Fire Gardy

Last night one of the last bullpen arms on the market signed. The Twins had been looking at Chad Cordero, coming off shoulder surgery last summer, but have decided not to pursue him as he’s now signed a minor league contract with the Mariners.

Given the fact that he apparently hasn’t been able to get his fastball past 80 MPH yet (and his entire value back when he was a good closer was his velocity), this is probably a good non-move by the Twins. And it says a lot about the Mariners’ situation that they’d be willing to take a shot on a fastballs-only pitcher with an 80 MPH fastball.

Instead, the Twins are hoping that Jesse Crain can grab the bull by the horns and fill the role of main setup man. He’s developed a new pitch (the slurve) that apparently totally baffled the Italians in the WBC:

Crain struck out all four batters he faced in his lone appearance against Italy, with each taking a called third strike. All four were caught staring at Crain’s new pitch, a curveball and slider hybrid he calls a “slurve.”

I’d personally prefer swinging strikeouts, but a strikeout is a strikeout, I guess. Even against Italy.

The biggest advantage Rick Anderson sees is that it’s a significant change in speeds from a guy who really used nothing but his fastball in the past. His fastball sits at 95 MPH, while the new slurve goes 82-84 MPH. If he can locate it effectively, the slurve combines a significant change in speed with unusual movement, and could make Crain a lot more effective.

We’ll see. I’m just hoping he’s gotten rid of his tell.

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