Olney - Carmona Shouldn't Try So Hard

[Beanpot]

Nice look at the Tribe:

 

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Carmona shouldn't try so hard

 

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Fausto Carmona threw at much less than maximum effort in his first official bullpen session of spring training Saturday, gliding easily through his delivery. That's what you're supposed to do on the first day of camp when there are no fans around and no hitter in the box. Still, his hard-diving sinker veered downward violently. Victor Martinez, the Indians' catcher, turned his glove to track the ball, and he yelled to Carmona in Spanish that Hey, you could win with just that.

 

It's when Carmona ratchets up his effort and tries too hard that he creates some trouble for himself. The harder he tries, the more likely it is that the back leg in his delivery -- his right leg -- will fold like a paper bag. Then, his hips open up quickly and his arm drags, and his hand comes through too low. The harder Carmona tries, the harder it is for him to throw strikes.

 

Too often in 2008, this was a problem for Carmona. In 2007, the right-hander had walked just 61 batters in 215 innings, but last season, he walked 70 in 120.2 innings -- the kind of trend that might frighten any pitching coach. But Carl Willis, the Indians' pitching coach, walked away from last season feeling pretty sure that Carmona's mechanical glitch could be fixed. Willis was even more certain after watching the right-hander throw six walkless innings in winter ball last month.

 

"In winter ball, he established more of a strike-throwing mentality," Willis said. "We feel good about that part. It's a matter of him getting comfortable, and with that effort, especially with the lower half of his body … I think it's pretty simple.

 

"But how do you get on someone about their effort? How do you scold someone for trying too hard? It's just a matter of finding that comfortable emotional working level to be able to control and repeat his delivery."

 

Carmona said through an interpreter that he can sense when his back leg collapses, and he came away from winter ball feeling he can better make the necessary adjustment from pitch to pitch. If he doesn't notice that movement, the coaches usually see it right away.

 

"He has that electric type of sink, that power type of sink," Willis said. "And as a lot of young pitchers tend to do, sometimes he tries to make it even more -- and he tends to overthrow. So we were really trying to stress, as he went into winter ball, the need for him to stay under control and to throw downhill, as opposed to bending that back leg too much.

 

"He sees it. But sometimes, it's hard to control effort level when you're in the middle of competing."

 

Almost every pitch can be the telltale sign of mechanical failure, Willis said. For example, when Carmona tries too hard and there's a breakdown, the ball usually sails on him, an indicator of a problem even before the pitching coach says anything.

 

Indians manager Eric Wedge said, "He has to keep himself under control, stay in his delivery, stay over the rubber and let his arm work for him -- and that was what we saw [saturday]. Less is more for him, as we all know."

 

Carmona's evolution will be crucial to Cleveland's performance. The Indians appear to have an improved defense, a deep and talented bullpen and a frontline offense that could be augmented by the recovery of Travis Hafner, who so far has looked good in his cage work, by all accounts. For now, the Indians' biggest question is what kind of production they'll get from their rotation and, more specifically, out of Carmona, who has shown how dominant he can be.

 

Carl Pavano looked around the Indians' clubhouse at all the names on the placards and noted all the guys he knew and had played with before signing with Cleveland -- names such as Jamey Carroll, Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee. Pavano even remembers a time when reliever Rafael Betancourt played with him -- as a shortstop, when they were both young.

 

"I ended the [2008] season healthy, and I hadn't done that in four years," Pavano said. "You want an offseason in which you can give your body a break, especially when you're coming back from Tommy John [surgery], because you're working 12 to 14 months straight on getting back. I'm glad to get an opportunity to pitch here, too -- getting the ball every fifth day. I want to go out there and compete and help this team win."

 

Pavano made 26 starts in four seasons when playing for the Yankees, and his injury problems became a source of controversy.

 

"I'd hate to say that I'd go back and do things differently, because I learned a lot -- a lot about myself, about things in the past that maybe I took for granted," he said. "It's a different animal, everyone knows that. The most frustrating part was that they needed me. We had a lot of injuries to our pitching staff over those four years, and hell, I would've made a big difference there. I think that was frustrating for everyone. I think that came across in my attitude, because I was frustrated -- if you have injuries there, it's a big story, for a guy who was getting paid as much as I was.

 

"The reporters were just trying to do their job, and it was irritating every day to talk about [the injuries]. And I didn't enjoy it. I wanted to be out there. I got on the wrong side of the 8-ball."

 

In the fall, after leaving the Yankees, Pavano called general manager Brian Cashman and thanked him for his support. Cashman had made it clear to reporters that Pavano's injuries were serious and debilitating, and that they were the reason he wasn't pitching.

 

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