Chicago Cubs Starter Struggling to Adjust To New Pitch Clock Rules
Chicago Cubs starter Drew Smyly has always been a fast worker on the mound.
There’s not a lot of wasted motion. Not a lot of moving around and shaking off his catcher.
The veteran left-hander didn’t anticipate a whole lot of issues with the new pitch clock rules.
Until the games actually started.
In a recent start against the Milwaukee Brewers, Smyly started with a 1-0 count to Tyler Naquin. He shook off a couple of pitches and suddenly the clock expired and the home plate umpire pointed and called a ball.
“I didn’t think it was going to be an issue, especially for me,” Smyly told reporters. “I thought of myself as someone who works quick, and you just get the sign and you go. But it was way more prevalent in my head than I was used to.”
Smyly is considered one of the fastest starters in the Major Leagues.
But this pitch clock has been more of an adjustment than he expected.
“Honestly, I think I threw four or five pitches where I just kind of picked my leg up and threw it, (and) I don’t even know if he knew what pitch I was throwing because I looked over, and the time was up,” Smyly said.
Smyly believes that working consistently with catchers Yan Gomes and Tucker Barnhart will help avoid further problems with the pitch clock.
“He’s very committed,” Smyly said of Barnhart. “He comes up to every pitcher and wants to talk about what you throw, how you want to set guys up. Having him and Yan together is going to be incredible this season.”
The Cubs’ longest game in the cactus League this season has been 3 hours, 6 minutes. The game against the Brewers lasted 2 hours, 11 minutes.
Hopefully by the time the regular season starts, all these problems will be forgotten.
“Everyone’s happy about how fast the games are, that’s for sure,” Smyly said. “I think by the time April rolls around, everyone will be a little bit more adjusted to it and on a better page. And maybe it won’t be as big of a thing that you notice.”
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