Former Blue Jays pitching coach Al Widmar, one of the great slow walkers in history, had this theory about left-handers.
Noting the slowness of development of one of his charges, Widmar said: "Don't worry about him, he'll come around. He's a little bit goofy right now but that's all right, he's a left-hander."
Which brings us to Ted Lilly, a left-hander who makes the start tonight against the Indians in Cleveland looking very much as if he has forgotten how to pitch altogether.
As far as slow starts go, Lilly's could be one of the worst as after six starts he is 1-3 with a 9.35 earned-run average.
And it's not getting any prettier.
In his past start against the Chicago White Sox, Lilly was pounded for six runs on six hits -- three of them home runs -- in just 1 2/3 innings.
In 26 innings this season, Lilly has had a whopping 52 batters reach base as he has given up 40 hits and 12 walks. Seven of those 40 hits have left the park, with the opposition hitting him at a .364 clip. They'd be hard-pressed to better that average hitting off a tee.
Of the 151 earned runs the Jays have surrendered this season, 27, or 18%, have been scored against Lilly.
After 35 games the team ERA is 4.37, but if you subtract Lilly's stats, it drops to a a highly respectable 3.91.
Widmar is not the man in charge of turning Lilly around. That task is in the hands of Brad Arnsberg.
So what's with Lilly, the Jays all-star rep last year, a veteran with four-plus big-league seasons under his belt? He's at a time and an age, 29, where he's supposed to be getting better.
"He has just got to find a common release point, that's what he's struggling with now and that's what we're trying to find again," Arnsberg said. "His ability to throw two and three pitches for strikes hasn't been real good."
Lilly never had a legitimate spring training, as shoulder soreness kept him from throwing in the exhibition games. Can his problems be traced back to that?
"It probably has a little bit to do with it," Arnsberg said. "He has great pride and he knows he's costing his bullpen and costing his team and that hurts him so he has a lot going on in his head.
"But he's going to figure it out. His stuff is good, his arm is working great. His health is unbelievably good. It's just a matter of him figuring it out."
Part of the problem could also be what players never admit to having, which is a loss of confidence. When you keep going out and getting beat up it's hard not to start doubting yourself.
A CONFIDENCE THING
"It could be confidence and sticking to a pitch here and there," Arnsberg said. "But why do guys lose their command? I don't know. If we knew that we'd all be a lot better pitching coaches. But most of the time it's a confidence factor. He needs to go out there and understand why he's been in the big leagues the last five years and know how good he can be rather than questioning himself."
Turning it around, Arnsberg believes, can be as simple as executing one pitch in a crucial time.
"Sometimes it just all of a sudden clicks," he said. "You get a call here, a great pitch there and all of a sudden (the confidence soars) and they ride it out for three or four innings and that's what were hoping Teddy can do."
