Randy Wells has had trouble in the first inning in three recent starts. So Lou Piniella and Larry Rothschild, according to Paul Sullivan in the Tribune, discussed this problem on the plane ride to Pittsburgh. Here’s the solution they came up with:
↵↵↵“We’ve come up with a couple little things we’re going to tinker with,” Piniella said. One, he said, is to have Wells throw the same pitch sequence in the bullpen that he will when he faces the first two or three hitters to start the game.
↵Another idea, Piniella said, is to have Wells go directly from the bullpen to the mound instead of stopping in the dugout.
↵“I think we’re going the try the first approach first,” Piniella concluded, “so he’ll be focused on the first three or four hitters he’s going to face.”
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So let’s see, Lou. Now that this has been in the paper and online, you think Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox coaches and players might be watching Wells’ warmup before his start on Saturday? Why don’t you just write down Wells’ pitch sequence and hand it to Ozzie along with the lineups when you meet with the umpires before the game?
↵Mind-numblingly dumb.