Shortly after Greg’s interesting post (go read it!) about his optimism for a bounce-back season for Aaron Harang, John Fay posted this piece on a similar topic:
New pitching coach Bryan Price is confident Harang can get back to elite starter status.
“I don’t think there’s any question,†Price said. “I think he’s going to have a tremendous year. This is an established major league-innings guy with command. What I think is his best days are ahead of him. You’re going to see better stuff and better location.â€Â
(snip)
Harang’s struggles the last two years are a big part of the reason the Reds changed pitching coaches. Price studied video of Harang over the winter and discovered mechanical flaws.
“When I talked to Aaron, he was addressing these issues already,†Price said. “He was working with some really good people. He was working on loosening up his hip flexors so he had better rotation.â€Â
Harang has followed a strenuous offseason routine for years. But flexibility was stressed more this offseason.
“I worked on stretching and things like that – flexibility in my legs and hips and stuff like that,†Harang said, “to help out with my stride.â€Â
If Harang can really return to some semblance of his prior form, the Reds will be well on their way to being competitive in 2010. Yeah, I’m always optimistic this time of year, and maybe that’s getting the best of me, but today’s Harang talk is making me too excited about the possibilities for this year.
I am so happy that baseball is back.