Joe Maddon

Sometimes it's about expansion to the strike zone too.

It's also about falling off your pitch, again, which could be trying too hard.

And sometimes it's just indecision.

That's really what leads to all this stuff.

You get in the maybe mode.

I used to talk to Erstad about that.

Darren Erstad, what a player.

But Erstad would get in the maybe mode sometimes.

And I would say, we got to get out of the maybe mode.

You got to commit to every pitch until you realize it's not yours.

And then automatically you should be able to take it.

So that's the kind of conversation I've had.

I always try to simplify, never overcomplicate it.

You know who you're talking to, how you need to say this, and less words normally are better than more words.

To flip a guy during the season from the pen to the rotation?

Yeah.

Well, part of it is just being stretched out.

You have to be careful with that.

If the guy has options, you can send him back down to get stretched out a bit.

That's always a good thing because when you don't have a stretched out starter, he could impact your bullpen, and that could be detrimental for several days.