Houston Chronicle/Justice: Luck changes with scenery for Hawkins

When the Yankees released him last July, LaTroy Hawkins didn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself.

Instead, he went to work trying to put his career back together. Instead of going home to Dallas to catch his breath or reflect on what had happened, he flew to Fort Wayne, Ind .

That’s where he hooked up with his agent, Matt Kinzer. Actually, Kinzer is more than an agent. He’s a former major league pitcher and scout, and through the years has become the person who knows Hawkins as well as anyone.

“Matt watches me like a hawk,” Hawkins said. “He knows everything I do. Even when I have a good outing, he’ll call or text me if he saw something. His mentality for pitching and the way he can explain it is unbelievable.”

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Along the way, two interesting things happened. One is that Hawkins gradually regained the ability to locate his fastball.

The other is that Astros general manager Ed Wade telephoned and said he’d acquired Hawkins in a trade.

“I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Hawkins said. “At first, I’m thinking, ‘Why would they do that when they can get me in a few more days for little or nothing?’ ”

plus, As luck would have it, Francoeur without ‘turkey underwear’