Cincinnati Reds’ Nick Masset hopes the 2012 MLB season will be different – MLB News
The Cincinnati Reds’ relief pitcher Nick Masset has hoped his 2012 season will be different from that of this year. Although Masset put together an otherwise fine 3.71 ERA during the 2011 regular season, he believes there was a lot left to be desired in
the performance.
In the 75 games that he appeared, his 3.71 ERA is in no way unsatisfactory. Nonetheless, there came a string of struggles while he exerted himself to remain in a dominant position.
When asked how he felt about his performance, he stated that he had some highs and lows, missing some of his pitches. Cutters and sliders, he commented, gave him a hard time. "It's kind of been a roller coaster, up and down," Masset said.
The fact that he appeared in more than 74 games for the third consecutive year was a feat in itself. Nonetheless, Masset believes, being a relief hurler that too many pitches can be difficult sometimes.
While Masset has his calculations to make and brace himself for the uphill task coming in the 2012 season, his team’s manager has their own observations. Dusty Baker asserts Masset’s selection of pitches is something that has to be looked into.
"In the case of Masset, it's more of missed location and pitch selection to me, versus a loss of stuff," said Reds’ manager Dusty Baker.
Masset, on the other hand, expressed his belief that it is an aspect that he will probably work on.
"It's something I can work on in the offseason, coming into next year," Masset said. "I've had some highs and some lows. I have some things I want to get better with. I definitely won't cut it out, because I think it will take away more than help me out."
There were varying degrees of success and failure in Masset’s 2011 season. While he had a 1.36 ERA from May to July, there came a time when he had a 7.20 ERA to post. He somehow got back his momentum to bring the ERA down to 1.04 in over 10 games that he
played.
Considering the graph of his performance, the 29-year-old Masset still has the potential to turn the tide once he gets his form back.
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