Wells wants more consistency

02/17/2006
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Following the toughest season in his seven-year big-league career, Pirates right-hander Kip Wells returned home to Houston last October asking himself how it all went wrong so quickly.
How, in the span of 18 months, did he go from being the Bucs' Opening Day starter and one of most promising young right-handers in the game to leading the Major Leagues with 18 losses?
"It was one of those things you look back on after the year and you're trying to put it behind you and move forward," said Wells. "You have a hard time fathoming how a guy could have a year like that? How could it get that bad? How could you not rebound? How could you not have better results than that?"
Wells was the very model of inconsistency in 2005.
Wells dropped his first three decisions of the season before winning five of his next six. He then lost eight of his next nine decisions, with his lone win during that stretch coming when he tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out 12 against the Phillies on July 5. He proceeded to lose six of his next seven decisions before holding the Brewers to one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings in his final start on Oct. 1.
In 14 of his 33 starts, Wells limited the opposition to two runs or fewer. But he also had 10 starts during which he allowed at least five runs. Wells pitched at least seven innings in 13 starts. On eight other occasions, he was unable to get out of the fourth inning.
"When you are in the midst of a battle like that, when you are in the middle of a daily grind, it's hard to come up for air. It's hard to realize you are just one or two outings from changing," said Wells.
"Then [the Pirates] sent me tapes this year from my good games. I watched them, and I'm asking myself, 'How did the guy who threw these games end up 8-18?'"
The answer, Wells believes, was in his inability to pick an approach and stick with it. In an effort to harness his command and cut back on his National League-leading walk total, Wells seemed to try something new almost every other start. One outing, he'd pitch from the far end of the rubber. When that didn't work , he'd try throwing the ball right down the middle of the plate hoping that it would tail off towards the corners. And when that didn't work ...
"I would have failures and struggle from start to start, and I would keep trying new things. It kept me from getting on a roll," Wells explained. "One start I would have a game plan of going with a power game, then it would be throttling down and trying to finesse a little more. Then we would tweak this or change that."
While Wells has been adamant about shouldering the sole responsibility for his past struggles and not placing any blame on former pitching coach Spin Williams, he's also been encouraged by the addition of new pitching coach Jim Colborn and manager Jim Tracy, both of whom have expressed their steadfast belief in Wells' abilities.
"He's had confidence before and he's had success before. It's in the package," Colborn said. "That's what it is all about, for individual players to realize that who they are is good enough. Most of the problems are caused when a player thinks he has to do more or be radically different than what his talents are in order to succeed. In most cases, that's not the case. They just need to be themselves and trust that."
During the team's minicamp in January, Colburn made two suggestions to Wells that he hopes will improve the right-hander's mechanics and allow him to throw more strikes. Colburn instructed Wells to lead with his left hip going directly towards the catcher's mitt while keeping his weight on the right leg. He also instructed Wells to keep the lower half of his right leg in line with the front of his body as he drives towards the plate.
"If you get these two things going in the right direction, you won't have to worry about flying off," said Wells. "It's all about getting your body in a position to throw firm strikes in the strike zone on a regular basis. If you are off line, the ball is going to tail or cut."
If the mechanical changes work and Wells is able to harness his command while maintaining his mid-90s velocity, he believes he'll be able to reach his many goals for 2006.
"There are several things that I am looking to improve upon," said Wells. "I need to cut down the walks; I need to win more games; I need to pitch deeper into ballgames; [and] I need to put several good games together in a row, so I have seven out of 10 instead of four and not as many bumps in the road that set you back.
"I owe it to the Pirates to go out and perform well. They gave me raises the last two years with me having years that I expected more out of myself."
What if Wells is able to reestablish himself as a frontline starter?
"We have an opportunity this year with these guys," Wells said. "If we all click, we have the capabilities of having a good year. Things have to happen for us to contend in this division. But we are going to be competitive and play sound baseball."

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/