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Thornton pitched two scoreless innings?

Thornton pitched two scoreless innings?

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Don't worry. In his next outing he will be sure to make up for it by giving up 5 ER.

Don't worry.  In his next outing he will be sure to make up for it by giving up 5 ER.   

 

lol. So how did he look?

lol.  So how did he look?

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No idea, I didn't watch the game.

 

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

Up next: It's the second and final spring meeting between the Cubs and White Sox, with this contest taking place at HoHoKam Park in Mesa on Monday. Mark Buehrle makes his final start before Opening Day, going up against veteran Greg Maddux.

Edited March 26, 200620 yr by SSH2005

Did McCarthy get hit around or what?

 

2IP, 5H, 1BB, 2ER. That's terrible. Definitely some control issues need to be resolved.

 

And it's strange looking at Thornton's line and noticing the one occasion he pitches two scoreless innings is the one with no strikeouts. Perhaps Cooper told him there's more to baseball than striking out the side with a 96 mph fastball. Nearly 8 years and Kerry Wood still hasn't realized this concept.

Did McCarthy get hit around or what?

 

2IP, 5H, 1BB, 2ER. That's terrible. Definitely some control issues need to be resolved.

 

And it's strange looking at Thornton's line and noticing the one occasion he pitches two scoreless innings is the one with no strikeouts. Perhaps Cooper told him there's more to baseball than striking out the side with a 96 mph fastball. Nearly 8 years and Kerry Wood still hasn't realized this concept.

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Hopefully, Cooper is helping Thornton realize that he has to get ahead of hitters early in the count instead of going 2-0 on them and laying a meatball right over the cock of the plate.

lol.  So how did he look?

 

It was only one game but he looked good. If there's anything I took from it, its that his mechanics appeared to be much better than the previous time I saw him. The first time I watched him, he appeared to have a hitch in his motion, and it seemed like he was overthrowing. This time around, he appeared much more relaxed, his control was much better and the hitters were having trouble picking up his curveball.

 

Of course, history seems to show that his biggest problem is consistancy. So he could very well look like s*** his next outing. But at the very least, his performance today was encouraging.

It was only one game but he looked good.  If there's anything I took from it, its that his mechanics appeared to be much better than the previous time I saw him.  The first time I watched him, he appeared to have a hitch in his motion, and it seemed like he was overthrowing.  This time around, he appeared much more relaxed, his control was much better and the hitters were having trouble picking up his curveball.

 

Of course, history seems to show that his biggest problem is consistancy.  So he could very well look like s*** his next outing.  But at the very least, his performance today was encouraging.

 

Thanks, Kev.

Did McCarthy get hit around or what?

 

2IP, 5H, 1BB, 2ER. That's terrible. Definitely some control issues need to be resolved.

 

He didn't pitch as bad as his stat line looks (nothing was hit particularly hard and there was an error in there) but he certainly didn't look good. You're right though, his command hasn't been there. The problem is, his ability to locate his pitches has been a big reason for his previous success.

What sort of mix of pitches was BMac throwing?

What sort of mix of pitches was BMac throwing?

 

High fastballs, high curves, and high change-ups.

He didn't pitch as bad as his stat line looks (nothing was hit particularly hard and there was an error in there) but he certainly didn't look good.  You're right though, his command hasn't been there.  The problem is, his ability to locate his pitches has been a big reason for his previous success.

 

McCarthy seems to be having problem adjusting from starting to the bullpen. If we had better options, I would say send BMAC to AAA and start there.

McCarthy seems to be having problem adjusting from starting to the bullpen. If we had better options, I would say send BMAC to AAA and start there.

 

I'm not too worried about BMAC. He struggled with some mechanics last year too, but when he got locked in, it was lights out - if he struggles for a bit, I feel he will, at some point, turn it around big time.

You guys are going a little overboard with Mac. I understand the concern, but if you actually are watching Brandon during the games, and not just going by the stat sheet, he seems to focus on one or two pitches an inning. On top of that, his body has never gone threw the day in and day out work of being in a bullpen.

That's sort of why I was asking what he was throwing. Last year, he was going out and trying to beat everyone in ST and doing so very well, the times I've seen him pitch this spring its seemed more like he's been working specific things, like spending whole innings throwing nothing except the 2 seamer.

 

So Thornton at least looked decent today btw right?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...i-sportsnew-hed

But Cooper treats the acquisition of Thornton as if he still has a point to prove.

 

"We've had a pretty good track record with the White Sox, bringing in some guys and having things work out," Cooper said, declining to use the first person. "They're all important, but (the Thornton trade) is important because if we can get this guy getting to what we think he can do . . . "

 

Cooper has helped steer the careers of Esteban Loaiza, Cliff Politte and Contreras in the right direction once they joined the Sox, and Jon Garland broke out in 2005 with an 18-victory season.

 

Cooper liked Thornton so much that he looked at film of him from two years ago. "I don't do that much," he said. "I'm consumed with the people we have, but I wanted to check him out."

We'll see...

Edited March 27, 200620 yr by SSH2005

The Royals announcers made it sound like the double ended up that way because Mackowiak dove and did not come up with it.  And the 'almost' homer didn't reach the warning track.

 

Stop trying to confuse the sheep with the facts.

good game.

thome owned.

Some background on Thorton's performance, yesterday:

 

Newly acquired left-handed reliever Matt Thornton credited an alteration in his delivery with helping him pitch two scoreless innings.

 

At the suggestion of pitching coach Don Cooper, the 6-foot-5-inch Thornton said he is releasing the ball later, which is helping him keep the ball down in the strike zone.

 

"[Cooper] said he saw it two years ago when he was watching film on me," Thornton said. "I kidded him by saying, 'You could have sent me a little note or something. It may have been a little different for me.'

 

"It's a start. If I can throw the ball like I did today, I think it will be a big step forward for me."

 

Thornton induced Ruben Gotay to hit into an inning-ending double play in the sixth.

 

Let's hope this is the start of something good.