A’s: New mental approach tested in Cactus League finale against the Giants
MESA, ARIZ. >> Sean Manaea decided he would undertake an important personal project this spring, something he felt was necessary if he wanted to be successful on the mound: an overhaul to his mental approach to pitching.
Whether that meant avoiding getting wrapped up in the emotional lows of a bad outing or the highs or a triumphant one, the A’s 29-year-old left-handed pitcher felt it all needed improvement. And against the Giants on Monday, the final game of Cactus League play, Manaea’s work was stress tested.
In the top of the third inning, Manaea allowed two bloop singles and
walked two batters on borderline pitches. It led to Manaea’s removal from the game. Still, he felt he handled the mental aspects well.
“When I was younger, I definitely would have let that stuff affect me,” Manaea said after his team’s 7-2 loss. “It definitely did affect me in a certain way. But I feel like the way I carried myself was OK. I can definitely work on controlling it better.”
For the most part, Manaea felt his mental approach held up against the Giants despite a statistically shaky outing. In just 3.1 innings, Manaea allowed five earned runs, five hits and four walks. At times he lost control of his pitches and struggled to place the ball in certain locations.
There were plenty of positives, though. Manaea’s breaking ball was sharp and his fastball kept the Giants’ hitters off balance at times. On paper, Manaea described the outing as “not good at all,” but he’s choosing to look beyond the stat sheet.
“Overall, just feeling good,” he said. “The pitches felt great. I felt like I could do a little better-controlling fastball glove side and then I just got around my slider
at points. Other than that, I feel great and I’m ready for the season.”
The upcoming season, which opens for the A’s on Thursday night at the Coliseum, represents a significant opportunity for Manaea to prove he’s capable of handling a full workload for a starting pitcher. After five excellent starts in 2019, he suffered a seasonending shoulder injury. Between that and the COVID19-shortened 2020 season, Manaea has pitched just 83.2 innings in the last two years, a total he wants to more than double in 2021 alone.
“I’d like to get to 200 innings,” he said. “That would be cool.”
He’s also making sure not to get ahead of himself.
“At the end of the day, I have to take it day-by-day and just monitor things through that,” Manaea said. “I feel like I’m in a good spot and just need to control those things that I can control and just be prepared every day.”
According to A’s manager Bob Melvin, Manaea’s spot in the rotation is still to be determined.
Melvin said Monday morning that outside of having Chris Bassitt pitch on Opening Day and Jesus Luzardo in the second game, the A’s remaining rotation spots will come down to how righty Frankie Montas, who tore his cuticle on his right middle finger, feels
after his simulated game today in Oakland.
When Manaea pitches isn’t really of concern to him, though. Manaea said he is simply excited to get the season started. He believes he’s doing it from a better mental space.
“I can still work on washing things away and living in that moment,” Manaea said. “But I feel like I’m doing a pretty OK job. [Monday] won’t be the last time stuff doesn’t go my way. That’s just part of the game.”
MELVIN LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING FANS >> It won’t be long before the A’s host the Houston Astros in Oakland, opening an expected 162-game schedule after they played just 60 last year. With the season so near, the A’s and have plenty to be excited about: a lineup that has shown off its potency throughout the spring by leading all MLB teams in runs and on-base percentage. They also rank third in team batting average and 10th in home runs.
The A’s have plenty of pitching to be enthusiastic about, too. Their starters have performed at a high level throughout camp and the bullpen is led by Yusmeiro Petit, one of the most consistent relievers in the league over the last several years.
The most exciting thing about getting the season started, though? Melvin
says it’s having fans back in the stands.
“Everyone has commented on it,” Melvin said, “how good it feels to have some fans back in the stands and have that enthusiasm. We’re in the entertainment field, and it’s our job to entertain and guys like doing that.”
Melvin credited A’s fans with “pushing us forward” for walk-off hits and critical late-season victories in recent years. Since 2017, the Athletics are 170-105 in the Oakland Coliseum, a markedly better record than their 135-136 showing in road games. Melvin believes it’s a credit to the people in the stands.
“It feels like a partner more than fans,” Melvin said. “It might not be sold out every night but the ones that come to our place and the ones that are watching on TV are [dedicated] fans. They’ve been Oakland A’s fans for a long time and they’re just as invested in it as we are.”
The A’s will host 20 percent capacity to start the season. The first few rows of the lower bowl will be closed off to create as much space between the public and the players as possible. Melvin will take it.
“It lends to maybe there’s some normalcy on the horizon,” Melvin said. “Hopefully it just increases as the season goes along. It’s a great first step.”