Washburn’s Change
You know how every year, half the pitching staff shows up to camp and claims they’ve learned a new pitch/improved grip/better motion/magic secret? And you know how, every year, it turns out to be hogwash, and they pitch like the same guy they have always been?
Well, it doesn’t always turn out that way. Just most of the time. However, throughout spring training, Jarrod Washburn kept talking about how he’d worked on his change-up and how he thought it had come a long way. Today, he had a chance to back it up – and he did.
Of the 96 pitches he threw, 20 of them were change-ups, all of them to right-handed batters. He got the following results:
Balls: 6
Called Strikes: 4
Swinging Strikes: 2
Foul: 2
Single: 2
Groundout: 3
Flyout: 1
Just watching on MLB.tv, his change had more movement than I ever remember seeing. He did a good job of keeping it down in the zone, and it was a quality off-speed pitch for him today. The Twins line-up isn’t very good, especially against LHP, so don’t go overboard in extrapolating from this, but so far, he’s provided at least some glimmer of hope that his off-season fix might actually be true.
New Season, Same Rules
As we go into a new season, it’s apparently time to remind people of the rules. All new commenters are expected to read, understand, and abide by the rules set out in the comment guidelines and USSM Orientation, as well as utilize common sense.
Your first few comments are viewed as an audition; try to contribute something positive.
In particular, sexist comments aren’t welcome here. This isn’t a sports bar.
Questions can be directed to the email address linked under Contact Us.
In Case You Weren’t Sure
Defense matters.
Seriously, welcome to Seattle, Messers Gutierrez and Cedeno. Please stay a while.
Game Four: Mariners at Twins
Washburn starts – weee.
Cedeno starts at third, Beltre DH’ing, Sweeney at first, Johnson behind the plate – Branyan and Griffey get the day off against the LHP.
Four days, four line-ups. Wak isn’t kidding about using 120 to 130 different batting orders this year.
Nick Adenhart, 1986-2009
Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash last night after the game. He had just finished making the best start of his career.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the Angels organization.
Silva
I can’t recommend Baker’s blog post on Silva enough.
I guess, what I’m saying here is, for your own sanity, try to judge Silva within the context of what’s happening right now. He did not pitch well enough to win tonight — two bad change-ups or not. You give up a pair of two-run homers the first two innings, you usually lose. Silva has to change that. Has to reduce those big mistake pitches and close the gap between being a pitch or two away from winning and actually winning for a change.
But he also isn’t 0-10 to start the season. He’s 0-1. Look to see whether he can make some corrections between now and his next start and judge accordingly. It’s like I told you with 10-game increments and trying to judge a team that way, instead of changing your mind every day in a 162-game season. Look for trends. And look for them this year.
Yea, last year sucked. Yea, last night sucked. But one of the repeated themes over the last few years is that good decisions are made based on process, not results. Silva’s true talent level is better than what we’ve seen in Seattle. Regression to the mean is coming. I know, it’s frustrating to watch, but patience is a virtue.
Game Three Thoughts
I only have one thought, actually – of the 98 pitches Silva threw tonight, 84 of them were “fastballs”. Nothing like predictability to go along with below average velocity. That’s a fantastic game plan.
Three more years…
Game 3, M’s at Twins
5:10. Newer, Slimmer Carlos Silva takes the mound for his first regular season start.
Cedeno in left! What?
Dave On KIRO
I’ll be on the air with Mike Salk at 11:40 am. You can listen at 710 AM or online at mynorthwest.com.
Annoyance threshold reached
I’m tossing the next person to mention Lincecum. I’m not kidding.