I think he's getting there. He made a lot of good pitches today. The ball was down for the most part. He got the ball in on the right-handers when he needed to and he got his split-finger over the plate.
Quotes about right-handers (12 Quotes)
He's become a better pitcher. He's throwing more strikes. He's got a better feel for that breaking ball now, and he's locating his fastball better. He's ahead more and he's been real tough on right-handers.
There are a few guys (on the Mexican team) that we do know, that I'm able to recognize and realize what they can and can't do. But as it goes on now, we're able to get a little more film. I'll look over what Jake did, and some of our other right-handers, and then I'll make my assessment from there.
Throwing from the third-base side, I wasn't able to consistently get balls inside (to lefties), especially with how far I throw across my body. The difference isn't just in the fact the results are different, but I just feel like I have more command to the outer half against right-handers and to the inside against lefties. It's not like I'm going to pitch like (I did today) every single time. But it gives me a better chance.
Chavez has to hit there after we use Michael Tucker and Howard, ... Lidge throws one of those 90 mile per hour sliders that eats right-handers up. We thought that Chavez could put the ball in play. All we needed was a base hit, and we win the ballgame. We didn't need a home run
I like to come here prepared. Today was great, especially with the hitters up there. I was able to throw inside to right-handers and down and in to lefties.
Everything looked normal for him, his fastball velocity, everything was good. He just lacked location. He had trouble getting the ball on the inner half. He's the type of pitcher that has to establish inside to those right-handers and he was having trouble with it. He just wasn't sharp. That's kind of expected when you miss a week or two of competition.
People don't realize that in lacrosse you need an even number of left-handers and right-handers. Matt is a lefty who is very fast and has a lot of skills.
He commands the ball as well as any young pitcher I've seen. He does a good job sticking his fastball to right-handers. He's able to make the baseball do what he wants it to do.
I wanted to increase his playing time against right-handers and he started struggling a little there against right-handers (in recent games). That's why we're going back to the way we were.
I expect we'll have a better chance to win games, especially against right-handers. He has the ability to affect the team and provide a snapshot for the rest of the season and next year.
It is often argued that left-handed batsmen have an advantage compared with the right-handers. I do not agree.