推 Justned:愈來愈像closer218.168.149.243 03/13
Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News
PEORIA, Ariz. - It was the fourth inning, not the ninth, when Chin-hui Tsao
took the mound. It was the 10th game on the Cactus League schedule, not one
of consequence in the regular season.
There were 8,362 fans at Peoria Stadium, not four times that number in, say,
St. Louis, Philadelphia or San Francisco. And when Tsao made his third spring
appearance Friday in the Colorado Rockies' 8-7 victory against the Seattle
Mariners, he wasn't trying to protect a narrow lead and convert a save
opportunity.
But Tsao, who wants to begin the season as the Rockies closer, nonetheless
faced a distinct challenge and handled it extremely well against the Mariners.
Seattle's two big off-season acquisitions were free agents Adrian Beltre and
Richie Sexson, the two Mariners who led off the fourth against Tsao.
After Beltre and Sexson would come Scott Spiezio, another veteran
major-leaguer to test Tsao. It wasn't much of a test.
Beltre struck out swinging, ending his at-bat with an unaggressive swing.
Sexson fouled out to third base. And after Spiezio singled to right and stole
second base, Randy Winn flied to right.
With the ball descending toward right fielder Brad Hawpe, Tsao began walking
off the mound, knowing his outing was over after 19 pitches, including 12
strikes.
"He did what I wanted to see," pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. "He came in
and (threw) strike one. Doubled up (and threw) strike two. His pitch count
got up there because of some foul balls. I just loved to see the aggressiveness
in the strike zone, not trying to pick in the strike zone."
Tsao got ahead of Beltre and Sexson 0-2 and threw two consecutive strikes to
Spiezio after a first-pitch ball. At that point, Tsao had thrown 12 pitches,
nine for strikes.
Tsao threw strictly fastballs and changeups. He said he threw two sliders in
his previous game Monday against Kansas City, but none against the Mariners.
Tsao pitched a scoreless inning against the Royals, but issued two walks.
Worse, he was deliberate to the point of being slow, a tempo he took steps to
alter.
"I catch the ball and throw the ball," Tsao said. "I tried to be faster
(Friday)."
Faster is exactly what manager Clint Hurdle wanted from Tsao.
"He hit the speed-up button (Friday)," Hurdle said. "He wasn't out of control
by any means, but he was just quick and efficient. His fastball's live. He's
shown us good arm strength, showed a good changeup (Friday)."
The Rockies have been waiting for one of their closer candidates to step
forward. Eddie Gaillard, a non-roster player with a closer's pedigree earned
in four seasons in Japan, has not pitched in two games - allowing nine
baserunners in 2 1/3 innings - and is nursing a hamstring injury.
Another closer candidate is Aaron Taylor, whose one year and one day in the big
leagues exceeds Tsao's time by about half a season. Taylor was considerably
better in his third outing Wednesday after a struggle three days earlier.
Tsao, meanwhile, has faced 13 batters this spring while allowing one unearned
run in three innings. Opponents have gone 2-for-11 (.182) against him. Scouts
said Tsao's fastball was in the 91-92 mph range against Seattle, down from
94-95 mph against the Royals.
But that's still plenty of velocity, particularly when coupled with the 82 mph
changeup he showed the Mariners. And Tsao, as he builds up arm strength and gets
the feel of getting back on the mound, has yet to add his slider to his arsenal
.
The bottom line Friday was that Tsao, in addition to picking up the pace, threw
strikes and met the challenge of the middle of the Seattle lineup.
Other than trying to maintain a faster tempo, Tsao said, "I didn't change
anything."
He shouldn't have to, not with his combination of pitches and command. Hurdle
has said he wants one of the closer candidates to separate himself from the
pack. That's a process, not an instant achievement measured over a few batters
regardless of their reputation.
But as the second week of Cactus League games concludes, Tsao took what Apodaca
called "a good step forward" in the closer derby.
"I don't think one game separates," Apodaca said. "He's on the right track. If
he stays there - that's what we want to see."
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※ 編輯: azure0920 來自: 61.229.102.131 (03/13 08:12)