New York Mets’ Mike Pelfrey continues rough time at Spring Training - MLB Update
Mike Pelfrey tests the patience of his manager, Terry Collins, as he kept throwing pitches from the mound he was not actually instructed. In a game against Houston Astros, Mets suffered a 5-9 defeat and significant part of it was the fact, out of total nine
runs, eight came off pitches he threw.
No matter to what extent players hide behind mediocrity of Spring Training and its being low predictor of performance during the season, they cannot somehow escape being exposed.
When asked from Pelfrey, he looked more interested in elaborating the quantity of pitches he threw than on what went wrong with him there on the mound.
“I actually thought the ball came out of my hand the best it has all spring,” Pelfrey said, trivialising his easy run leakage and the way he was taken on by Astros' batters in the game. “Obviously, I walked way too many guys, and the ball was up a little
bit. It came out good. I threw 80 pitches, so I was fine.”
Later it came out that manager wanted him to constantly touch 90 to 91 mph as had been a hallmark of his pitches in the past and when he over tried for it, he lost his way and thus was exploited immediately by the batters.
What looked bizarre about him was the way he was continuously throwing sinkers high up, well within the reach of batters. Instead of stepping back and trying to twist pitches around, he went with the same way, in a hopeless attempt for results and to his
much dismay, they never came.
Manager Collins however considers poor quality fielding as equally blame-worthy for his poor outing. He says, since Mets have not yet put their best fielders down in the field, he has a caution to believe his pitcher has poor preparations for the season.
With a looming financial crisis and the side plummeting on the Grapefruit League table, manager has a tough time ahead. Keeping players out of internal affairs of the management and making them focus on their job in the field are one of the tasks he has
to perform effectively during the season.
Tags: