriguez with the Mets in 2009 and Bobby Jenks for the White Sox in 2010 while simultaneously dealing with an elbow surgery and a knee injury, both requiring time on the disabled list.He's healthy now, and at 34 he impresses his new teammates with both his fastball velocity and the movement of his sinker, the two components that made him an All-Star when he saved 73 games in 2006 and 2007 for the Mariners.
The question now is whether or not he'll have any problem getting back that closer's mindset that separates the good ones from the rest.
"I always tried to act like a closer when I was pitching the eighth inning the last couple of years," Putz said. "But the energy of the ninth inning -- you just can't simulate it. You try to create it the best you can, but it's not easy.
"Unless you've done the job before, you don't really know what you are talking about in terms of closing. But I've never forgotten how special the job is and how much I like doing it."
Putz has joined a team that lost 97 games last year and 189 games over the last two. But to listen to him talk about his new team, you'd think they were the defending National League West champs instead of cellar dwellers.
"This is a great place to be -- there is a ton of talent here," he said. "There's a lot to like about being in this organization now. I think one of the things that is needed with so many young guys here is some leadership. With the veterans they've brought in, that shouldn't be a problem."
Already the culture is beginning to change.
John is a National Baseball Writer for AOL FanHouse. He covered the Seattle Mariners from 2000-2009 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and seattlepostglobe.org and the Oakland A's for two decades at the Oakland Tribune and The Daily Review (Hayward, CA). He is a multiple Associated Press Sports Editors award winner for his baseball coverage. A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he is a Hall of Fame voter.
Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/17/j-j-putz-part-of-dbacks-culture-shift/
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