Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Paul Hagen: Philliedelphia: Cutter could be culprit for Cole, Kyle

EVEN BEFORE Kyle Kendrick got blasted in his latest start, a scout who followed the Phillies closely late in spring training and in the early days of the season offered an interesting insight about Kendrick and Cole Hamels.

Kyle Kendrick has a 17.47 ERA so far this season. (Charles Fox / Staff Photographer)
Kyle Kendrick has a 17.47 ERA so far this season. (Charles Fox / Staff Photographer)Read more

EVEN BEFORE Kyle Kendrick got blasted in his latest start, a scout who followed the Phillies closely late in spring training and in the early days of the season offered an interesting insight about Kendrick and Cole Hamels.

"They've both fallen in love with their cutters," he said.

He went on to explain that the cutter (a variation of the slider) is the kind of pitch that tends to detract from the rest of a pitcher's arsenal if it's thrown too often. Specifically, he said, he thought it was hurting Kendrick's sinker and Hamels' curve.

That theory took on a little more gravitas when Kendrick went out shortly afterwards and was tagged for six runs on six hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings.

Which, in turn, triggered a memory of what 283-game winner Jim Kaat said this spring when asked about Hamels, an eerily similar observation.

"I read where they were going to teach Cole Hamels a slider," he said. "I was a [Twins] teammate of [manager Charlie Manuel] and I follow the Phillies. I just kind of wanted to warn him that I learned early in my career, actually from Whitey Ford, it's very rare, if at all, that you find a pitcher who has a good curve and a good slider. They have one or the other.

"If they have a good slider, their curve, most of the time, is a mediocre pitch, and vice versa. Cole Hamels has such a good curveball that I just didn't want to sit back and not say that to him. To me, the best way to pitch today, particularly if you're a lefthander, is fastball-changeup-curveball. There are more sliders hit out of the ballpark, particularly in late-game, game-on-the-line situations, than any other pitch. I know in my own career, when I started minimizing my slider and going to other pitches, particularly in the late innings, it was more beneficial to me.

"The problem with a slider for me is it's a very fickle pitch. It's an easy pitch to learn, and you fall in love with it because it's easy to throw for a strike. You'll throw three or four that are really good ones that have a lot of bite, but then that one mediocre one you throw [gets belted]."

Well, everybody has an opinion. Especially when things aren't going well. But consider this:

According to the pitch-by-pitch breakdown on MLB.com, Kendrick has thrown 107 pitches this season. Almost a third - 33 of them - have been sliders. And, coincidentally or otherwise, his sinker has been staying up in the strike zone and getting tattooed.

Hamels has a 5.06 earned run average. Daily News Phillies beat writer Dave Murphy figured out that the lefthander has thrown 27 cutters to this point of the season and has had a lot of success with it: 20 strikes and just two hits.

The flip side, though, is that he's having little success with the curve that was supposed to be the key to his season. He's thrown only 11 so far (out of 212 total pitches), just two for strikes.

Maybe this is an answer. Maybe not. But it's certainly worth considering.

Around the bases

* Juiced: Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. has given up soft drinks and said he has gone through serious withdrawal symptoms. "I was drinking 10 to 12 a day. Cold turkey, man," said Junior, who has switched to apple and cranberry juice and water. "The hard part is at the park because any clubhouse you go to, they're free and sitting in the cooler where you can see them."

* Unfamiliar face: The Twins have placed a statue of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett outside their new Target Field. It's a nice gesture. The only problem is that most people who have seen it agree that it doesn't really look like the late Twins great.

* Ozfest: Magpie manager Ozzie Guillen said he'd get another job if he is fired by the White Sox. "There are a lot of horsemeat managers out there that were given two or three shots to manage in the big leagues. Why can't I get a chance with another team?" he said. Pressed, Guillen reluctantly mentioned Manny Acta, who had offers from both the Indians and Astros last winter despite managing the Nationals to consecutive 100-loss seasons, as an example.

* He's green: Padres reliever Luke Gregerson uses a skateboard to travel the 14 blocks between Petco Park and his downtown San Diego home.

* That's fishy: The giant out-of-town scoreboard that also displayed the lineups of both teams at Marlins home games is no more. It is now completely covered with advertising. The team blamed it on Sun Life, which purchased the naming rights, saying the corporation doesn't want to spend what it would take to properly maintain the electrical system.

* The rookie: Reds righthander Mike Leake became the 21st player since the amateur draft was instituted in 1965 to make his major league debut without playing a game in the minors.

* Philosophy 101: Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter on the team's slow start: "Sometimes you're the bug. Sometimes you're the windshield. We've been the bug."

* The un-crowd: The announced attendance at Monday's Rays-Orioles game was 9,129, smallest in the 19-year history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

* Who dat? Going into play yesterday, Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz had more homers (six) than four big-league teams: Indians, Mariners, Nationals, Astros.

Phair and phoul

ZOOM-ZOOM

Any manager is going to downplay a fast start and Charlie Manuel is no exception. He knows how long the season is. He understands that the Phillies haven't played a good team yet. And he sure doesn't want to see any complacency in April.

He also knows how quickly things can change from personal experience.

When he was managing the Indians in 2002, the Tribe got off to an 11-1 start. And since Cleveland had won at least 90 games each of the previous two seasons, excitement was running high.

"Everybody was walking around like we already won the World Series," Manuel recalled with a humorless laugh.

By May 3, the Indians were 13-16. And they were 39-47 when he was fired at midseason.

RUMOR CONTROL CENTRAL:

The Phillies had two scouts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for a game earlier this week. Could they have been looking at lefty reliever Scott Downs?

THE GOAL LINE:

Since the end of last season, a large framed picture of the World Series trophy has been hung on the wall just inside the door the leads to the Phillies clubhouse. Underneath is an engraved plaque that reads: Bring It Home.

CONTACT TALKS:

Placido Polanco has struck out once in his first 44 plate appearances.

AD AGE:

Baseball teams are always looking for ways to increase revenue, and the Phillies have come up with a new source this season. Some of the pictures on Phanavision when the players are at bat now contain advertising.

NO-NO OH-NO:

Today is a double anniversary the Phillies would prefer to forget. On this date they were no-hit by the Cubs' Burt Hooton in 1972 and the Cardinals' Bob Forsch in 1978. And Montreal's Bill Stoneman missed by a day, no-hitting the Phils on April 17, 1969, at Connie Mack Stadium.

INVISIBLE MAN:

Jimmy Rollins is listed as having played in seven games this season, which is technically correct even though he didn't see a pitch or report to a single position for even one batter in Monday's home opener. The reason: Once the lineup card was turned in, which was before he suffered the calf injury that landed him on the disabled list, he was technically in the game and therefore unavailable to pinch-hit or go in as a defensive replacement. So, logically, he has to be listed as having been in the game even though he didn't actually play.

ON DECK:

Beating up on lesser teams is a time-honored way to make the playoffs, and the Phillies have certainly taken advantage of playing the first week-and-a-half against teams with a combined 5-13 record.

Now it gets a little more interesting, though. They play their next dozen games against teams that should present them with more of a challenge: top division rivals Florida and Atlanta, followed by Arizona and surprising San Francisco. The last nine are on the road.