Durango53
04-06-2005, 11:56 AM
Silva's sinker fools 'em
BY TOM POWERS
Pioneer Press
SEATTLE — Even when he is loosening up between starts, Twins pitcher Carlos Silva doesn't go very long without throwing his sinker.
"We won't let him throw 10 or 15 curveballs in a row," Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "After two or three pitches, it's always back to the sinker. That's No. 1. That's still his bread and butter."
How lucky is Carlos Silva? He remembers throwing the baseball at a very young age and watching it sink toward the dirt.
"When I was in Little League and playing ball, it always would sink," said Silva, who pitches tonight against the Seattle Mariners. "It goes downward."
It's natural. It just happens. Silva has no special trick to make the ball sink. The pitch is really his fastball. But unlike a normal fastball, it breaks toward the ground. Over the years, he has learned to refine the pitch.
"When my body gets too low, I get in a little trouble," he explained. "When I stay straight and tall, that's when the ball really sinks. That's when I have my best sinker."
He won 14 games for the Twins last year as their No. 3 starter. Some say that's just the beginning.
"We are so far ahead of where we were last year," Anderson said. "It's about fine-tuning. You remember he'd throw the occasional curveball, and the ball would really bite? Now we want to get consistent to where he can do that all the time."
Silva could use one other solid pitch, just to keep hitters from sneaking up in the batters' box and trying to nail the sinker before it breaks. So he is working on mastering a curveball.
But it's still all about the sinker, which has to be the greatest pitch in baseball. Think about it: It's the only pitch that the hurler wants the batter to hit.
"Exactly, that's the key," Silva said. "You want him to hit the ball. Then you get a ground ball."
Count Anderson among those who consider a natural sinker to be a gift.
"You take a 97 mph fastball or an 87 mph fastball that sinks, and I'll take the sinker every time," he said. "No question."
The only other Twins pitcher blessed with a sinking fastball is Joe Mays. In fact, Anderson had a talk with Mays after his final spring training start last week. He wants him to deemphasize some of his other pitches and concentrate more on his sinker.
"I told Joe that the best starts he had in the spring were the ones where he went with the sinker," Anderson said. "The ones that weren't so good were curveball, slider, changeup... "
Mays is coming back from Tommy John surgery. As he gets more innings under his belt, he likely will develop a better feel for the sinker and throw it more. Before he got hurt, it was a great pitch for him.
Silva, meanwhile, expects even bigger things this season.
"This spring I learned a lot of things," he said. "It's about putting everything together. I try to be up in the count. I see Radke and Santana.
"I've got big expectations."
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/baseball/11320018.htm
It seems that I aint the only one who thinks this kid might have a great year....
BY TOM POWERS
Pioneer Press
SEATTLE — Even when he is loosening up between starts, Twins pitcher Carlos Silva doesn't go very long without throwing his sinker.
"We won't let him throw 10 or 15 curveballs in a row," Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "After two or three pitches, it's always back to the sinker. That's No. 1. That's still his bread and butter."
How lucky is Carlos Silva? He remembers throwing the baseball at a very young age and watching it sink toward the dirt.
"When I was in Little League and playing ball, it always would sink," said Silva, who pitches tonight against the Seattle Mariners. "It goes downward."
It's natural. It just happens. Silva has no special trick to make the ball sink. The pitch is really his fastball. But unlike a normal fastball, it breaks toward the ground. Over the years, he has learned to refine the pitch.
"When my body gets too low, I get in a little trouble," he explained. "When I stay straight and tall, that's when the ball really sinks. That's when I have my best sinker."
He won 14 games for the Twins last year as their No. 3 starter. Some say that's just the beginning.
"We are so far ahead of where we were last year," Anderson said. "It's about fine-tuning. You remember he'd throw the occasional curveball, and the ball would really bite? Now we want to get consistent to where he can do that all the time."
Silva could use one other solid pitch, just to keep hitters from sneaking up in the batters' box and trying to nail the sinker before it breaks. So he is working on mastering a curveball.
But it's still all about the sinker, which has to be the greatest pitch in baseball. Think about it: It's the only pitch that the hurler wants the batter to hit.
"Exactly, that's the key," Silva said. "You want him to hit the ball. Then you get a ground ball."
Count Anderson among those who consider a natural sinker to be a gift.
"You take a 97 mph fastball or an 87 mph fastball that sinks, and I'll take the sinker every time," he said. "No question."
The only other Twins pitcher blessed with a sinking fastball is Joe Mays. In fact, Anderson had a talk with Mays after his final spring training start last week. He wants him to deemphasize some of his other pitches and concentrate more on his sinker.
"I told Joe that the best starts he had in the spring were the ones where he went with the sinker," Anderson said. "The ones that weren't so good were curveball, slider, changeup... "
Mays is coming back from Tommy John surgery. As he gets more innings under his belt, he likely will develop a better feel for the sinker and throw it more. Before he got hurt, it was a great pitch for him.
Silva, meanwhile, expects even bigger things this season.
"This spring I learned a lot of things," he said. "It's about putting everything together. I try to be up in the count. I see Radke and Santana.
"I've got big expectations."
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/baseball/11320018.htm
It seems that I aint the only one who thinks this kid might have a great year....