Matt Bush talks about his outing for the Rangers
Update: Bush wascalled up from the minors by the Rangers on Friday.
FRISCO If Matt Bush wants a happy ending to a story fairly desperate for one, he must pass a couple of tests first.
Develop a third pitch.
Stay sober.
And not necessarily in that order.
If its still not enough for you after Bush served nearly three years in prison for a third DUI, the latest resulting in serious injury to a 72-year-old motorcyclist, well, I get it. Even baseball people harbor mixed views, and theyre usually a forgiving bunch when the talent merits it. There are no easy answers here. But theres no question about what happened on a stormy Tuesday night at Dr Pepper Ballpark, either.
As Joe Mikulik, the RoughRiders manager, put it, Its a great story.
An unbelievable one, actually.
Not since Jim Morris came back at 35 have we seen anything like it, and the last time they made it into a movie. Should Bush make it back, his story would be a little more complicated.
Former No. 1 pick flops as a shortstop, converts to pitcher, goes to prison and comes out in October throwing better than when he went in.
All thats keeping him out of the Rangers bullpen right now is a respectable amount of time given his recent status and a slider to complement his 98-mph fastball and hard curve. Bush hadnt thrown anything but fastballs and curves all season, and the results were still good. Hed pretty much never thrown a slider in a game until last week.
Monday, he throws 15 pitches in an inning of relief against Midland, 10 for strikes. Gives up a bloop single to center between an easy ground ball and a couple of strikeouts. Only threw four fastballs, which topped out at 97.
Get this: A couple of the sliders checked in at 92.
Just so you know, the Mets Noah Syndergaard averages 92 mph with his slider, and hes generally considered to have the best stuff in the bigs.
Its a pitch they have to look for, Bush said of the slider after the game.
Gonna be a hard pitch to hit.
Before you get the wrong idea about Bush, the statement didnt come with any bravado. Hes more understated than a blank wall. Polite, soft-spoken and as surprised as everyone else at the level of his comeback and how good his powerful right arm feels.
As Jon Daniels told our Ballzy podcast this week, Bush still has some issues to work out as a pitcher. For one thing, he doesnt have a lot of experience with it. When he gets ahead 0-2 or 1-2, he tries to put away a hitter by throwing a curve for a strike. He needs to bury the pitch instead and make hitters chase.
On the other hand, if he can master the slider, it gives him the option of a pitch that looks like his fastball but doesnt have to be thrown for a strike. Everyone in the Rangers system believes it can be his out pitch.
When he does throw a good one, Mikulik said, its really, really nasty.
And to think he just started using it last week.
It feels like Im throwing a fastball, Bush said. Little different grip, little different release.
The ball is moving so late and still hard, I can tell its a pitch thats only going to benefit me.
The RockHounds no doubt would testify as much. With two outs in the fifth, Matt Chapman, Oaklands sixth-ranked prospect, fouled off a fastball, then took a slider for a ball.
The next three pitches went 97-mph fastball, 90-mph slider, 96-mph fastball on the hands, with Chapman waving meekly as it roared past.
Considering the state of the Rangers bullpen so far, with the leagues worst ERA and Keone Kela on the shelf and the rest on fumes, now would seem a perfect time to bring up a 30-year-old reliever with the kind of stuff Jeff Banister called as good as any he saw all spring.
Like weve established, though, its complicated. Even the baseball stuff. Guy doesnt pitch for four years, and his feel for his pitches remains spectacular. If anything, his command has been toogood.
Everythings around the strike zone, which has allowed some minor leaguers to cheat on the fastball. Moving hitters off the plate would help immensely.
Then it becomes only a matter of time before Bush takes the next step in his comeback.
Last week in Detroit, Banister called it was probably best to give Bush time to experience baseball and life. He also said Bush needs to prepare himself for the attention sure to come should he make it back. To that end, the Rangers have less information at their disposal. Theyve kept him in a cocoon in Frisco. No questions from the media about his past or personal life. Only baseball.
But they have a little experience in this realm, too. Maybe you remember Josh Hamilton.
Take baseball out of it, Daniels said of Bush. Hes an alcoholic. Theres going to be that element to his life regardless of his occupation. Hes continuing the process day to day. We have a support network here and he has one.
Knock on wood, everythings been very good.
Of course, as Hamiltons case reminds us, we know how it can go. Whatever your feelings about Hamilton, he proved worth the risk. Whether Bush fares as well remains to be seen.
Asked for a timetable on Bushs call-up, Daniels declined. Could be any time. The stuff is already major league-caliber, he said. In some ways, its out of the Rangers hands.
Bushie"sthe one wholl let us know when hes ready, said Brian Shouse, the RoughRiders pitching coach. When he goes out there and has 12-pitch innings and is pretty dominant with everything, thats how you can tell when a guys ready to take the next step.
So the question is: Does Bush think hes ready?
Im having a lot of fun here, he said. When that day comes, I have no idea.
Its just really going to be an extremely special moment for me.
Could be pretty special for the Rangers, too.
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Source: http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2016/05/12/sherrington-pitches-coming-along-left-matt-bush-complete-comeback-story-rangers
