Hansen's slider a welcome change
One of the notable signs of the return of Craig Hansen's slider came Sunday night. At Syracuse, Hansen pitched 2 1/3 innings to get his third save of the season for Pawtucket , allowing three hits and one walk, and striking out four. On two of those strikeouts, the change became apparent. Hansen threw sliders on 3-and-2 counts for strikeouts.
"I would say it's back," Hansen said earlier this week. "Very close to 100 percent, if it's not there yet. There's still some minor adjustments to make it more consistent, the way I want it.
"Not for a long time [has the pitch been at that level]. Very long time. Too long. Not while I was playing pro ball."
Between the consistency and confidence in the slider, plus a renewed commitment to first-pitch strikes, the 23-year-old has his manager, Ron Johnson, raving.
Earlier this week, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "I think there's still some inconsistencies, but I think there's a lot of optimism."
That last statement sums it up. Hansen thinks his slider is back and those around him are seeing improvement.
"That's what [Hansen's] saying and I'm seeing it," Pawtucket pitching coach Mike Griffin said.
"I'm seeing the better tilt down and the better hard bite down now than during the beginning of the year. When I say consistency, I'm seeing some first-pitch strikes with some sliders, I'm seeing a lot more swings and misses with his slider right now. Not only to righthanded hitters, but also to lefthanded hitters."
In the spring of 2005, when he was at St. John's, Baseball America said Hansen had the best breaking ball of the 2005 draft. Combined with his mid- to high-90s fastball, Hansen was being called the Red Sox' closer of the future.
Although he made the jump to the majors just months after being drafted and had a good stretch last season, Hansen felt like he was pitching with a single offering. The slider wasn't consistent and the changeup was still developing.
"When you go in there and know that you have three pitches that you can throw for a strike, as opposed to just one, [it's a] huge difference," Hansen said. "Confidence plays a huge role out there. If you're not confident, the hitter can see that, all the players can see that.
"When a guy's struggling at the plate, when you see him walk up to the plate, you just know. You just have a feeling, this guy doesn't know right now. He's just struggling, struggling in his head or whatever."
Did hitters see that in him?
"I'd probably say so," Hansen said.
Hansen also said that with the development of his slider and his work on getting ahead of hitters, confidence is not a problem. The results aren't always there, as in his one-inning outing Wednesday, in which he allowed a run on three hits and struck out two, but he's moving in the right direction.
"I always preach, not only to him but to everybody, getting ahead in the counts," Griffin said. "For Craig, it's been very important. He's getting ahead in the counts, where now he can do more things."
