BYRD DOING BETTER JOB HIDING HIS PITCHES
August 28, 2008
Just red this on ESPN and explains why Byrd has been doing much better after the All-star break.
By Rick Sutcliffe, ESPN
I was talking with Red Sox pitcher Paul Byrd the other day and we got to talking about tipping pitches. It's something even great pitchers struggle with sometimes and something that both of us know from experience.
Byrd was a 15-game winner a year ago, but, to me, he was a 17-game winner because he went 2-0 in the playoffs. How does he go from that to all of a sudden not being able to get anybody out this year? (Byrd entered Wednesday's start against the Yankees with an 8-11, 4.61 ERA. He went out and tossed six strong innings as the Red Sox beat the Yankees again, this time 11-3.)
It's one thing if you are injured or not making good pitches. But he was saying how he went back and looked at video and he was making good pitches, hitting good spots. Yet, hitters were right on his pitches. When that happens, you know something is going on. And that is what he found out. He got a message from one of the visiting clubhouses from a team he wasn't going to play again this season, and they told him that he was tipping them off by fanning his glove wider on his breaking ball.
Byrd's breaking ball is his probably best pitch, but when people know it's coming, all of a sudden it's not your best pitch anymore. He doesn't have a 95-mph fastball to bail him out. Well, he found out he was tipping his pitches right around the All-Star break and his numbers since speak for themselves. With Wednesday's win, he is 6-1 with a 2.61 ERA. Before that, he was starting to think his career might be over because he was struggling and is an older guy. Now, he might be able to pitch two or three more years.
Paul Byrd's tale of two halves |
|
Before All-Star break |
After All-Star break |
W-L |
3-10 |
6-1 |
ERA |
5.47 |
2.61 |
BA against |
.296 |
.249 |
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn
There is some more info below but this seemed interesting to me.
-Slaps
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