Clips for 7-12-10

MEDIA CLIPS – April 27, 2018 This is why Bryan Shaw trains with a football Thomas Harding / MLB.com | April 26, 2018 DENVER -- Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw saw his ability to spot pitches leave him for two games during the past week. But the right-hander received help, at least in the way of a gift and some inspiration, from the NFL's Denver Broncos. Shaw's unique cut fastball made him an important setup man in recent seasons with the Indians and earned him a three- year, $27 million contract with Colorado this past offseason. Part of his unique preparation method is to throw a football. A quarterback at Livermore (Calif.) High School, Shaw figured that his pitching-hand angle and motion were quite football- like -- possibly a reason hitters struggle to pick up his pitches. When several Broncos -- including star pass rusher Von Miller and newly signed quarterback Case Keenum -- visited the Rockies before Tuesday night's 8-0 victory over the Padres, Marquette King -- the former Raiders punter who has joined the rival Broncos -- presented the Rockies with two footballs. One is a "K-ball," limited to the kicking game under NFL rules. The other is now Shaw's training ball. After giving up five runs on six hits with a walk and a home run in the two games against the Cubs last weekend, Shaw struck out all three Padres batters he faced on Tuesday. He didn't get to use the football pregame -- rainy, wet conditions prevented him -- but he attributed some magic to it. "I got the ball yesterday, and yesterday felt good -- I got to hold it," Shaw said before Wednesday's game, when he walked two and gave up a run in one inning of a 5-2 Rockies win over the Padres. 1 Shaw isn't the first to find function in a football. Former Rangers and Padres pitching coach Tom House used it with Major Leaguers and crossed over to work in football with players such as Tom Brady and, before he became a Mets Minor League outfield hopeful, ex-Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Often, it just breaks up training monotony. So don't be surprised if a bunch of Colorado pitchers spent afternoons punting and kicking field goals. Shaw, who received balls from the Cleveland Browns when he pitched for the Indians and brought a football with him when he came to Coors Field to finalize his contract in December, uses it for both. "The way I throw my fastball, my cutter, it kind of mimics throwing a football," he said. "So I like throwing that before playing catch, to kind of loosen my arm and get the motion going, kind of get the feeling down and obviously move on to playing catch with a baseball." Two outings -- three runs in one inning of an April 10 loss to the Padres and five runs in Saturday's 16-5 loss to the Cubs - - have driven Shaw's ERA to 7.11 and accounted for seven of the 17 hits off him in 15 appearances. Shaw has made 70 or more appearances each of the past five years, so he has ample chance to improve his stats. The proper pitch action returned against the Padres. Shaw noted that Wednesday's two-walk, one-run appearance was because he went for strikeouts rather than weak contact, which is his norm. "I'd been a little more missing middle than I'd like," Shaw said. "And if you leave pitches middle, they hit them. So I'm focused on getting back to getting out front, driving -- all the little things -- and working the outer thirds." The ball Shaw packed for the flight to Miami to begin a nine-game, 10-day road trip should help him hone the proper mechanics. 2 NL West closers: Davis holding down ninth What's working, what's not and who's waiting in the wings? Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | April 26, 2018 National League West teams have taken different approaches to how much they invest in their closer. You have the Dodgers and the Rockies, who have invested a lot of money in the position. Los Angeles re-signed Kenley Jansen before last season to a five-year, $80 million deal, just $6 million shy of Aroldis Chapman's record deal for a closer. Meanwhile, Colorado signed Wade Davis prior to this season to a three-year, $52 million deal, which set a record for highest average annual value for a closer. You also have the Padres and the D-backs, who have done more bargain shopping for closers, with San Diego claiming lefty Brad Hand off waivers during the 2016 season and Arizona acquiring Brad Boxberger and his $1.85 million salary from Tampa Bay during the offseason. And then there are the Giants, who signed Mark Melancon to a four-year, $62 million contract prior to last season thinking they had secured the position, only to watch Melancon struggle and get hurt. Here's a look at how the approaches have worked out and what the future holds: D-backs Who's the closer? Boxberger How is it working out? Boxberger converted his first five saves before blowing a save against the Giants on April 18 on Brandon Belt's two-run homer in the ninth. He also struggled two nights later, as he allowed three runs (one earned) on some soft-contact hits. One of the reasons the D-backs put Boxberger in the closer spot over Archie Bradley was so they could use Bradley for more than just one inning or to face the heart of the opposition's order. That has worked well. How secure is he? Arizona manager Torey Lovullo stuck with closer Fernando Rodney through some tough stretches last year, and he is likely to do the same should it happen with Boxberger. However, with both Bradley and Yoshihisa Hirano waiting in the wings, Lovullo's patience won't be absolute. 3 Who's next in line? Whether it happens this year or not, it certainly seems like Bradley will at some point become the closer. Dodgers Who's the closer? Jansen How is it working out? Jansen had a heavy workload in 2017, appearing in 78 games (including 13 in the postseason) and throwing 85 innings. To compensate for that, the organization decided to take it easy with him during Spring Training, hoping it would keep him fresh come September and October. Whether that had a negative impact is debatable, but Jansen did not come out of the gates strong. His velocity was down, and he allowed six earned runs in his first seven games after allowing 10 earned runs in the regular season last year. Recently, Jansen's velocity has rebounded, and so has his effectiveness. How secure is he? Jansen's hold on the closer job is secure, as the team knows that it needs him healthy and producing in order to make a deep run in October. Who's next in line? If something did happen to Jansen, Tony Cingrani appears to be next. The lefty is off to a tremendous start. In his first 9 1/3 innings this year, Cingrani struck out 17 without allowing a walk. Giants Who's the closer? Hunter Strickland How is it working out? Strickland converted five of his first seven save opportunities, with both of the blown saves coming against the D-backs. However, in both those games, the Giants prevailed, so no damage was done. In fact, those are the only two runs he has allowed to this point in the season. Strickland has always had closer-type velocity with his fastball, and over the offseason, he learned a slider from Hall of Famer John Smoltz, which has helped.24th, 2018 How secure is he? With Melancon still battling forearm issues and Strickland pitching well, the latter seems pretty secure in the role for the moment. Who's next in line? Should Strickland stumble, the Giants do have a lot invested in Melancon, and they could turn to him if he's healthy. They also have veteran lefty Tony Watson as a candidate. 4 Padres Who is the closer? Hand How is it working out? Hand's season got off to a shaky start, when he blew a save against the Brewers on March 30 on Ryan Braun's three-run homer, then allowed three more runs to the Rockies in the ninth inning of a tie game on April 5. He's clearly back to his old self now. Hand has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings since. He's allowed just three hits in that span, while striking out 14. How secure is he? As long as he's a Padre, Hand is going to be the closer in San Diego. That said, he's almost certain to draw interest at the non-waiver Trade Deadline, as he has intermittently over the past two years. Who's next in line? If something were to happen with Hand, Kirby Yates would most likely be the guy to take over. Yates, like Hand, was a waiver claim who has flourished since arriving in San Diego. Rockies Who's the closer? Davis How is it working out? Davis has converted nine of his first 10 save chances, and he has been what the Rockies hoped they were getting -- a shutdown ninth-inning guy. With Davis in the closer spot, the rest of Colorado's relievers have been able to settle into their roles, and the bullpen as a whole has performed extremely well.

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