Scott Olsen's velocity

Not that Scott Olsen's velocity on his fast ball is the be all and end all but it does give one an idea of where he stands on the road to recovery .

Left-hander Scott Olsen hit 90 mph again Tuesday night, quashing concerns about his velocity, but he was hit hard in Florida's 5-4 loss.

Olsen, who hasn't won since May 6, allowed 11 hits in 413 innings.

"When I was ahead in the count, they hit the ball. When I was behind in the count, they hit the ball,'' Olsen said. "I got killed.''

Olsen (4-4) started the season 3-0 in his first four starts. But since then he has gone 1-4 in his past 11 starts.

No, hitting 90 mph on a few pitches doesn't quash anything.  When I was watching most of his fast balls were in the mid to high 80s.  In his previous start, he was hitting in the 90s with regularity.  Now, of course, this could be due to the differences in the home gun and the gun used at SAFECO.

No matter what the explanation, Olsen was not throwing free and easy on Tuesday.  The pitches he threw near 90 mph were a strained effort and rarely were in the strike zone.  In fact, I didn't see one called a strike.  Then again, I didn't see every pitch.

Olsen, barring injury, is still a few weeks away from returning to form.  The good outings should be more frequent and the bad ones not as bad.  But consistency is still a few weeks away.