08-10-2009, 07:57 PM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Cubs closer Kevin Gregg has gone from feeling like his arm may have been slightly overtaxed to feeling like his skills are being underutilized in the course of a week.
After blowing a pair of saves in Florida on Aug. 1-2, Gregg was given a breather in Cincinnati, taking a rare opportunity to work on mechanical issues and to push the reset button on his delivery, his arm, and his mind.
"The situation a lot of late-inning relievers get in is we never have a chance to really work on anything. The game's on the line, get people out," Gregg said Sunday, one day after securing the save in a 6-5 victory over the Rockies. "Sometimes it takes a second to step back, regroup, but not overtax your arm. For myself, a little bit of rest helped out and got things back on track."
Gregg's extra rest over the weekend, however, comes as a result of the Cubs having only one save opportunity in the first three games of the four-game series. Since his break, he's had a pair of perfect outings, putting up 1-2-3 innings Wednesday in Cincinnati in a non-save situation and Saturday night in Colorado.
"Mechanically, I'd gotten a little bit out of whack," Gregg said. "Rumor had it that I was actually tipping my pitches in Florida, so that didn't help any. I made an adjustment for that, for what I could see. But then just getting a little bit of rest, getting a little treatment on my arm, and getting things back in a groove [helped]."
Gregg is clearly a guy who wants to be involved as often as he can, and though there are plenty of games when he leaves the park without hearing the phone ring in the bullpen, there's a difference in coming to the park knowing the phone won't be ringing for him.
"Anytime you can take a complete clean day off, it helps you clear your mind and get yourself refocused," Gregg said. "We're over 100 games in, and I've taken one day off," Gregg said. "That's the way I look at the whole thing. I didn't want to take a day. It was a fight to take one day for myself. But sometimes it's for the better good of everybody. All of us need a day off every now and then."
Gregg has made over 70 appearances in each of the past two seasons, and with 54 appearances through two-thirds of the season, he's on tap to hit that plateau again.
"The way I look at it, these guys pay me a lot of money to do what I do," Gregg said. "They count on me to do my job, and I should be out there every single day."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
After blowing a pair of saves in Florida on Aug. 1-2, Gregg was given a breather in Cincinnati, taking a rare opportunity to work on mechanical issues and to push the reset button on his delivery, his arm, and his mind.
"The situation a lot of late-inning relievers get in is we never have a chance to really work on anything. The game's on the line, get people out," Gregg said Sunday, one day after securing the save in a 6-5 victory over the Rockies. "Sometimes it takes a second to step back, regroup, but not overtax your arm. For myself, a little bit of rest helped out and got things back on track."
Gregg's extra rest over the weekend, however, comes as a result of the Cubs having only one save opportunity in the first three games of the four-game series. Since his break, he's had a pair of perfect outings, putting up 1-2-3 innings Wednesday in Cincinnati in a non-save situation and Saturday night in Colorado.
"Mechanically, I'd gotten a little bit out of whack," Gregg said. "Rumor had it that I was actually tipping my pitches in Florida, so that didn't help any. I made an adjustment for that, for what I could see. But then just getting a little bit of rest, getting a little treatment on my arm, and getting things back in a groove [helped]."
Gregg is clearly a guy who wants to be involved as often as he can, and though there are plenty of games when he leaves the park without hearing the phone ring in the bullpen, there's a difference in coming to the park knowing the phone won't be ringing for him.
"Anytime you can take a complete clean day off, it helps you clear your mind and get yourself refocused," Gregg said. "We're over 100 games in, and I've taken one day off," Gregg said. "That's the way I look at the whole thing. I didn't want to take a day. It was a fight to take one day for myself. But sometimes it's for the better good of everybody. All of us need a day off every now and then."
Gregg has made over 70 appearances in each of the past two seasons, and with 54 appearances through two-thirds of the season, he's on tap to hit that plateau again.
"The way I look at it, these guys pay me a lot of money to do what I do," Gregg said. "They count on me to do my job, and I should be out there every single day."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->