Cincinnati Reds’ Dusty Baker not worried about Mat Latos’ pitching – MLB News
As the Spring Training continued with rapid pace on Monday, February 27, the Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker dismissed the suggestions of being worried about Mat Latos’ pitching. The player whom the Reds recently acquired had his first session in camp.
The workout at Goodyear Arizona is being closely watched by the game observers. Mat Latos, a new entrant in the club, will automatically be the focus of many. It is this fact that saw their practical evidence when suggestions were made that he probably lacked
command in the practice session.
However, the team manager was not ready to buy that argument. Baker, who sounded quite confident about the views that he was expressing, stated it will have been a matter of concern if it had been March, not February, implying Latos had ample time to overcome
the difficulties encountered in the camp.
"He was throwing against the big boys, and he certainly didn't want to hit any of them," Baker said. "He was forcing that breaking ball a little bit. I told him to quit worrying. It's February. It's not March yet. If it was March 28, you can be a little
concerned."
But Baker does make clear he likes precision when it comes to practice sessions. “I like precision. I don't like standing around. I like guys moving. I like them busy and I like them on time. In my normal life, I'm probably over organized, if there is such
a thing, and very time efficient."
Mat Latos is a prized asset for the Cincinnati Reds given the good career he has led since making his debut back in 2009. In the 72 games that he has appeared, Latos has 72 starts, winning 27 of the games and losing 29 with a career ERA of 3.37.
The past season he had 3.47 ERA in 31 starts, winning 9 games in 194.1 innings that he pitched in total. With the passage of time and as the season draws closer, it is to be seen how Latos proves his instrumentality for the team. It will be interesting to
see the impact that Latos makes during the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
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