Christian did a great job of changing speeds. After that first inning, he kept us off balance mixing the fastball and he spotted his off-speed pitches so well, we were behind in the count.
Quotes about off-speed (16 Quotes)
Once he settled in, he really did a nice job keeping Taft off balance. They're a really good fastball hitting club, and Marcus was able to throw his off-speed pitches for strikes.
We didn't capitalize on our opportunities. A lot of their stuff was just off-speed. They weren't overpowering. They just kept us off balance.
Landon pitched well. They were struggling with his off-speed stuff and he kept them off balance, and I was impressed with that.
He has a pretty clear-cut mental approach in terms of attacking the pitch. We've told him, 'Hey, they're going to try to extend the strike zone and get you out on off-speed pitches.' He's done a fine job with that.
I'm getting more confidence in my off-speed pitch with every outing. Hitters are swinging at it, and that's a good sign. I want them to swing because that means it looks like a strike. I hate when they aren't swinging at it. The means it either doesn't look like a good pitch, or I'm not throwing it for strikes.
If there's anything lacking now, it's the control Prior has on his off-speed pitches. Once he gets there, he can be one of the best pitchers. He has a lot to learn, but the potential is most definitely there.
Both Chase and Taylor have great control. We need them to take their game to a higher level this year. I anticipate them pitching backwards, meaning when they get behind by counts of 2-0 or 3-1, you won't see them try to catch up by throwing just fast balls. I want to see more off-speed pitches. Outside of that, their main goal is to stay healthy and get stronger as the season progresses.
He (Kazmir) has good stuff. You can see when his confidence is rising. He's not afraid to throw the off-speed. It was good to get him off the mound. He was rolling.
He had great command of his fastball to get ahead of the hitters, and he used his off-speed pitches effectively.
I was able to get into a little bit of a rhythm there. The biggest thing was getting ahead. Once I got ahead I could start to mix in off-speed stuff, keep them guessing and off-balance. In the first inning I'd be 2-0 and everybody in the park knew I was going to throw a fastball. Once I settled down it made things a lot easier.
I thought he threw really well. He didn't have quite as much control on his off-speed stuff, but he battled. He threw as hard as I have seen but not as sharp.
Jason threw exceptionally well. He had great command of his fastball and mixed his off-speed in well. He kept them off balance and had a real strong outing.
Certainly the back end of the Japanese bullpen has drawn a lot of attention because they have great arms, good command, outstanding off-speed pitches. Those guys are going to catch the attention of major league scouts as well.
What can I say about Chad Burns He worked his off-speed pitches well and kept (the Sarasota batters) off-balance. He also competed, and that's what we need.
A lot of first-pitch strikes, he kept you off balance with a lot of off-speed stuff after fastballs. Obviously that was effective because we didn't get too many square bats on the ball.