I didn't intend to imply the bold above (sorry for the confusion if there was any). Sometimes though, if you know your mechanics aren't right and you haven't been able to get back in rhythm now for over a month, you've got to do what's best for the team.....mainly, come out of the bullpen or be a cheerleader and work your ass off in side sessions until whatever you need to get clicking, clicks.
MadBum to me is one of the most mentally strong Giants on the team. I'm not too worried about his long term prognosis (at least when it comes to his head.....injuries and mechanics are another story). Obviously he threw the gem in a pressure packed situation against Texas in 2010, but that's not what impresses me about him the most. A telling moment for me with young pitchers is what their demeanor is after they give up a long ball. A lot of pitchers (ahem::: Latos:::ahem) get really frustrated or scared to throw the ball into the strike zone after someone jacks a homerun. MadBum seems intent on channeling his anger into pounding the strike zone to the very next hitter. Not an easy thing to do after somebody takes you 440ft on a national/local broadcast. Like you said, character is character.....and he's shown a ton of it even after a lot of folks gave up on him after his velocity drop in the minors as well. I must admit, when I saw him and Posey down in AAA Fresno, I wasn't impressed with him (this was during the velocity drop). He hung around and gave me and a lot of others a nice big shitburger to eat.
Not too worried about that just yet. Giants need to get there first.
Nice post!
I don't care what everyone says about you filo, you're a good guy...
