Manuel: Myers Had Poor Selection
(Which used to be the Adam Eaton Excuse of the Week.)
Myers said after his six-inning , six-run performance against the Cardinals, that he was feeling good, but:
“But I’m still trying to get the ball down. I worked on it in the bullpen the last couple times. It’s something that is definitely fixable, but I have to go out there and do it on the mound. It doesn’t count when you do it in the bullpen.”
It doesn’t count when you have a raised mound and you’re throwing 60’6″ toward an imaginary strike zone? But it does count when you have a raised mound and you’re throwing 60’6″ toward an imaginary strike zone and it’s a game. I see. Makes a lot of sense.
Memo to Myers: GET THE BALL DOWN.
Also, THROW OTHER PITCHES. Courtesy Charlie Manuel:
“The ball Ludwick hit for a double out there, a big hit early in the game, it looked to me that he threw him about, what, five, six fastballs in a row. He just kept going at him with fastball, fastball, fastball. Finally, the guy timed one down. [Myers] makes pitches. His selection is not real good. Today, he [made] mistakes.”
Why is his selection poor? Does he not have faith in his curve or changeup? Is it Chris Coste, his personal catcher? Or does he just not have it in his breaking pitches?
When you throw fastball upon fastball it doesn’t matter if it’s up, down, sideways or slantways. Guys will get to it. They’ll time it (especially if it’s consistently coming in at 93 mph) and hammer it. They hammered it all over the place yesterday.
When Myers is at his best he uses that curve effectively. He has to use the curve. Even if it’s not 100 percent on point, he has to use the curve. I’d like to know what Coste has to say about all this.
