Saturday, March 08, 2008

Wakefield cutting time off delivery

Tim Wakefield

Like all knuckleballers, Tim Wakefield has always had a hard time keeping base runners honest.

Wakefield throws his knuckleball over 80% of the time, and it generally leaves his hand at less than 70 mph.

He only throws his fastball 15% of the time, and when he does, batters hit .325 against him. Add in the fact that his four seamer almost never tops 80 mph, and even Mirabelli could probably swipe a base off him.

To help keep the runners honest, Wakefield is trying to cut down his delivery time.

Wakefield was between 1.5-1.6 seconds in his last outing and he wanted to trim that time some, especially since the knuckleball’s slow path makes it easier to run against.

“I’m just trying to give my catcher as much an advantage as possible,” said Wakefield.

But against Dodgers speedster Juan Pierre on Thursday afternoon, that still wasn’t enough. Wakefield was clocked at 1.4 seconds, but Pierre still swiped second.

I don’t know how much of a difference it will make, but it doesn’t hurt to try. 1.4 seconds is still slow, even with Mirabelli’s rocket arm behind the plate.

Other soft tossers like Maddux have been able to somewhat compensate for their slow delivery time with pinpoint control, making it easier for their catchers to position their bodies for a throw. But a knuckleballer like Wakefield will never be a finesse pitcher, and Mirabelli will always be at a disadvantage.

Regardless, it speaks for Wakefield’s gamesmanship that he’s still trying to improve his game as he enters his 16th major league season. 

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