Reds counting on old man Stanton to help bullpen

Miller: 5 things to know | Reds camp

SARASOTA, Fla. -- If you've watched any baseball at all over the past several seasons, the odds are greater that you've happened upon left-hander Mike Stanton than any other pitcher.

"Hell, he pitched against Josh Gibson!" Ken Griffey Jr. shrieks in the Cincinnati clubhouse. "Satchel Paige! Rogers Hornsby!"

Mike Stanton is 11 games shy of passing Jesse Orosco for second on the all-time list. (Getty Images)

Well, we're going to have to double check those blasts from the past with the Baseball Register, because that sure doesn't sound right. But the truth is, Stanton is a modern-day Jesse Orosco: He now has worked in more games than any other active major league pitcher, 1,109.

Jose Mesa is a distant second at 966.

"What's that baseball card that just sold for $2 million?" Griffey cackles. "Honus Wagner?

"He got him, too! That was probably his first strikeout!"

At the other end of the Reds' spring clubhouse, a smile creases Stanton's face. His (surprisingly un-gray) hair glistening with sweat following the morning workout under a hot Florida sun, the ol' left-hander, a fixture in October games with the Yankees from 1997-2002, shakes his head in mock disapproval.

"He can say that all he wants," Stanton says. "There is no truth to it."

Not even Wagner?

"There are," he admits, glancing around the clubhouse, "some names in there I've faced that some of these guys might shake their heads at."

Stanton, who signed a two-year deal with Cincinnati that includes a club option for 2009 in November, is in the spotlight these days for more than emerging simply as the game's latest left-handed Energizer Bunny.

Rather, as one of baseball's most surprising success stories in 2006 looks for bigger and better things in 2007, the Reds actually are talking of employing a closer-by-committee, in which William Michael Stanton figures to play a prominent role.

It was manager Jerry Narron who was saying just the other day that he doesn't see anybody in camp capable of saving 40 or 45 games. His solution? Mixing in Stanton, veteran David Weathers and the less-experienced Todd Coffey and Bill Bray, depending on game situations, matchups and which pitcher has the hotter hand at the time.

Talk about coming full circle. Stanton had saved 27 games for Atlanta in 1993, his third full season in the majors. Since then, working more often than not as a lefty specialist in the seventh and eighth innings, Stanton had never again saved more than six games in a season until last summer. Then, following a July trade to San Francisco, he converted eight save opportunities in 26 games with the Giants.

"Whether I've been closing, setting up, whatever, my job doesn't say any particular role," Stanton says. "My job is to get people out. It's Jerry's job to make decisions to help the team.

"If that involves me pitching the ninth inning, that's great. If not, that's great, too. I come to the ballpark every day expecting to pitch. Other than that, I don't set numbers or goals."

The Reds' projected closer this season was Eddie Guardado until Tommy John ligament transfer surgery last September thwarted those plans.

So while the one-time Everyday Eddie shoots for a June or July comeback -- the thinking that a reliever can make it back from that surgery in less than the 18-24 months it takes for a starter -- Stanton figures to be one of the main plugs in the leak. Among other things, his presence should help stabilize youngsters such as Coffey and Bray.

"There's always a place for good veterans," Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky says. "But we signed Mike Stanton because he can get big league hitters out."

Contrary to rumors -- take a bow here, Junior -- Stanton is not older than pine tar, he didn't attend grammar school with Paige and, really, he never faced Wagner.

Though he broke into the game in 1989, Stanton is only 39 -- turns 40 on June 2. With his 11th appearance this season, he'll pass John Franco (1,119) and move into second place on the all-time games-pitched list. He starts the season 143 appearances behind the all-time leader, Orosco.

He is aware of his places on the games-pitched leaderboards. Predictably, he says he doesn't spend much time thinking about it. How could he? This deep into his career, he's undoubtedly got all those senior moments to deal with, right? Where did he leave his socks. Did he take his vitamin today yet or not? Is his jersey on right-side out?

"That's something to think about when I'm home in the rocking chair with the grandkids," Stanton says of his place on those lists.

Ask him about career highlights, most memorable moments and thrills, and what you won't get is a dissertation on what kind of champagne the Yankees dumped all over each other in 1998.

The things that are harder to explain, such as moments spent with teammates during the slow parts of the season, are what he enjoys more than anything. The laughs, the stories ... younger teammates with wide-open futures who approach and try to gain an edge by tapping into Stanton's past.

"That's kind of an unwritten job description, to pass along any kind of wisdom I might have," Stanton says. There are several guys on the team who ask questions. I played before with Billy (Bray, with the Nationals), with Gary Majewski (also with the Nationals). I already had a relationship built with them.

"Others here have asked questions, and that's great. I love it. I love talking baseball, and if I can help somebody, great."

The old days, when he was breaking in with the Braves, don't seem all that long ago. When he was young, Steve Bedrosian and Juan Berenguer were always there for him in the clubhouse, so why wouldn't he want to help others now that he's a veteran?

Poll Who will lead the '07 Reds in saves? 13% Bill Bray   22% Todd Coffey   12% Mike Stanton   22% David Weathers   32% Eddie Guardado   Total Votes: 2599

"Heck, even guys like Dale Murphy," Stanton says of the former outfielder. "The way he carried himself, the way he lived his life. Those were guys, obviously veterans, who had a direct or indirect effect on how I learned to approach things."

You don't always realize it when you're young in this game, when you think it's all about talent. But what you learn in time is that God blesses precious few players with the kind of steep talent that overcomes everything else.

For the vast majority, like Stanton, what's every bit as important as the bricks of skills is the mortar to hold them in place. It's a mix that consists of so many little things. Work ethic. Avoiding trouble. Eating properly. Keeping an open mind, making smart decisions ... you find edges in the most subtle of places.

"God blessed me with a very resilient arm," Stanton says. "There are not many times when my arm is sore. I've been doing it a long time. Occasionally I'll have a bad back. I've had knee surgery.

"Jesse (Orosco) to this day probably could still pitch, but his knees wouldn't let him. It's not always about the arm. I try to do everything I can to keep my body in good, physical shape, my stamina where it needs to be, my flexibility where it needs to be.

"It's a lot easier mentally now than it used to be. But there are days I have to be smarter, days when I need to take off from working out."

The Reds are Stanton's eighth organization. He's a Houston native, he and his wife and two sons have lived in New Jersey for the past several years while attempting to build some sort of sane semblance of family life where they could be together as often as possible despite dad's road trips.

Eventually, the plan is to return to Texas and live full time. But he has a contract for the next two years, an option for 2009, and that takes him until ... let's see, 43, perhaps?

"Will that be it?" Stanton muses. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. There's still a lot of water until I get to that bridge."