According to the Star-Ledger‘s Marc Carig, right-hander, A.J. Burnett, is refining his changeup this spring and hopes to overcome a fear he has of getting beat by the pitch in order to employ it more often in 2010. “I think it’s a big key,” noted Burnett when discussing the pitch, which he used only 3.1% of the time a season ago, the lowest rate of any American League starter with at least 180 innings accrued. “Whether I throw it or not, I don’t know, but I’ve been working on it,” he added. Carig states that Burnett is trying to get comfortable with the offering in camp so that he can utilize it specifically when his curveball is off in the upcoming regular season. Earlier this month, I actually suggested that Burnett should use his changeup more this year, citing the 33-year old’s weak fastball numbers from last season, according to pitch type values, as a reason for the increase in usage. As I see it, there’s no downside in trying it.
Photo by the AP
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2 Responses to Burnett working on his change
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TIQ IQ
This sounds good: nice analysis on the prior article, Chris. The “pie-loving right-hander” needs to get ‘em jinking: it’s the fastball; no the change; no…shit.
I’ve always been a huge Burnett fan. I thought the deal was a great one from the start (though one year too long). If he can even get an average change it would be huge; when AJ is good, he’s very good, but when that curve is off, if’s a long night.