季後努力修練的Lidge
http://www.panews.com/articles/2005/02/08/front/keyleft.txt
[節錄]
But again, Lidge wishes to tweak his bag of tricks with a changeup to
complement his nasty slider and fastball.
"I threw it in the minor leagues and I haven't thrown it a whole lot in my
first two years in the major leagues," Lidge said. "But I want to start
bringing it out. I've been working on a split-finger changeup and a regular
changeup. So hopefully one of those pitches will come along for me a little
bit this year."
Why would such a power pitcher as the 28-year-old Lidge be interested in
throwing a change of pace pitch? The answer starts with the influence which
seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens has made in Brad's career.
Lidge would sneak into the clubhouse and would watch television during
Clemens' memorable 2004 season with the Astros. The experience enabled Lidge
to learn a great deal about pitching from one of the sports' all-time greats.
"I gained a lot," Lidge explained. "I learned a lot from Roger's workout
ethic and I've tried to repeat that as best as I can. The way he approaches
hitters, his command, and his confidence on the mound, the way he sets guys
up, you don't see everybody do. It's different and I've tried to watch it.
It's something I've been able to learn a lot from seeing."
Lidge struck out a whopping 43 percent of the hitters he faced in 2004 --
the best rate in the major leagues. Five other pitchers -- Armando Benitez,
Billy Wagner, Tom Gordon, Ugueth Urbina and Johan Santana -- along with Lidge
held both righthanded and lefthanded batters under .200 from both sides of the
batter's box. Yet Lidge did not feel content by his terrific achievements of l
ast summer.
"I want to improve," he said. "I had a few outings at the start of the season
when I felt I could have been a little bit better. There's always room for
improvement. There's always room for locating the fastball better. Plus I
intend to throw the changeup some this year so hopefully, those things will
help me to improve."
If Lidge should add the split-finger pitch to his arsenal in 2005, it would
be a first. Clemens would appear to have perfected that pitch at times last
year in his National League Cy Young Award-winning season. Roger also helped
Brad to learn about the splitter, which acts as a changeup.
"I haven't thrown a splitter in a game yet but having Roger Clemens on our
team meant a lot," he said. "You can learn how he grips it and learn from one
of the best."
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