Quote:
Originally Posted by KevB
They "cleaned up" Tim Collins, and he's gone from nearly unhittable to average. Part of his success was the unorthodox nature of his mechanics; he hid the ball incredibly well before they changed him.
edit: so what I wrote above was my perception of his performance so far this year, but looking at the numbers......he's been about the same as usual. One noticeable difference is his K rate, which I'd still argue has dropped because he's lost some deception.
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Part of the issue with Collins is that Ned Yost doesn't know how to use him.
Yost looks at him and sees a LHP with good stuff. What he doesn't see is that Collins is more effective against RHPs in his career than against LHPs. Better strikeout rate, fewer walks, better BAA, lower OPS.
Collins DID have some mechanical issues that needed work. THe extreme leg kick made it hard for him to repeat mechanics. They managed to reduce it without reducing his deception.
I know Eiland isn't against stuff like that. Look at the slight trunk rotation he had guthrie adopt when he got here, which increased his deception factor.
And organizationally, Zack Greinke adopted the same thing (on his own, I assume) shortly before he took off as a strikeout pitcher.