fine article here, an excerpt:
The weakness in his leg last season brought some of that back. His trusty curve betrayed him. That cutter he counted on for almost a third of his pitches used to snap at 88 mph in 2013, but shrank to 85 mph this past season. He pushed it back this winter by being able to press himself in the weight room. Broader through the chest and stronger throughout the legs, Wainwright arrived in spring training seeking more innings. The backaches and sore knees and grunts that greeted him last spring because of the injury near his right heel had vanished, so he was free to prepare without limitations.
With one start, he found the feel for his curve again. With another, he reacquainted himself with a changeup ? a dustbin pitch from the past that he could use to offset the cutter. Carpenter watched Wainwright?s final start, a rematch against the Mets, and reassured him his arm slot was good, his mechanics clean, and his stuff there. Carpenter said the location was off ? lower, lower, lower in the zone. This is the work Wainwright relishes. He said whether he?s nursing his garden, readying for dinner, or settling in to watch video of opposing batters like he did Monday night, he enjoys the preparation
The weakness in his leg last season brought some of that back. His trusty curve betrayed him. That cutter he counted on for almost a third of his pitches used to snap at 88 mph in 2013, but shrank to 85 mph this past season. He pushed it back this winter by being able to press himself in the weight room. Broader through the chest and stronger throughout the legs, Wainwright arrived in spring training seeking more innings. The backaches and sore knees and grunts that greeted him last spring because of the injury near his right heel had vanished, so he was free to prepare without limitations.
With one start, he found the feel for his curve again. With another, he reacquainted himself with a changeup ? a dustbin pitch from the past that he could use to offset the cutter. Carpenter watched Wainwright?s final start, a rematch against the Mets, and reassured him his arm slot was good, his mechanics clean, and his stuff there. Carpenter said the location was off ? lower, lower, lower in the zone. This is the work Wainwright relishes. He said whether he?s nursing his garden, readying for dinner, or settling in to watch video of opposing batters like he did Monday night, he enjoys the preparation
