Enhancing the Red Sox pitching staff was one of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s objectives, and Andrew Bailey is perhaps the main reason the team got off to a great start this season.
Before its Tuesday night game at Truist Park against the Atlanta Braves, Boston leads MLB with a 2.61 ERA. In addition, the Red Sox lead in shoutouts and are third in WHIP. The pitching staff has improved, and Tanner Houck has been the face of that progress. His breakthrough season gave him a new perspective every time he takes the mound.
Bailey discussed the right-hander’s altered play on the “310 To Left” podcast with Tom Caron of NESN and Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
It has great significance. It indicates he’s in a very positive frame of mind,” Bailey informed Caron and Speier. “We want our guys to be as outwardly focused as possible, concentrating on the strike zone, which is the large box. Self-doubt and a decline in command and execution might occur when internal ideas start to surface. Our guys should compete in-game. Our guys should be as outwardly oriented as possible. Tanner in particular is really special. We want him to kind of utilise his unusual movement in his throwing style. It’s what sets him apart and essentially validates his status as a major league pitcher. The objective is to relentlessly target the zone with his pitch types. He enjoys talking about simple games of catch. And I’m incredibly proud of the effort he made.
The pitching instructor for the Red Sox went on to say that the adjustments were straightforward and that “pitching should be boring.” With a 1.99 ERA and 2.06 FIP through seven outings, Houck hopes to build on his strong start.