There’s no doubt that Scott Kazmir broke out in 2006. His strikeout rate was phenomonal and his walk rate improved considerably. Of course the problem was, he logged only 144 innings because of a bad shoulder. Scott Kazmir provides the Devil Rays with an “ace” quality pitcher for the first time in the franchise’s history.
That’s why the news that Kazmir threw a bullpen session for the first time and had no problems with his shoulder was very encouraging news. Kazmir even went to say that this was the strongest he’s felt in January in his career so hopefully the time off did him some good.
January 28th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
He may be joined by 1 and possibly 2 more “ace”-type pitchers by year’s end, but that all depends on Niemann and how fast we want to push this year’s #1 pick(which is more than likely going to be Vanderbilt’s David Price, who completely owned Int’l competition in Olympic Trials.)
January 29th, 2007 at 5:40 am
He is quite an exceptional pitcher and so young. Lets hope he stays healthy.