PITTSBURGH— For eight years, the Pittsburgh Pirates waited for pitcher Bronson Arroyo to come of age.

They got tired of waiting.

Designated for assignment after the 2002 season, the right-hander was claimed by the Boston Red Sox.

Since then, Arroyo was part of the Red Sox's first World Series championship in 86 years and returned to PNCPark this week as a member of the National League All-Star team with the Cincinnati Reds.

"It's funny what happens to you in this game,"Arroyo said. "It's crazy."

Pitching parts of three seasons with the Pirates, Arroyo was a combined 9-14 in 29 starts with the Bucs from 2000-02. His earned run average in his first two seasons with Pittsburgh was 6.40 and 5.09, respectively.

But he never had more than 13 major league starts in a given year with the Pirates.

"Looking back on it, I never had a chance to establish myself here,"Arroyo said. "I'd be in the bullpen, then get a spot start, go down to Triple-A, come back from Triple-A.

"It's hard to find your comfort zone when you're bouncing all over the place like that. I didn't have a 99 mph fastball or anything like that. The organization was never convinced I could get it done for them."

Arroyo never has gotten away from wearing a spring training reject number. He wore No. 69 with the Pirates, No. 61 with the Red Sox and is wearing No. 61with the Reds.

But he's hardly been pitching like a spring training reject this year.

"I developed a sweeping curve that I never used much with the Pirates," he said. "It hits the back door against lefties and breaks in on righties. I've been getting more strikeouts with it.

"Being able to settle in as a regular-rotation pitcher is the biggest difference, though. Knowing when you're going to pitch, being able to prepare — It means a lot."

While Butler native Matt Clement put together a 13-6 record with Boston last year, including a 10-1 start that landed him on the American League All-Star squad, Arroyo had a career-best 14-10 record with the Red Sox.

Now Arroyo is a National League all-star while Clement is 5-5 with an ERAover 6.00 and on the disabled list with a bicep problem.

"Having a major league career is like riding a roller-coaster,"Arroyo said. "One minute you're up, the next minute you're down.

"It's hard enough to perform at this level when you're healthy — and Matt hasn't been healthy for a while now. He's one of the best teammates I've ever had.

"There's a lot of pressure when you're playing in Boston. I'm sure he's hearing it (from the fans), but I'm also sure he'll come out of it. He's that type of person,"Arroyo added.

Arroyo admitted to not pitching under the same type of pressure in Boston.

"I didn't have a big contract and I sort of rode the coattails of guys like Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez,"he said. "When you're the No. 5 guy, not much is expected of you."

That all changed for Arroyo on March 20, when he was traded to Cincinnati for outfielder Wily Mo Pena.

"All of a sudden, I'm a top of the rotation guy,"Arroyo said. "You're expected to produce in that situation."

And he did, going 5-0 with a 2.06 ERAin his first six starts with the Reds. Arroyo entered the All-Star break with a 9-6 record and a 3.12 ERA. He is coming off losses in his last two starts.

But he's been an innings-eater, tossing 130 frames in the first half of the season, including the first two complete games of his career.

"It's definitely easier pitching in the National League,"Arroyo said. "There are six or seven lineups in the American League tougher to pitch to than the best lineup in the National League.

"It's the back of the order that's different. National League teams will use the double-switch a lot more, the pitchers hit, the game is played differently.

"I'm here because of my quick start. I had a good first half, I may have a terrible second half. That's the way this game is," he added.