More nickname information, I suppose. Did anybody ever watch "Burn Notice"? Perhaps it's still on. Whatever. That show used to drive me crazy because it's lead actor would be running around Miami, shockingly well dressed, and fighting bad guys *without* sweating. Like at all. I had to stop eventually because it was driving me crazy that he hadn't ruined all of his clothing.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22919159/tom-powers-twins-starter-vance-worley-can-take

Tom Powers: Twins starter Vance Worley can take the heat, even in the cold
By Tom Powers
tpowers@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 04/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT
Updated: 04/02/2013 10:39:01 AM CDT

It's 35 degrees and, with the wind chill, feels 10 degrees colder. No one is comfortable. Fans are huddling under heat lamps. Players are scurrying up to the clubhouse for a quick thaw.

But Vance Worley is lounging on the bench with a towel wrapped around his hands. If anyone should be kept warm and dry between innings, it's the starting pitcher. Yet Worley sits there watching the old ballgame.

"I was down on the bench sweating," Worley said after the Twins' 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Monday, April 1. "It's genetics, I guess. I don't need sleeves or anything like that."

Yes, he pitched in short sleeves, and several of us turned blue just watching him.

"For me, I stay hot all the time," he said. "I was sweating just walking out there to play catch today. With sleeves, it would have been really hot out there."

Here's a fellow you probably wouldn't want to sit next to on an airplane or in a crowded theater.

"It's just on a ball field," he explained.

Before it was all over, Worley went six innings. For Twins fans who have suffered through the past two years, here's what was different:

Worley had some bad luck early, but quickly stabilized the ballgame. After getting nicked for three runs over the first two innings, in large part because of a couple of bleeders, he regained control. The game did not spiral out of control, as it so often did in 2012. Instead, he got things turned around.

Here's what was the same: The Twins lost.

"It would have been

nice to get a W,' " Worley said. "The ball is going to roll a certain way."
He went six innings, throwing 101 pitches and allowing just those three runs. The Twins eventually closed to 3-2 and had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. That was the moment. But Trevor Plouffe couldn't put his bat on the ball, and then Chris Parmelee swung at a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. End of rally, inning and game.

But Worley certainly looked a cut above what we saw take the hill in 2012 for the Twins.

"I thought he settled in really nice and did a heck of a job for us," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He gave us a heck of an opportunity. I really love watching him out there. He works fast; he holds runners. He had a good angle and a nice breaking ball. He did a really nice job."

Here's the other thing: How many guys are going to give you 100 pitches on Opening Day in near-freezing temperatures? This was a great sign. And although the Twins lost, it was a competitive ballgame, interesting to watch. And the Twins were done in by a lack of clutch hitting, not starting pitching.

Gardenhire noted that Worley was up in the strike zone very early, perhaps because of Opening Day adrenaline. But Worley made an adjustment. He fixed what was wrong and was able to keep the Twins in the game.

"I like groundballs; that's what I try to do," Worley said. "I try to get quick outs. Strikeouts, for me, aren't a big deal.

"I need to get the ball down. I finally got it down. Next (second) inning it started to work its way down. Finally, by the end of that inning, it was coming out where it needed to. Towards the end of the second inning, I started feeling everything was coming out the way I wanted it to. You'll have games like this. And you'll have games where you go out there and say, 'Here it is.' "

This is a good thing. I'm not saying we've got a Cy Young winner on our hands. I'm saying here's a guy who knows what he is doing. Here's a guy who can make adjustments on the fly -- the way a big-league pitcher should.

And here's a guy who has the metabolism of a large reptile. How else could he pitch in short sleeves like that?

"I sweat a lot. It was just a matter of time before I heated up," he said.

It was a solid debut for Worley, who could help make it a better summer for the Twins. But if he sweats this much in near-freezing temperatures, he might just be a puddle by August.

Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com.