It was hard not to feel sympathy for Trevor May in the 5th inning Thursday night. Coming in with no outs and the bases loaded was, as Dick said, the nightmare of all relief pitchers, and May proceeded to enjoy a good measure of nightmare come true.

 

Clearly May is not yet sharp. Most of us remember what he looked like before his own trip down the TJ trail. He had developed what looked like classic closer stuff, where he was zapping corners with heat and snapping curves to low corners. Thursday it was clear that his command of those pitches is almost entirely gone. After walking a second man in, May became disgusted, which had the beneficial effect of releasing some of his mental tension. Finally more relaxed, he started throwing strikes, even displaying a nice change-up. The curve? Not so much. 

 

What's the difference between May then and May today? Fine muscle control of the entire body. You have to feel like an Olympic balance beam gymnast, a tightrope walker, a unicycle juggler. If you watch people that have a superior level of balance and body control, you notice how quiet their bodies are above the waist, especially the head. Watch Roger Federer gliding around a tennis court, always perfectly on balance, even when he's scrambling for a lob over his head. Ever watched how Federer practices? It's amazing. Watch Joe Nathan in his prime, perfectly poised on the mound. 

 

What Trevor May needs is not just more pitching practice, but something else, something like athletic diversity training. He needs to add an assortment of activities that promote better balance and body control. None of these things need be stressful or risky. Shoot a few basketballs, both hands. Dribble a basketball. Juggle a soccer ball. Learn to ride a unicycle. Do some cartwheels, some shoulder rolls, practice hand stands. Practice standing on one foot while holding the other foot in various positions. Do a little jump rope, just for balance. Things like this will improve his overall body control, which will allow him to control his body better, which translates into better command when throwing a baseball. 

 

Eventually I expect Trevor May to shake off the "rust" and find better command. I believe the things I suggested here would speed that process along quite a bit. 

I just never get the assumption that May is better than his career numbers say.

May had Tommy John and usually command is an attribute lost when the UCL is damaged and harder to regain when coming back.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/31054/cold-takes-command-control-and-tommy-john-surgery/

 

I think he’ll be more sharp next year, he’s a competitor

Edited August 17, 20188 yr by Sconnie

The look of relief on May's face -- through the gallons of flop sweat -- were worth the price of admission. And he got the win, ultimately coming through at the game's turning point. I like this guy.

 

The look of relief on May's face -- through the gallons of flop sweat -- were worth the price of admission. And he got the win, ultimately coming through at the game's turning point. I like this guy.

 

I would not consider walking in 2 runs to be "coming through" I believe he can be a good bullpen piece but he does not look like a dominant late inning guy to me.

 gallons of flop sweat

Mrs Ash, who generally speaking does not watch the games with the same regularity I do, remarked on the moisture on his face, as she passed through the living room.

 

My impression, though, was that May earned his sweat the old-fashioned way, on a hot August evening.

Great title.

 

I'd like to see him pitch every three games or so, to get back into the game.....

 

I would not consider walking in 2 runs to be "coming through" I believe he can be a good bullpen piece but he does not look like a dominant late inning guy to me.

Certainly didn't have his best stuff last night, but consider: No one would have scored if Santana hadn't loaded them up first. May didn't cave. He got six outs and gave his team the chance to win.

 

Mrs Ash, who generally speaking does not watch the games with the same regularity I do, remarked on the moisture on his face, as she passed through the living room.

 

My impression, though, was that May earned his sweat the old-fashioned way, on a hot August evening.

I was just being, uh, creative with my sweat description. But he did look mighty relieved.

Edited August 17, 20188 yr by Circus Boy

Personally, I have to agree with a comment made by the announcers, which was that while the walls were regrettable and unfortunate, to come in to that situation and not give up a big hit that could have largely impacted the game, and then pitch well the next inning, was a solid accomplishment.

 

Of course no walks, a SO and double play ball would be optimum! And walks hurt. But a HR or even based loaded double would have been far worse.

 

I really like what I'm seeing of May, overall, in this new role. I think he sticks there.

 

Certainly didn't have his best stuff last night, but consider: No one would have scored if Santana hadn't loaded them up first. May didn't cave. He got six outs and gave his team the chance to win.

 

Santana was horrid and he most certainly created the situation. However, is it not the job of RPS to strand runners. Coming through would have been stranding all of the runners. I would concede he came through had he given up a sac fly and allowed just one run. I have difficulty characterizing walking two runs in as "coming through".

 

I like May and think he will be an asset going forward. A guy just coming off injury probably should not be in high leverage situations.

Trevor May as a closer would give the young ones a taste of what Ron Davis was like.

 

As tempting as this might be, listen to the old fogies when we say let's not do that again.

 It's too soon after TJ to know what May's future role is. We really need to wait until next season before we do that. He could even wind up starting again if he can command three pitches.

I've never viewed May as clutch, maybe someone can dig up some fancy stats to prove me wrong.  What I remember before his injury was melting down in big innings.  Sure, young pitchers can overcome that, I don't see it yet. All that said, I don't care if they run him out there, I'm not convinced Hildy or Rogers would be better long term. 

 

I still think next year's closer will be signed in the off season.

1.35 ERA,  1.36 FIP, 33.3 K%, 7.4 BB% and 1.05 WHIP, plus career high velocities in the FB (94.1) and slider (87.1; this one by a whole 1.5 mph), while the curve is still at 77.4 and change at 86, makes me think so far so good, sample size and all.

2.26 runs

 

That’s the average amount of runs scored for a team who has the bases loaded with 0 outs.

 

I didn’t look hard enough to see if that number was different if a RP came in at that point, but May was basically average, slightly above.

 

Given where he’s been the last two years, not putting up a really crooked number, and coming back the next inning to shut them down, seems like a solid to above solid outcome.

When Trevor May came into the game he had pitched 3 2/3 innings this year and only 20 innings since May 2016. To me he looked pretty good.