Freddy says throwing side seccions in the bullpen between starts helped increase the velocity of his fastball from the mid-80s to the low-90s:
"Two weeks ago, in my arm, I didn't feel any power. I tried to throw harder and there was no velocity. Now, I feel better. Hopefully I'll continue to feel that way. I wasn't throwing bullpens, and if you don't use it, you lose it. Now, it's working well for me."
Coop says all 5 starters are throwing side seccions for most of the 2nd half (Javy's also working on his mechanics):
"Freddy wanted to throw some, so we started throwing bullpens. About 1 1/2 months ago, he said, 'I'm feeling better.' I tried to draw the correlation to him that when you are working harder, you are doing more than you ever have in here and you are throwing more. If he keeps doing those things, he'll continue to climb. It's just another day to focus on pitches we are throwing," Cooper said. "It's a work day, a practice day. As a coach and a player, you look to pick your spots. When you pitch 240 innings per year, we don't need to pile another 140 innings out there, especially if you are not walking guys," added Cooper on the addition of regular side sessions. "They aren't firing game stuff, but they could be pitching in games with the stuff they have."
Ozzie says he likes what he sees from Ross Gload in Thome's absence, and would try to give him more playing time (maybe in LF) when Thome returns:
"When he gets on base and makes things happen, it makes [No. 2 hitter Tadahito] Iguchi better. We need those guys. He came off the bench out of nowhere, and all of a sudden he gets you great at-bats. We'll see how lineups look and the matchups [with pitchers] and try to get him more at-bats."
Speaking of Thome, Ozzie expects to start on Tuesday:
"We will see how he (Thome) feels, but I expect him to start on Tuesday. Our offense misses him, we can fill that hole for a few days but not the rest of the season."
Finally, Ozzie would like Brian Anderson to go to winter ball in the offseason:
"I told him, 'You have to work this winter on being a power hitter or a speed guy. I think he's the fastest guy we have. He has to pick because you can't be successful in both."