Burke Badenhop is coming off shoulder tendinitis is ready to give it a go once more. His first stint in the majors wasn't good, but it wasn't horrible either. He did show flashes of potential.
The Hopper comments on the problems last season.
Badenhop has several theories on what might have happened. Pitching against major-league hitters for the first time, he felt a need to change. ''And I think I changed a little too much, which I think you see plenty of guys do,'' Badenhop said. ``You kind of get away from pitching your game. I'm a loosey goosey, rubber-band-type guy. If I'm not like that, I'm not throwing strikes. The big leagues can make you tighten up a little bit.'' Badenhop said he also might have suffered from arm fatigue after pitching continuously through the fall and winter heading into his first camp with the Marlins. ''I think the innings kind of caught up with me, and then you go to big-league camp and you're competing right off the bat,'' he said. ``I kind of got out of whack, and when you start to break down, you start throwing balls.'' After going on the disabled list, Badenhop was shut down the rest of the summer.
Taking the time off could help. I like Badenhop, he has a nice sinker when he gets on top of it. If he can do a better job of spotting his fast ball and work on his change, he will have a solid career in the majors, assuming he stays healthy.
I like the idea of him going for a bullpen spot, it is always nice to have a reliever that can induce a ground ball when you really need one. Also he can spot start if need be.
We will see how spring training works out.