Two George Frazier bromides attempting to explain our woes that I'm not sure I can stand to hear one more time: "clutch hitting" (he has a few spinoffs in this avenue, and they all stink).
But the worst is with Francis "He's just not making his pitches." A). I want to respond with some combination of "Duh" and "WTF does that really mean?" B.) That explanation works for about 2 starts, Frazier, at which point you have to come up with some other reason for a former frontline starter getting raked mercilessly.
BRJ, for your 'will turn it around' list, I have to add a couple points. A.) As I've been saying practically all year, I'm convinced Francis is injured. (I also have strong suspicions with Morales, but thats another story). He's trying to do too much with his lower half, coming open a little too early, and has slightly lowered his arm angle, which all point to the shoulder from my experience. His FB is 83-87 instead of 87-91, and he knows it... as such, he's doing his damndest not to use it (way more offspeed pitches than we're used to seeing). He's even having trouble spotting it.
B.) I don't believe Corpas is hurt, but there is a mechanical issue. Bottom line, than sinker ain't sinkin', and there can be several reasons for that. One we've seen a good example of firsthand; Jose Jimenez. He started to become overly rotational with his torso, resulting in a sinker with more lateral movement but absent real vertical break.
This is example #49s of why young pitchers are so difficult; a new slider grip, a mechanical tweak that improves/destroys action on a key pitch, showing up to Spring Training +/- 2 MPH of velocity, and 250 other things can dramatically change someones value almost literally overnight. Here's hoping Manny straightens it out.
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