Scott Kazmir May Cause Many to Think Mature Thoughts About Him Again

48 pitches

29 fastballs

10 sliders

9 change-ups

The results will not matter until Wednesday for Kazmir, but as far as final tune up starts go, this one was damn encouraging. We have murdered the Kazmir/slider issue since during last season, so seeing 20% sliders and 18% change-ups feels good. It feels right. Small sample size, not throwing hard, all that, and Kazmir still felt comfortable enough to use his bendy things. Good. So good.

As for the pitches themselves, here are the results:

4 Balls

1 Ball in dirt

1 Foul

1 Swinging Strike

3 Outs (2 GB: 1 FO)

Far from perfect, but it's spring and he's using it again. The change-up yielded similar results:

4 Balls

2 Fouls

2 Swinging Strikes

1 Out (GB)

And the fastballs:

7 Balls

9 Fouls

1 Swinging Strike

5 Called Strikes

4 Outs (3 FB: 1 LO)

2 singles

Kazmir wasn't winging them, so average velocity was in the 89-90 range, yet he wasn't being hit around either. Oh, and here's the other great thing, first 10 pitches of the night: SL, FA, FA, FA, CH, CH, FA, FA, FA, CH. That should keep batters from zoning in. Of course, all of this is assuming Kazmir is going to keep doing this, and he better. Oh, and everything moved like it should:

Having ~4 win Kazmir back is going to be a beautiful thing.