Notes: Reynolds too good a tipper
Shane Reynolds was tagged for seven hits -- including two homers -- in just three innings. (Ed Andrieski/AP)
TUCSON, Ariz. -- "That's having a bad day at work," Shane Reynolds said, back in the clubhouse after he yielded seven hits, six runs, and two home runs to the Rockies in three innings Tuesday.
"You don't ever want to go out there and do that, especially with a new team, trying to get a foothold on a job."
But Reynolds saw a positive in the outing, discovering during the course of his stint that he'd been tipping his pitches, accounting for some of the monster blasts peppering the sun-drenched lawn beyond the outfield fences.
"When you make some pretty good pitches in some pretty good places and guys are hitting them real hard -- I had [pitching coach Chuck] Kniffin and [manager Bob] Brenly watch me close to see if I'm doing anything at all. And they saw some stuff that was consistent with my glove, staying the same way on off-speed pitches and the same way on fastballs.
"I'm not overpowering any way, but if you take some of the best hitters in the game and they know what's coming -- I only throw a fastball, curveball, and split-finger, so if they know a fastball's coming, they can get ready."
Reynolds plans to look over video and work on removing the signals from his delivery during his side sessions over the next few days. The last time Reynolds faced the Rockies, there was only one veteran in the lineup and he held Colorado to one hit over three shutout innings. But Tuesday's game had most of the regulars batting, many who had faced him for years over the course of their careers.
Reynolds suspects he's been known for this for some time.
"That's their job," Reynolds said. "If somebody has something on a pitcher and they know what's coming, it's a great benefit. It's a constant overcoming, adapting, learning process to stand up here and be successful."
Brenly wasn't worried about Reynolds' ability to fix the problem, assuring that "the results will be different next time around. It's very easily correctible.
"When you have a veteran pitcher who's doing something like that, he usually finds a way to use it to his advantage. You do what you used to do on off-speed pitches and throw one fastball under a guy's chin, and that usually stops guys looking for tipping. We'll go to work on it tomorrow."
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