Saturday, June 11, 2005 |
Getting Jackson Out Of The 8.08 Area Code
"He's just not had the success that warrants consideration of being brought back to the big leagues," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said flatly. "To look at his stats, he's not done that well."I think Jay Jaffe's itch to trade Jackson is misplaced. Jackson is still only 21. He dominated AA batters with really only a couple of pitches; if the problem with his velocity is really mechanical, he could be up and brilliant within a year or so. But there's time. Plenty of time.Jackson is 3-6 with a hideous 8.08 ERA with triple-A Las Vegas, but Dodgers farm director Terry Collins said he expects those statistics to turn dramatically because Jackson's velocity has returned to the mid-90s after having dropped off sharply for unspecified reasons he said were not arm-injury related. [emphasis mine]
"He's regained command of his fastball now," Collins said. "I think he was trying to become a complete pitcher long before he has to. He was trying to learn a two-seamer (fastball), a slider and a changeup at the same time. He was trying to work with five pitches at 20 years old instead of trying to simplify things and win."
The Dodgers still don't have any plans on promoting Jackson, who at age 21 is still a professional baby by all standards.
"But to say his stock has dropped is totally ludicrous." Tracy said. "He's not 25, 26, He's a young kid."
: 6/11/2005 03:23:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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