New Life For This Cat

NEW BRITAIN -- Righthander Beau Kemp has the intensity needed to be a top reliever in the game, but last season had to learn how to deal with the pressure of being a top prospect.

It took an arrest and a demotion, but Kemp, 23, said he learned how to deal with high expectations and has matured. He's ready to help the Rock Cats this season. Ready to show the Twins again he is one of the top relievers in their organization.

"Last year was definitely a learning experience for me," Kemp said. "I felt toward the end of the season I turned things around and tried to get back on the same program I was on before. I feel this year is going be a productive year for me."

Kemp, from Tulsa, Okla., started last spring with the Rock Cats on the Twins' 40-man roster and was coming off a tremendous 2002 season with Class A Fort Myers, where he had 29 saves with a 0.66 ERA.

But on May 4, Kemp and fellow pitcher and roommate Ronnie Corona were arrested for fighting each other in a parking lot on West Main Street. The two best friends were charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace.

To make matters worse, Twins general manager Terry Ryan was in town, and Corona, 25, and Kemp were demoted the next day to Fort Myers.

Kemp said he and Corona, who is in extended spring training with an injury, are still friends and that the fight was blown out of proportion. Kemp wouldn't get into specifics, but Rock Cats manager Stan Cliburn offered his view.

"Ronnie is a hot-tempered guy and so is Beau," Cliburn said. "I think alcohol was involved and with that, things can happen. I think it was a wake-up call for Beau. He has got himself back together and is a totally different person now. He carries himself with a different air. The only thing he hasn't lost is his competitive edge."

Cliburn remembers telling Kemp before he left for Fort Myers he still believed in him.

"I told him, `You've got a lot of heart,'" Cliburn said. "`I like you as a person and as a competitor. I think you've got some issues to address and you have to go down there and straighten it out.'"

The demotion wasn't easy, Kemp said, especially since he had proved himself in Class A the season before.

"At first it was kind of hard being in that league again," Kemp said. "Obviously [the Twins] had to do some sort of discipline. They needed to prove a point to everybody else in the organization. So I felt it was fair. I got through it and turned things around."

Before returning to the Rock Cats on July 2, Kemp also went through anger management counseling. Cliburn noticed a difference when Kemp walked back into his office after returning from Florida.

"He came back a totally different guy," Cliburn said. "He walked into my office and had a big smile on his face. He did what he needed to do. He was a big part of our playoff drive."

Kemp was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three playoff appearances for the Rock Cats.

"I came back and my mind was clear," he said. "I think I put a lot pressure on myself last year and I'd rather learn that now in my career rather than later. Going through it helped me a lot."