Thursday camp report: Live BP, breaking ball pitching machines, ready for games
Cade Cavalli received a lot of feedback facing James Wood and CJ Abrams in live batting practice, while everyone got a chance to face breaking balls off a specialized pitching machine
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Some news, notes and observations from day nine of spring training workouts, with only one more of these to go before the Nationals take the field Saturday for their split-squad Grapefruit League openers against the Astros and Cardinals …
CAVALLI FACES WOOD, ABRAMS IN LIVE BP
Perhaps the largest gathering of fans, employees and media members to date this spring assembled at Field 2 this afternoon to watch Cade Cavalli throw live batting practice to a group of hitters headlined by James Wood and CJ Abrams.
Pitchers tend to outperform hitters in these sessions, because they tend to be ahead of hitters early in camp and because hitters often are more focused on recognizing pitches and locations than trying to make loud contact. So it wasn’t surprising to see Cavalli have success against the guys he faced.
“They’re my boys. I like facing them,” the right-hander said. “We’ve got a little competition going. It’s good. We’re out there competing, trying to get better, trying to build up.”
This wasn’t the first time Cavalli has thrown to live hitters this spring. But the higher competition level helps him and the coaching staff draw more conclusions about the state of his repertoire and command.
“Yeah, because the first couple times (against other hitters), the stuff looks really good,” manager Blake Butera said. “And then when you see him face Woody and CJ and those guys, he’s still doing the same things against them that he’s doing against everybody else. It just makes you feel that much better about it.”
Perhaps the best feedback Cavalli got today came not from his successful pitches, but from some of his unsuccessful ones. Wood, Abrams and Co. were doing a good job laying off his breaking balls at the knees and below. That told the pitcher he needs to focus more on changing their eye level with more offerings elsewhere in the zone before trying to get them to chase low.
“They know I spin the ball, and there’s depth to it,” Cavalli said. “So if I can shoot them up and get their eyes up there, maybe that will open it down. ... These guys are so good. Their eyes adjust. They know me as a pitcher, and they’ve watched me over the years. They know he’s going to spin the ball. They did a great job today, and I need to adjust.”
Cavalli’s next time on the mound will come in a game, though he hasn’t been told exactly which game yet.
BP VS BREAKING BALLS
Several hitters took regular batting practice this morning off a machine, and not just a traditional pitching machine. The Hack Attack machines are able to throw a variety of breaking balls from both a right-handed and left-handed perspective, giving hitters the ability to face pitches much more like what they’ll see during actual games.
Butera was pleased to see many left-handed hitters choose to face left-handed breaking balls, understanding how often they’re going to have to confront that throughout the season.
“Don’t be afraid to fail,” the manager said. “We want practice to be really, really hard. That way, when you get into a game, it almost feels easier. ... We want to make our practice as close to game-like as possible. Maybe you’re only getting three out of 10 hits. In the game, that feels normal. They’re facing harder stuff in the cage and in these environments. So when you step into the box for the game, you’re like: This actually feels slower.”
COUNTDOWN TO THE GAMES
We’ve reached the inevitable portion of spring training when everyone has just about had enough of these workout days and just wants the games to start.
Fortunately, there’s only one day left of workouts, with the Grapefruit League schedule commencing Saturday afternoon with split-squad games here and in Jupiter.
Butera said all regular position players will likely see action either Saturday or Sunday, with nobody’s game debut delayed. All pitchers, aside from those who came to camp rehabbing from prior injuries, are scheduled to take the mound during the first week of play.
“When you get to this point now, where we’ve been here for a while, I think everyone’s champing at the bit for games,” Butera said. “Now that they can finally feel like the day after tomorrow we can finally play somebody else in a different uniform, I think we’re at that point now where guys are ready to compete.”
So we got Hack Attacks and Trajekt Arcs and Hawk Eyes and other tech now…what else were we missing over the years while we were spending our money on camels?
There's a recurring theme with this new regime: Innovation. The old regime was literally looking at the backs of players' baseball cards. Now we are getting more rigorous.