Pressly not a fan of new pitch clock rules
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Pressly is a purist. He prefers playing a more traditional brand of baseball, free from the clocks and constraints that will soon consume the sport and force him into changing how he closes games.
“I’m old school. I’m not a big fan of it, but I don’t make the rules apparently,” Pressly said. “I can go quicker if I really wanted to, but if I’m on the mound, why do I need to go quicker if I don’t have to? But now that we have to, I can go quicker. I’m not a fan of it.”
Perhaps no Astros pitcher will be more impacted by the pitch clock than Pressly, who averaged 23.7 seconds between pitches with the bases empty last season, according to Baseball Savant. Only five American League pitchers worked slower.
“I think every pitcher is taught to be on your own tempo, be controlled, breathe and slow the game down,” Pressly said on Saturday. “Now the pitch clock is going to affect that a little bit, but we’re all big leaguers. We can make an adjustment.”
Pressly’s measurement on Baseball Savant does not necessarily indicate problems are looming in the pitch clock era. The website’s statistic measures the time between the release of two pitches. The new rules require pitchers to start their motion before a clock expires — they have 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 with runners aboard.
According to Pressly, most of his time between pitches comes while taking a walk around the mound to settle himself down. He planned to practice at a faster pace during his first live batting practice session on Sunday. The Astros do plan to use pitch clocks this spring during most of those sessions.
“It’s still the same mindset, you just won’t be able to escape,” Pressly said. “If you’re getting knocked around or not being able to throw strikes or just don’t have it that day, a lot of guys just step off and take a breath. You’re not going to be able to do that now.”
“I think that could be a potential problem in that you could see guys getting hurt, you could see guys hitting more people because they’re getting tired. That’s just what I see. I don’t know if that’s actually going to happen — hopefully it doesn’t happen — so you just have to make the adjustment I guess.”
Pressly will get a brief respite next month in the World Baseball Classic, when he’ll pitch without a clock and at his own leisure. The two-time All Star closer is scheduled to report to Team USA on March 6 and said he is “pumped to play with some of the guys that I’ve just been in awe of.”
Pressly started his offseason ramp up earlier to prepare for the tournament .
“I kind of like it. I came into camp and everything feels really good. I’m ready to go,” Pressly said.
McCullers is shut down ‘ temporarily’
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. is “temporarily” shut down from throwing, but is “feeling pretty good,” according to manager Dusty Baker.
Baker provided no substantive update on McCullers’ condition Saturday, one day after revealing the righthander experienced arm soreness during a Tuesday bullpen session. Baker said McCullers is getting treatment from the team’s training staff.
“I know it’s news and it’s important news, but we feel like he’ll be all right,” Baker said.
McCullers has not been spotted on the field during any of the Astros’ three workouts open to reporters. He missed five months of last season with a strained flexor muscle.
Pair of big catches stay with Tucker
Two of Kyle Tucker's most meaningful life moments occurred one month apart. On Nov. 5, the right fielder sprinted into foul territory to secure the final out of Houston’s World Series victory against the Philadelphia Phillies, sending teammates spilling onto the field and a city into delirium.
Tucker had to complete a bigger task around Christmas: proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Samantha. Both, brought a belly full of butterflies, but one that had Tucker far more nerve-wracked.
“Probably propose,” Tucker said on Saturday with a grin. “I had that fly ball the whole way. I was diving, like, 30 rows in the stands to catch that if there was no net or anything.”
Tucker nearly did, but corralled Nick Castellanos' shallow fly ball just before making contact with the netting down Minute Maid Park’s first-base line. Tucker still has the baseball as a souvenir at his home in Florida.
Samantha’s “yes” still brought a far more significant happiness for Tucker. The couple is set to wed during the upcoming offseason.