By BILL BRINK ADVERTISING By BILL BRINK Tribune News Service DUNEDIN, Fla. — Tony Watson worked hard last season. He pitched in 78 games, tied with Milwaukee’s Will Smith for the most in the National League, and two fewer than
By BILL BRINK
Tribune News Service
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Tony Watson worked hard last season. He pitched in 78 games, tied with Milwaukee’s Will Smith for the most in the National League, and two fewer than the major league leader, Cleveland right-hander Bryan Shaw. How does one recover from such a season?
“Found the crease of the couch when I got home, loaded up on frozen pizzas and let my body rest,” Watson said. “Then I got back after it.”
Watson and Mark Melancon, the two men who will pitch the eighth and ninth innings again this season, were not only durable last year, but also consistent. Melancon’s 2014 season was a mirror image of the previous year, while Watson pitched even better. Between the armies of advanced scouts, extensive tape available to opposing hitters and the volatile nature of bullpens, such consistency is difficult to achieve.
“We’ve had a consistent group this whole time, consistent core of guys down there,” Melancon said.
In 2013 and 2014, Melancon allowed 15 runs in 71 innings while appearing in 72 games. He struck out 71 batters and walked 11 last season, almost identical to 2013 when he struck out 70 and walked eight.
Watson’s innings pitched increased, to 77 1/3 from 71 2/3, and he pitched in 11 more games. His runs allowed, 16 and 19, and walks, 15 and 12, were similar. But his ERA dropped, to 1.63 from 2.39, and he struck out 81 in 2014 compared to 54 in 2013.
Batters know what they’re getting with Melancon — a cut fastball in the low 90s and a curveball about 10 mph slower. Watson throws slightly harder, mixing a two- and four-seam fastball with a changeup and occasional slider, but hitters still know what’s coming.
“I think a quality pitch is a quality pitch,” Watson said. “The old adage, good pitching beats good hitting. You’re playing against the game, not the opponent.”
To stay ahead of hitters, they try to find a small edge. They work to avoid patterns and stay unpredictable. They rely on their advanced scouting reports to learn what pitches opposing batters are hitting well or poorly in recent games. One reason the Pirates put so much emphasis on their starters pitching to the inner half of the plate is that it opens the outside corner for the bullpen later in the game.
From the bullpen in left-center field, 400 feet from home plate, Pirates relievers watch what types of calls their starters get from the home-plate umpire and the swings they induce. Though they don’t have a television with the game feed in the bullpen — “We’ve been wanting some of those, but we watch through two fences and can’t see right field or first base sometimes,” Watson said — they note the horizontal and vertical break of the pitches displayed on the facing of PNC Park’s club-level deck.
“It’s just all visual, and we have the scouting reports in the binder down there so we’re staying on top of things,” he said. “It’s not exactly perfect, but it gets it done.”
As for keeping their bodies fresh after a heavy workload, not much has changed for either pitcher. Melancon started working out six days after the end of last season and pitched in an All-Star series in Japan against the Japanese national team. “That was only three innings,” he said. “It was more of a vacation.” Watson trusts his routine, honed after his third full season in the majors.
“Just pay attention to your body and your arm and know when you might need a day and know when something’s barking, try to be proactive instead of reactive on that side of things,” he said.
Judging by his workload last year, his body didn’t bark much.
