CLEARWATER, Fla. - Alberto Tirado threw 14 pitches, five for strikes. He was lost. It was the end of last April, and the Phillies had seen enough. Tirado, as a reliever in low-A Lakewood's bullpen, had allowed opponents that month to reach base at a .500 clip.
The hard-throwing righthander was exiled to extended spring training.
"I wanted to stop playing baseball," Tirado said Thursday after pitching a scoreless inning in an exhibition game against the University of Tampa. "I wanted to go home because I wasn't myself. Mentally, I was off baseball. I couldn't do it.