Saturday, May 22, 1999
Wohlers has another setback
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SAN DIEGO - Mark Wohlers threw only 17 strikes in 44 pitches while throwing batting practice Friday to Dmitri Young and Brian Johnson, meaning he'll continue refining his mechanics before pitching coach Don Gullett prescribes a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.
“Tough one today,” Gullett said, noting that Wohlers had thrown effectively in his last four practice outings.
Fellow right-handed reliever Stan Belinda, recovering from a shoulder injury, was more consistent in his live BP session, though he plunked Johnson in the left side with a pitch. “We should be getting closer to making a determination with him,” Gullett said. Both will pitch live BP again Tuesday.
Wohlers didn't throw a pitch that prompted a swing until his 33rd delivery. He bounced several pitches in the dirt and fired one high into the netting of the batting practice cage.
But Wohlers was remarkably accurate at the end of his session, when he threw about 15 pitches off the Qualcomm Stadium mound to bullpen catcher Mark Berry without hitters facing him.
“I tried to prove a point and told him to try to throw the ball 100 miles an hour, hold nothing back, think about extending and throwing to the catcher. That's exactly what he did,” Gullett said. “The bottom line is, I think he's thinking too much rather than just throwing the ball and doing what he's capable of doing physically.”
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