Felix gets a new grip

Sunday, July 8, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Felix Hernandez had another strong outing for the Mariners, and in his last four appearances, he has a 2.12 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. In other words, he's back to being the kind of pitcher he was back in April.

Rival scouts believed that when King Felix was activated from the disabled list in May after having some elbow issues, he was reluctant to throw his breaking ball. Maybe he was worried about reinjuring himself, some of them theorized, but no matter what the reason was, the reluctance was limiting his repertoire, and opposing hitters were able to sit on his fastball.  
 

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  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

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