DENVER — One night after suffering perhaps the worst meltdown of his career, Chad Cordero was as upbeat as ever, confident his recent string of poor outings can be corrected with some improved mechanics.
“It’s something I can fix,” the Washington Nationals’ closer said. “I just have to go out there and do some extra work.”
Cordero already has begun working with pitching coach Randy St. Claire on adjusting his release point when he throws. Typically a classic, over-the-top pitcher, Cordero has run into trouble lately because his arm has dipped down to the side a bit. That causes his fastballs to sink down and to the right, often right over the heart of the plate.
Cordero made that very mistake far too often Friday night during a disastrous ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies. Handed a 5-1 lead to start the inning, the right-hander proceeded to give it all back on a single, home run, another single, a double and a walk. Manager Manny Acta pulled his closer at that point, then Jon Rauch allowed all three inherited runners to score to complete a 6-5 loss at Coors Field.
“He’s human,” Acta said. “He relies a lot on his control, and you just can’t have it every single day. Sometimes you might be able to get away with it. But sometimes you’re not going to get away with it like [Friday] night.”
Cordero’s five-run outing Friday came after a couple of other rough appearances. In his last three games, he has now given up eight runs (seven earned), a rough patch that raised his ERA nearly an entire point (from 2.44 to 3.39).
St. Claire attributes Cordero’s struggles to his mechanical issues and points to a similar phase the young closer went through in April as evidence it can be fixed.
“It’s exactly what happened [earlier in the year],” St. Claire said. “He’s off-line and kind of on the side of the ball. The ball’s tailing back over the middle of the plate.”
Lannan to Columbus
Because the Nationals need to create a roster spot for right-hander Jason Bergmann (who is coming off the disabled list), rookie left-hander John Lannan will be optioned to Class AAA Columbus after today’s series finale against the Rockies.
Washington’s coaching and front office staffs already had decided to shut Lannan down because he has thrown a career-high 1571/3 innings between the minors and majors. But the 22-year-old will have to make a brief trip back to Columbus, where he’ll work on a few things before rejoining the Nationals once rosters expand on Sept. 1.
“It’s a very difficult decision to make, because John Lannan is one of our best starting pitchers,” general manager Jim Bowden said. “But we’re building long-term, and we have to keep him healthy. With his innings pitched from last year to this year, if we don’t reduce it dramatically, the risk of injury becomes high based on historical data.”
Lannan, who began the season at Class A Potomac and skyrocketed his way through the Nationals’ farm system, has no problem with the team’s plan (which calls for him to make a few appearances out of the bullpen over the season’s final month).
“I just think back to where I started this year,” he said. “I’m glad I got the opportunity to come up here and get some innings. It’s been a great year.”
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