CLEARWATER, Fla. — When Marco Estrada says he’s thinking too much on the mound, he really means it.
Is this the right pitch to throw? Shouldn’t we be trying to work on my change-up? Can I get to that location? Am I gripping the ball the right way? Should I step off and readjust? Have I been waiting too long between pitches? Was that last release point good? Is the hitter sitting on this?
On and on and on go the thoughts, racing through Estrada’s head until he’s second-guessing everything he does and impairing his own performance. This is his Achilles heel. When Estrada’s at his best, he’s not thinking at all. The only things he focuses on are the sign and the glove. Throw the pitch that’s called and make it land in the webbing. He learned the approach from Mark Buehrle years ago and it’s no coincidence that once he implemented it his numbers improved in a hurry.
“You can’t think negatively—you can’t have those thoughts in your head while you’re out there,” Estrada said. “You have to let those things go. Just go out there and pitch. Throw it. Just throw the damn thing.”
This was Estrada’s struggle Friday in Clearwater, where some bad mental habits from his earlier career re-entered his mind and took up occupation for a couple innings. It sabotaged his change-up, which he couldn’t throw where he wanted to, leading to several deep counts for a normally quite efficient pitcher.
And although his first two innings appeared fine on the surface, as Estrada allowed only a walk between four fly ball outs, a groundball and a strikeout, the Blue Jays starter knew something was very wrong.
Even Jarrod Saltalamacchia, catching Estrada for only the third time in his career, could sense something wasn’t quite right. He’d talked to Blue Jays starting catcher Russell Martin and pitching coach Pete Walker about Estrada, and been told he would never shake off a pitch, hit his spots religiously, and work quick.
“I know he’s a guy who doesn’t like to think—doesn’t want to go over scouting reports. He just wants to go out there and pitch,” Saltalamacchia said. “He’s a guy who’s going to hit your glove no matter where you put it. So, when he’s not doing that, it makes you think.”
And there was no questioning Estrada’s funk in his third inning, when he walked the No. 9 hitter, Hector Gomez, before Cesar Hernandez was awarded first base due to catcher’s interference by Saltalamacchia. The very next pitch Estrada threw, a 79-mph, thigh-high change-up, was launched beyond the left-field tiki bar by Howie Kendrick for a three-run shot.
“It wasn’t a good one,” Estrada said of the pitch. “He just barrelled it. Reached out, got it, and crushed it.”
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But Estrada’s been down this road before. He knows how to handle himself when he falls into these lapses; knows the tricks to snap himself out of the trance. Coming out for his fourth inning with a resolve to simplify his thought process, work with haste, and just throw the damn ball, Estrada looked his old self again. He got Cameron Rupp to pop out to first base in foul territory and then made Brock Stassi look absolutely silly with a series of change-ups that were vintage Estrada.
“That last inning showed a huge difference. I started locating my fastball. My change-up was night and day,” Estrada said. “I’m leaving with a positive thought. I’m pretty excited the way things ended. I felt much better. The change-up came out much better that last inning. And, physically, I felt great.”
In all, Estrada wound up with a one-hit day, which is something most pitchers are going to be pretty pleased with. And Estrada is, too—don’t get him wrong. He’s especially encouraged with the continued work on his fastball, which had pretty good zip to it as he threw several at 90-mph, a tick above his average last season. And he’s happy with continuing to build the feel for his change-up, which will be his most important pitch in this, and any, season.
But the biggest thing he took away from Friday’s start was the progress of his mental game. Both the challenges he went through and the way he pulled himself out of it.
“It’s something I do need to go over. Because it’s going to happen. It’s really hard to stay mentally focused the entire year,” Estrada said. “Today, I was wanting to work on my change-up because I know it hasn’t been great. And instead of throwing it I was trying to baby it, which makes it worse. So, once I realized that and told myself to just let it go, it was much better after that.”
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Spring training is really not an ideal environment for Estrada. He hasn’t had a good one results-wise in three years, putting up ERA’s of 6.59 in 2015, 4.76 in 2016 and 4.50 so far this year.
But over that time, he’s also been one of the most consistent pitchers in the American League, a master at suppressing contact and earning awkward swings with his change-up. In that same span, he’s posted a 3.30 regular-season ERA, and a 2.16 ERA in six post-season starts.
Maybe something about the games actually mattering has an effect on Estrada. Or maybe he’s just the kind of loose, low-maintenance guy who can throw a couple of innings and be ready for the season, as his teammate J.A. Happ ruminated the other day.
Either way, Estrada’s happy for what he went through on the mound Friday. It’s always good to have a reminder to just throw the damn thing.
“I’m glad it happened,” he said. “I know exactly what to think if it happens again. And it happens—it does happen. I second guess myself when I’m out there pitching at times. But normally during the season I’m able to let it go right away. It was just a little harder today. But I needed it to happen. And, mentally, I feel pretty good right now.”
