PELFREY WINDS UP STRUGGLING
New mechanics, but same results
PORT ST. LUCIE — For two innings on Saturday, it was the summer of 2008, or the spring of 2010: Mike Pelfrey was shooting 95 mph sinkers at hitters, gliding on and off the mound between innings, and owning the hot afternoon. Then, third baseman Justin Turner began the third by scooping a ground ball and throwing it wide of first. Within minutes, Pelfrey had slowed the game to a near stop, as he does during his most excruciating frames.
Four C Cardinals scored. Pitching coach Dan Wart Warthen trotted to the mound for a visit. Lance Be Berkman was hit by a pitch. By the end of the day day, Pelfrey had allowed five runs in six innings, a and actually reduced his Grapefruit League E ERA to 11.49.
That is not an attractive number, but inside the M Mets clubhouse there is lingering patience wit with Pelfrey, and faith that he will stabilize int into a serviceable pitcher. Despite all the strugg struggle this spring, which follows a year of regres regression in 2011, and questions about whether P Pelfrey will ever reclaim the mojo of his domin dominant bursts, most of Pelfrey’s teammates say that they stand by the pitcher, and want the Mets to keep him.
“If we got rid of him, he would (stick it to us),” o one player said, believing that Pelfrey still has the talent to be a solid starter. “No one around here is panicking about his spring.”
Few, if any, Mets believe that Pelfrey is a top-of-th top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but the team has seen en enough success from the righthander to thi think he can serve as a third or fourth starte starter. Of course, he has not even earned that modest m billing so far this spring.
Des Despite an order from Warthen to focus on refi refining the sinker that, combined with a spli split-fingered fastball, enabled him to domi dominate in 2010, Pelfrey has been largely un unable to execute that pitch. Instead, enou enough of his fastballs arrive as if on a tee — belt high and in the middle of the strik strike zone — to allow opponents plentiful ru run-scoring chances. Even when Pelfrey throws sinkers, they often drift dri in unintended directions, according to on one National League talent evaluator. “He lack lacks consistent movement right now,” the evalu evaluator said.
After S Saturday’s outing, Pelfrey noted a mechanical a adjustment that he hoped would add to the pre precision and effectiveness of that sinker: As sug suggested by Warthen in a bullpen session last w week, Pelfrey now brings his hands all the wa way over his head during the windup, far higher than he did previously.
“We ch changed the mechanics,” Pelfrey said. “The ball came out great, and it felt free and easy. It w was easier to get on top of the sinker by doing that. It’s something that we’ll keep working o on.”
“I think he moved forward a long way,” Terry Collins said. “He was much, much better.”
Becaus Because of the adjustments he made, the usually se self-critical Pelfrey was able to leave Digital Domain D Park Saturday in a bright mood, de despite the four-run third inning.
“One b bad inning, but I took a lot of positives toda today,” Pelfrey said. “I made a couple of pitche pitches that I left up and didn’t execute, and they hit it, but I thought I was aggressive throwing strikes, and the ball came out of my hand pret pretty good.”