[SoxScout]

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Colon, 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA, got off to a similar start with the Angels last season, but his re-emergence with the Sox carries a dual benefit, enabling righty Clay Buchholz to continue working on his mechanics at Class AAA. The Sox want Buchholz to move his arm slot away from his head, an adjustment they believe will increase the movement on his fastball.

Ken Rosenthal

[Kevin Youkulele]

SoxScout, on Jun 3 2008, 02:25 AM, said:

Ken Rosenthal

If I'm not mistaken, that kind of adjustment will also make his curve less 12-to-6 and more 11-to-5... but if it's a marginal cost in effectiveness of the curve, mostly vs lefties, in exchange for making his FB significantly better, it's worth it. I just hope he doesn't get messed up the way Hansen did when they tinkered with his mechanics.

[Crazy Puppy]

SoxScout, on Jun 3 2008, 02:25 AM, said:

Ken Rosenthal

An article in the Pawtucket Times last week gave some detail on the changes they're asking Buchholz to make.

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PAWTUCKET – The adjustment is hardly noticeable, but to Clay Buchholz, moving his release point a few inches away from his head could hasten his return to the Red Sox.

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According to Buchholz and Pawtucket pitching coach Rich Sauveur, his new motion calls for him to separate his hand a few inches from where he was prior to landing on the disabled list with a split fingernail. The delivery is dated back to Buchholz’s days at Angelina (Texas) Junior College.
Spreading his hands apart to demonstrate just how slight the alterations are, Buchholz remarked, “When I was in Boston earlier this year my hand was up high, but now the delivery is much more natural.”
“His arm slot is four to five inches different. Before, his old delivery had him moving his head out of the way in order to get his arm through his arm slot,” said Sauveur. “His new delivery is actually an old one from college; he’s now [getting his hand] further away from his head.”

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The biggest impact could be the attainment of more life on Buchholz’s fastballs. The radar gun posted in right field at McCoy Stadium indicated as much, generally residing in the mid 90s.
“I thought the ball came out of my hand more natural,” admitted Buchholz. “I didn’t have to throw as hard [in order to obtain more zip].”

[86spike]

Boy those quotes from Clay sound good.

I'm happy that they gave him a specific structured task to work on and perfect down there. Being demoted has got to be hard on all prospects and we know Clay has made some relatively impatient comments in the past about his development. So it's great to hear that they aren't just telling him to be patient and suck it up. Even nicer to hear the the adjustment is working on first blush.

[Kevin Youkulele]

86spike, on Jun 3 2008, 12:44 PM, said:

Boy those quotes from Clay sound good.

I'm happy that they gave him a specific structured task to work on and perfect down there. Being demoted has got to be hard on all prospects and we know Clay has made some relatively impatient comments in the past about his development. So it's great to hear that they aren't just telling him to be patient and suck it up. Even nicer to hear the the adjustment is working on first blush.

Agreed... I take back what I said earlier worrying about an effect on his curveball--I doubt four or five inches more away from his head won't prevent him from getting near-total topspin on it. It's great that they found something to fix that gave such quick results.

[Sprowl]

Kevin Youkulele, on Jun 3 2008, 05:10 AM, said:

If I'm not mistaken, that kind of adjustment will also make his curve less 12-to-6 and more 11-to-5... but if it's a marginal cost in effectiveness of the curve, mostly vs lefties, in exchange for making his FB significantly better, it's worth it. I just hope he doesn't get messed up the way Hansen did when they tinkered with his mechanics.

A little more 11-to-5 action on his curveball would not necessarily be a bad thing, as it would differentiate better from his changeup. His changeup is distinctive in that it fades to the catcher's left less than his fastball (most pitchers' changeups fade more), and occasionally overlaps with his 12-to-6 curve. When Buchholz went to pitching backwards -- alternating curves and changes, with fewer fastballs overall -- the similarity in horizontal break between his two primary breaking pitches started becoming apparent to Pitchfx, and probably to hitters as well.