A REBOOT OF THE REPERTOIRE ANGELS' WASHBURN MIXES IN NEW PITCHES TO STAY SHARP.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer The guy on the mound was a left-hander in an Angels jersey, wearing No. 56. But during a recent game in Seattle, Mariners second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Bret Boone Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. still had to rub his eyes and make sure that was, in fact, Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Washburn won the final game making him look foolish. Once upon a time, Washburn threw almost exclusively fastballs, an interesting case of mound machismo machismo Exaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and disregard of consequences. In machismo there is supreme valuation of characteristics culturally associated with the masculine and a denigration of given that his fastball rarely topped 91 mph. Oh, he could spot it and change speeds, but Washburn mostly bulled his way to 18 wins and a 3.15 ERA in 2002. Then came two years of injuries and inconsistency, and in the Darwinistic culture of baseball, Washburn grappled with the same proposition dozens of mere mortals face: Adjust or get out. So Washburn developed a slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. he was advised to junk in the minor leagues. And leaned heavily on a changeup he used to throw mostly for show. And incorporated a split-finger fastball he now consistently uses as an out pitch. Sure, it's still a work in progress, but Washburn's new software - just call it Version 56.1 - has jolted some life into his hard drive. ``He's not even Washburn anymore,'' Boone said after a recent 0-for-4 night against him. ``He completely changed. It worked. A few years ago he had a big year pitching the way he did. This is different, but it's working.'' Washburn has been somewhat inconsistent, going 2-1 with a 4.07 ERA. A seven-run outing after suffering a concussion against Detroit skewed skewed curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean. skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data his ERA. Four of his seven starts have been gems. He shut out Texas for six innings, shut out Oakland for eight innings and gave up one run in 7 2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium • • [ . Boone's Mariners were shut out over that same span. He's lacked consistency but still is pitching deeper and better into games than he did in 2003 and '04, years marred by a spring-training shoulder injury and a July rib cage rib cage n. The enclosing structure formed by the ribs and the bones to which they are attached. injury. Washburn still winces thinking of those years, when he went a combined 21-23 but perhaps learned some survival skills. ``What we're seeing now, through the evolution of Wash, is a guy comfortable with four pitches,'' pitching coach Bud Black
Washburn said he had a great slider in the minor leagues, but a pitching coach advised him to develop a slower off-speed pitch Noun 1. off-speed pitch - a baseball thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball change-of-pace, change-of-pace ball, change-up pitch, delivery - (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter to contrast with his fastball. That nasty slider never returned, he said, but now he throws a serviceable one. Much of his approach now stems from the spring-training spill he took in 2003, which injured his shoulder and dogged him for much of the year. He's reluctant to call it a silver lining silver lining n. A hopeful or comforting prospect in the midst of difficulty. [From the proverb "Every cloud has a silver lining". . ``I've been forced to throw more off-speed pitches because of injuries,'' he said. ``In doing that, I've gained more confidence in those pitches.'' For Washburn, the timing is critical. He will be a free agent after this season and the Angels have yet to show interest in extending a multiyear offer. Florida's hard-throwing A.J. Burnett figures to be the top target on the open market. But Washburn, if he continues to throw well, might not be far behind monetarily. ``I have to think if the Angels aren't interested, there will be teams that are,'' he said. ``It's a weird feeling. It's a difficult feeling. I don't enjoy the feeling I have, but it's part of the job.'' So is making adjustments. Washburn turns 31 in August, and while he's far from a soft-tossing old-timer getting by on guile, he also has learned the value of variety. ``These are the best hitters in the world,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter if it's a 90-mph fastball, a 78-mph changeup or an 81-mph slider. They're out, move to the next guy and try to get them.'' Gabe Lacques, (626) 962-8811 gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: ``I've been forced to throw more off-speed pitches because of injuries, but in doing that, I've gained more confidence in those pitches,'' says Jarrod Washburn, 2-1 with a 4.07 ERA this season. Rob Lester/Getty Images Box: ANGELS at DETROIT - Gabe Lacques |
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