The Marlins may be looking to speed up Volstad's delivery when runners are on.
The Marlins said they plan to work with rookie pitcher Chris Volstad, who looked vulnerable Friday when the Rockies stole three bases off him. ''He's got to speed it up a little bit,'' Gonzalez said. ``He is about a 1.3 [seconds] to the plate, and that's fine, but sometimes he gets up to 1.6 or 1.7. It's all learning. It's all experience. He's a very, very smart kid. I think he will learn [to be quicker to the plate] with no problem.'' He said the Marlins would be cautious, though. ''It's a fine line between hurrying him up and putting pressure on his arm,'' Gonzalez said. ``You have to be careful. You don't want to make drastic changes in his delivery.'' Wow, 1.7 is pretty stinking slow, but this is also another alternative to speeding him up. Volstad seems to me to be clockwork on the hill, once he looks at the runner, he deliveries the ball in the exact same rhythm. Meaning, he looks at the runner and then he throws the pitch in the same cadence and it is easy for major league runner to get a jump on him. Speeding him up to the plate would help, but I'm sure I would go that way. One could also vary the amount of time he holds onto the ball in the stretch and not mess with his delivery to the plate and probably get same results. Just a thought.