As Ron Gardenhire discussed Matthew Boyd's latest stumble following the Tigers' 7-2 loss to the White Sox Monday night, he chewed on the changeup. He said Boyd didn't use it enough early in the game. He said pitching coach Rick Anderson felt the same way. He said neither of them have an answer for why Boyd is so resistant to throwing it more often.
After all, the changeup brought about Boyd's two best innings Monday, and maybe his two best innings of this brutal start to the season.
Overall, Boyd felt like he made "a lot of progress" in his fifth outing of the year -- "if you look in the right spots." He was encouraged by the fact he induced 16 swings and misses, including 10 on his slider. He liked the way his off-speed pitches played off his fastball. "Step in the right direction," he said. And to be fair, it was: Boyd racked up a season-high nine strikeouts and lowered his ERA from something ghastly to something a little less galling.
Gardenhire wasn't so heartened. Boyd threw 60 pitches in the first two innings. He was gone after four, taxing the bullpen with a pair of rookies set to take the mound Tuesday and Wednesday. He surrendered three more homers to bring his season total to eight, the most in the American League. Gardenhire can live with those mistakes, if Boyd is pitching with some pace. Instead he continues to labor, fastball after slider, slider after fastball, stuck in the same rut he fell into last season.
"Our starting pitcher, the first two innings, you’re talking 60 pitches and up to 90 pitches in four innings," Gardenhire said. "That's just a long time standing around out there and it takes your offense out (of it), and I think Matty knows that. He got a little better there at the end, started really getting the ball and going after them."
Boyd's fastball-slider combination is good, sometimes lethal. But it's not sustainable on its own, especially when that fastball lives in the lower 90's. He began mixing in the changeup in the third inning and retired the next six batters in a row. Six changeups produced three whiffs and two soft outs.
"You can’t just forget about that. You have to use that pitch," Gardenhire said. "Those are all the things that when you’re scuffling, your mind’s spinning out there. Hopefully once he takes a look at the video and sees how impressive his changeup was at the end, he’ll go, 'That’s the pitch that I need to use more early in the game to get me through.' He got some big outs and some poor swings with it later on.
"I don’t have an answer why you don’t use it all the time, Andy didn’t either. He had a good conversation with him on the bench and I think he understands, so maybe the next time out he’ll use his arsenal."
The tone in Gardenhire's voice wasn't quite frustration. It was something closer to acceptance, as if Boyd will stick to his philosophies and the Tigers will hope for the best. And really what can the Tigers say? Boyd doesn't owe his breakout last season to anything he learned inside the organization. He entrusted his development to Driveline Baseball, the data-driven training facility in his hometown of Seattle, and now he's in charge of his own career.
With each poor start, it feels like the gap between Boyd and the Tigers grows a little wider. It's not that he relies so heavily on outside resources -- and it's not at all like this causes friction with the coaches. It's just that Boyd has a vision that either the organization doesn't see or can't help him fulfill. He makes strides in the winter and then stagnates during the season, like a summer school student who shows up in the fall ahead of the curriculum.
With the help of Driveline, Boyd spent significant time this offseason refining his curveball. He spoke in the spring like he'd found a third pitch to keep hitters honest. He's rarely thrown it since the season began. As far as the Tigers' analytics department has come in recent years, you wonder if Boyd's curve has withered under their watch. Left to his own devices, he's fallen back on the two pitches he trusts.
"He’s a very technical guy," general manager Al Avila told MLB Network Radio last week. "He’ll look at all his numbers and video, spin rate and angle and release point. I think right now he’s a little bit in-between. This offseason I know he tried to make some changes. I don’t know that those changes have helped at this point or that he’s able to achieve those changes. He’s still trying to find it."
Meanwhile, the Tigers are suggesting changes of their own. At this point, Boyd has to consider them. He's surrendered the most hits in the AL and the most earned runs in the majors. His strikeout numbers mean nothing if he can't start getting outs of any kind more consistently. The changeup was a lifeline Monday night, but it's no sure thing he'll use it more often next time out.
"We’ll see," said Gardenhire, and you get the sense he and Anderson have already said their piece.
Slowly, this uncertainty has crept into Boyd's future in Detroit. Maybe he peaked last spring, in which case we can all move along. The fear is that he was just reaching his potential and the Tigers haven't pushed him any further. The two sides are committed to each other, for better or worse. Boyd is bullish he'll turn things around. The Tigers are hopeful they can help him.
We'll see.