Wright's resurgence rare

I saw Jaret Wright pitch last summer for the Portland Beavers (San Diego's Triple-A farm club). Wright was pitching well -- he wound up striking out 21 hitters in 19 innings with the Beavers -- and Portland broadcaster Rich Burk told me that Wright's success was due in part to a splitter that he'd recently picked up.

Sure (I thought). That's what they all say. Let's see what happens when he has to face major league hitters again. Wright was recalled by the Padres on July 18 -- he'd opened the season with the big club, but got sent down in early June -- and got hammered again. In late August, the last-place Padres placed Wright on waivers. For some reason, the first-place Atlanta Braves claimed Wright, and 1) first he pitched just as well for Atlanta as he'd pitched for Portland, and 2) then he tossed four scoreless innings at the Cubs in the Division Series. And now, back in a rotation, he's 11-6 for the first-place Braves.

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