Oswalt: Big-time pitcher is small-town guy

Whatever wasn't going right for him in his Phillies debut Friday night - through the first five innings, Nationals lefthanded batters got on base nine times in 12 plate appearances - Oswalt still didn't sound particularly concerned the day after. He suggested he had been more worried last season when he had a 4.12 ERA, the highest of his career.

"Coming into this year, my mechanics kind of fell back in sync from the year before," Oswalt said. "I felt real good coming out of the gate. I just felt the ball was coming out of my hand better than it was the year before. It seemed like the year before I was fighting my mechanics the whole year."

Phil Garner, who managed Oswalt from 2004 to 2007, including two 20-win seasons and the Astros' National League pennant year of 2005, said Saturday, "Roy's at his best when he thinks he has a chance. I think Roy gets a little bit bored. I don't think personal numbers mean that much to him."

He is a different pitcher from those early years, the 32-year-old acknowledged.

"When I first came up, I was little more of a power pitcher, at 97 [m.p.h.] most of the game," Oswalt said. "Now, you've got to be a little bit smarter. Now, I have a change-up. You learn as you go. It doesn't really matter how hard you throw, these guys are going to adjust to it before the game is over."

A younger Oswalt once told an interviewer: "It's fun to see the fear of the hitter - especially if you've got a big-name hitter up there, and you throw inside, you can tell it gets under their skin." That part hasn't completely changed, he said Saturday.

"I still have a fastball," he said with a smile.

Oswalt again talked about how he had no qualms about coming to Philadelphia, how the rumors of his wanting no part of the city were unfounded.

"He told me everybody's high- strung there," said his brother Brian. "That's a good thing. That's one of the things he said, how you can walk through the mall and ask how the team did today and they can tell you the score."

"I grew up in a town with 500 people," Oswalt said. "The size of the city doesn't really matter. Anywhere you go is going to be bigger."

In the off-season, he'll be back home quick enough. Oswalt's Double 4 Ranch books hunting groups. Among other packages, there is a $4,000 three-day deer hunt, gun or bow, fully guided, maybe with Roy's dad as a guide, and a $2,000 two-day turkey hunt.

The ranch booked a few groups during the last off-season but is going to do it only during baseball season this year, Oswalt said. Pennsylvania hunters and Phillies fans shouldn't get any ideas for a road trip.

"You kind of want some time for yourself," Oswalt said.

Contact staff writer Mike Jensen

at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.