Matt Capps, the Pirates' mostly struggling closer, has been spending extensive time with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan trying to come up with explanations for his 5.79 ERA, .325 opponents' batting average and five blown saves in 30 chances.
And the answer is...
"We've looked at video back to 2005," Capps said. "There's nothing jumping out at us."
Nothing at all?
What about his oft-discussed conditioning?
"Conditioning-wise, I'm in really good shape. I'm in a hell of a lot better shape than I was last year, and I pitched better then. So, I don't know what it is. The only thing I can look at is that I've been throwing for 18 straight months now, nonstop since New Year's of 2008."
That is because he was rehabilitating through many of what should have been off months. But that does not make much of an explanation, either, given that he still routinely finds peak velocity.
"Unless you throw 110, you can't throw it at the belt. You're not going to get away with it and, for the most part, I've been up in the zone. It's hard to explain. I don't think it's a mechanical thing. I don't really know what it is."
The only areas of certainty for Capps:
1. He has made strides with his slider and curveball, allowing him more choices.
2. He is beating himself up.
"It's been a really tough year," he said. "It's been trying team-wise and trying personally. On a personal level, I know I can do it. There's no doubt in myself. It's just being able to do it on a consistent basis. Five blown saves is not a good year, in my book, whether you have 10 opportunities or 50. I've got to do better."
Garrett Jones' 20th home run Monday brought two research gems from the Elias Sports Bureau:
• He is the oldest rookie, at age 28, to hit 20 home runs since the Minnesota Twins' Bobby Darwin in 1972, when he hit 22 at age 29.
• He is the second player in Major League Baseball history to hit 20 without hitting one before July. The other was the New York Yankees' Kevin Maas, who had 21 in 1990 beginning July 4.
Manager John Russell was adamant that Jesse Chavez is not wearing down, despite evidence to the contrary: Chavez has made a team-high and career-high 69 appearances as a rookie and, though he has been strong most of the summer, has a 5.14 ERA and four home runs in seven innings this month.
"We don't see overuse as an issue," Russell said. "We haven't seen any decline in his velocity or stuff. He's just had a couple of tough outings."
• Brad Lincoln, the Pirates' top pitching prospect, allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of the United States' 6-3 victory against Venezuela in the World Cup yesterday in Italy. He has a 1.89 ERA in three tournament starts. Pedro Alvarez homered and went 1 for 3 with a walk.
• The St. Louis Cardinals voided the $3.2 million bonus for Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo because he failed his physical. That is notable to the Pirates because top prospect Miguel Angel Sano, still available, was seeking a bonus in Mateo's range.
• Jose Ascanio, out the past month with shoulder pain, said his arm felt "great" after pitching his first simulated game yesterday afternoon. He will have another Friday and could be cleared to pitch early next week.
• Third baseman Andy LaRoche was held out again, a day after playing 11 innings through flu-like symptoms, because he was "taxed," Russell said.
First Published: September 23, 2009, 8:00 a.m.
