Went to Dell Diamond to see Clemens pitch. I always assumed he was either the centerpiece of the trade, or a centerpiece at least. I figured they must had something in mind when they acquired him, and hoped to catch a glimpse.
The kid is pretty tall and rail thin, at age 24. I guess if he is still that thin at that age, you can't expect him to fill out. His fastball sits at 92 with decent movement. He commands it well and can use it to get ahead in counts, but once he gets there, his weakness appears. He really has no secondary pitches. His curve improved over the course of the game to the point where he could throw it for strikes, but it is easy to see, has little bite, and is not close to a swing and miss pitch. His change comes in at about 80. He throws it for strikes, but it has no movement at all. Overall, still didn't glimpse what they must have envisioned.
I saw Oswalt walk Paredes. There is a feat.
Paredes looked good at the plate, bobbled a hot shot at him but recovered quickly to start a DP. I don't think he lacks discipline in that he swings at a lot of balls, but in that he could wait on more hittable strikes. Still looks good to me.
I like Shuck. He gives a good AB, and even hit the ball with slightly more authority than when I saw him at CC, which means slightly more than pure slap hitting.
