That’s the big question I have about Kazmir as well- I think everyone is well aware that he used his slider far less, but will that continue in 2009 and beyond, and do they consider his usage of the pitch to be a cause of his elbow troubles?

It sounds like a cop-out, but we’ll just have to wait and see if the flyball/pitch selection tendencies stick. Kazmir has good velocity, but I think those walk rates are going to remain pretty high if he remains such a fastball-centric pitcher.

Kazmir threw the 4th most pitches in the AL in 2007 – but got far fewer outs that the other leaders. That means that he was pitching longer innings, probably putting more wear-and-tear on that shoulder than the others. And then the first time he touches the mound for a ST game in February this year he didn’t feel right and was out for two months.

I don’t think there is any doubt that the as far as the Rays management was concerned, Kazmir’s 2008 was all about getting him through the season with as little weight being put on that arm. It was very hard to watch at times because it was clear that Kazmir was like a fighter working with one broken hand. He was frustrated, the staff kept harping on him about pitch counts, it was a tough year. The question is…will the Rays (and Kazmir) go back to the normal usage of the slider or are they determined to stay away from it going forward?

One last thing…notice that according to f/x Shields and Sonnanstine used the cutter much more in 2008. And that all five Rays starters used their fastball/cutter more in 2008 than in 2007. Is the cutter the third pitch that the staff wants their pitchers to learn? Will that be an option for Kazmir, Jackson and Garza (who also threw a much larger # of fastballs in 2008)?

What I often wonder is if we as fans can notice troubling patterns like this. Why does the team not take a stride to correct it? Sure maybe the elbow is to blame. But if his change is that good should he not have at least a 65%-35% split?