Florida Marlins spring training complex is lightly traveled, saving pitcher Kevin Brown from agitation on his way to work.
``When people tailgate me, I get a little irritated,'' Brown says. ``I slow down, I stop. What bugs me is people do that and have an open lane to go around you. That really irritates me.
``If I get my opportunity, I'll tap the brake. Beyond that, we're looking at severe slowing down.''
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Despite Brown's combustible nature, the Marlins signed the free-agent pitcher in December to a three-year, $12.9 million contract that ranks second on the team's payroll, behind only slugger Gary Sheffield.
A reward for bad behavior? Hardly. The Marlins wanted Brown because of his durability and 93-mph sinking fastball. A 21-game winner and All-Star Game starter in 1992, Brown finished seventh in the American League last season with an ERA of 3.60 for Baltimore.
The right-hander will make his first appearance of the spring Monday against the Montreal Expos, and he's scheduled to start opening day April 1 against Pittsburgh.
The ace of an improved staff, Brown sees no need to temper his tantrums.
``I don't think my temper gets the best of me,'' says Brown, who turns 31 on March 14. ``I have a temper, but I don't show it on the field. Between innings I'll come in and blow off steam and put it behind me and go on. There are times I think it's definitely been a help.
``It's part of my nature to come in and be competitive and yell and scream at myself. I don't think there's any use in trying to deny that. It's just the way I am.''
The Texas Rangers tried without success to curb Brown's emotions, and he left them after six seasons, joining Baltimore as a free agent in 1995. The Marlins plan to let Brown be himself.
``My main concern is results,'' manager Rene Lachemann says. ``If he wants to tear up the clubhouse, I don't care, as long as he pays for the damage and doesn't damage my stuff. If it makes him feel better and makes him a better pitcher, fine. But you pay for what you break.''
Brown says he has never caused major damage. But over the course of one season at Texas, he punched out all the lights from the dugout to the clubhouse.
``He's a very intense competitor,'' Lachemann says. ``He can get them out three-up, three-down and still not be satisfied because of one bad pitch he threw.
``Because of his hard sinker, he'll give up a lot of cheap hits -- bloopers and bleeders that the hitter doesn't get good wood on. He becomes very frustrated, but because of the way he pitches, that's going to happen to him.''
With a combined record the past two seasons of 17-18, Brown is considered an underachiever and a gamble for the Marlins. The former chemical engineering major at Georgia Tech has been accused of thinking too much on the mound -- before losing his head.
But Brown has pitched at least 170 innings every year since 1989, and his fastball can be devastating.
``He's one of those guys who everybody around the league just hates to face,'' says teammate Al Leiter, who pitched for Toronto last year. ``I remember Joe Carter and Paul Molitor saying, `This guy is nasty.' Hitters fear him. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball.''
Brown was just 10-9 last season at Baltimore, but he had poor run support and sat out a month with a dislocated finger.
``My record, I hope, is misleading,'' he says. ``I threw the ball last year probably as well as I've ever thrown it. I very easily could have had a lot more wins.''
With the Marlins, Brown hopes to do better. And if he doesn't, duck.
