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Scott Kazmir

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Swisher33

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http://dynamicsportstraining.com/blog/lees-blog/scott-kazmir?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

would be nice if he had a Kyle Loshe like turn-around this year

The first thing everyone wants to know about Kazmir is his velocity. After his release, Scott’s velocity had dipped into the low 80’s. I know. I've caught his bullpens since his release from the Angels. I can say that the last time we got on the radar gun, he registered 93mph on the gun with only his warm-up pitches being under 90mph. That was this fall. Reports were that he was clocking in as high as 94-95 in his brief stay in Puerto Rico this winter. Also of note, Edwin Rodriguez, one of the Indians minor-league managers, managed Kazmir in Puerto Rico this winter and said his velocity is back. Our most recent series of bullpen sessions leading up to him leaving for camp were the best I had personally seen him by a long shot. The tempo in his delivery, which was very slow and off-balance last year, has returned to the smooth, athletic-looking delivery and follow through that Rays fans had been accustomed to watching

The next thing people want to know is about his slider that was so dominant at one time. When he was released, it was a cement mixer with little break if any at all. As of the last bullpen he not only has depth and lateral movement back, but it is very sharp. In addition to that, he has since added a sharp 12-6 curve that he throws for strikes, and has tinkered with a variation of a splitter that he calls his “knuckle split” that behaves like a change/curve hybrid. He also has a changeup that is very useful. These pitches in addition to his 4-seam and his darting 2-seam makes 5 pitches compared to his former 2-pitch arsenal
His physical condition has also improved dramatically as well. He was once weighing as high as 205 lbs. With hard work with Lee Fiocchi and myself at DST in Houston, TX, Kazmir has gotten his weight down to an athletic 185, lowering his body fat under 10%. It took every bit of this time out of the MLB to work his way back. I remember early on, we tested Scott’s vertical leap. We use this as a test of instantaneous power output. His first jump was 31 inches. His second was 29 inches, and his last was around 27 inches. He then gave the hand motion that he was done. Most recently, we measured his vertical jump at 39.6 inches that he wrote on the board in our weight room, jokingly informing everyone that it was a world record. His loss of weight has not been a detriment to his strength, as he likes to deadlift as heavy as 450 lbs. After one bullpen, his agent said that he had never seen him look so good, even at his best. Joking that he was “boy band status

His confidence has also made a comeback. Early on, Scott seemed confused and lost, knowing he still had it in him, but didn’t know what to do. As of late, he definitely has been confident. In a recent interview, he said that he believes he can be one of the best pitchers in the game, today…and he definitely believes that, and you can see it by the way he carries himself. This isn’t a cocky swagger, but a confidence that comes from hard work…HARD WORK. Confidence from working with Ron Wolforth who helped him with his mechanics that led him back into the 90’s. This is confidence from the sweat of noon bullpens in the summer time of Houston, TX and a few dawn bullpens at 6 a.m., before the sunrise, because we were working on things and couldn’t miss an opportunity to perfect what we were working on. It comes from being drenched in sweat after workouts focused on regaining his explosiveness.

Lastly, is a topic of his command and ability to miss bats. When I first started catching him, neither of us had any idea where the ball was going. One out of every 5 throws found its way 30 feet into the fence along side the bullpen. Most recently, without exaggeration, there have been 'pens when I haven't had to move my mitt. This past season in the Atlantic League, his K/BB ration wasn’t even 2/1, but as recent as this winter, playing in Puerto Rico, His K/BB ratio was about 4/1. This shows an improved command and strikeout ability.
 
If all of this is true, the Indians might have struck gold with Kazmir this year.
 
I heard he looked good in winter ball....bitches. :king:
 
This isn’t a cocky swagger, but a confidence that comes from hard work…HARD WORK.

Did... did the writer of the this just yell at us? I think he did. OK, I get it, hard work.

Ill be shocked if Kazmir is here past May. But who knows? I think he is the biggest of long shots, but I guess we will see. At least he is in good shape.
 
It's a nice article and all and hopefully Kazmir can help but it also reeks of something written by a company that was paid good money to get him back in god game shape, pump him up in the form of a fancy sounding press release, and make their training company look good at the same time.
 
It's a nice article and all and hopefully Kazmir can help but it also reeks of something written by a company that was paid good money to get him back in god game shape, pump him up in the form of a fancy sounding press release, and make their training company look good at the same time.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Scott Kazmir getting a lot of interest, may choose soon from multiple teams offering chance. Throwing 90-94 in puerto rico</p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/275995176336490496">December 4, 2012</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
He was scheduled to start the Cactus League opener on Friday, but that was pushed back.

He will now throw one more BP session before appearing in a game. I believe it was a team decision, not necessarily related to injury.

Not sure who's scheduled to pitch yet. I'm gonna try and get out there for it, but after today it's not looking likely.
 
Ahh.. nothing more refreshing than pre-season puff pieces.

The one that was written for Samardo Samuels before the season started was an excellent shit sandwich too.
 
Francona on Scott Kazmir: "He's been so good it's scary. I just wish we could bottle it for the season." #Indians.

.
 
Sounds like Francona doesn't think that'll last.
 
Sounds like Francona doesn't think that'll last.

Tough to expect it to IMO.

Guy hasn't pitched impactful innings in a long time.

Curious as to whether they will use Kazmir as a lefty out of the bullpen, as they certainly don't have an established left-handed presence there anyway.

Could be a great fit if they don't believe he'll last in the rotation.
 
Ahh.. nothing more refreshing than pre-season puff pieces.

The one that was written for Samardo Samuels before the season started was an excellent shit sandwich too.

the diffrence is one came from an outside source (Kazmir) and the other came from people in the know with the team (Samuels)
 
Tough to expect it to IMO.

Guy hasn't pitched impactful innings in a long time.

Curious as to whether they will use Kazmir as a lefty out of the bullpen, as they certainly don't have an established left-handed presence there anyway.

Could be a great fit if they don't believe he'll last in the rotation.

You think there's any chance he could start at the back of the rotation out of spring training and then move to the bullpen as the season goes on, allowing the Tribe to move Bauer up here?

Seems kind of far-fetched, I know, but it would make sense if they wanted to move Bauer up sooner rather than later. It would allow a guy with a lot of wear and tear more of an opportunity to rest and not pitch as many innings later in the year, add depth to the bullpen, and allow Bauer some more time to get some burn at AAA before coming back up to the big league level.
 
You think there's any chance he could start at the back of the rotation out of spring training and then move to the bullpen as the season goes on, allowing the Tribe to move Bauer up here?

Seems kind of far-fetched, I know, but it would make sense if they wanted to move Bauer up sooner rather than later. It would allow a guy with a lot of wear and tear more of an opportunity to rest and not pitch as many innings later in the year, add depth to the bullpen, and allow Bauer some more time to get some burn at AAA before coming back up to the big league level.

i think the plan is to have a battle for the #5 spot between Kazmir, Dice-K, Barnes, Kluber, and maybe Carrassco (although i doubt it ) and maybe Bauer but i think an ideal situation is for Bauer to spend a month or 2 in AAA to get another year on his contract unless everybody sucks and they really really need him in the #5 spot opening day.
 

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