Not hard, not straight

John Perrotto describes Mark Redman's changeup as well as his makeup for the Beaver County Times.

In fact, his changeup is his best pitch and his sinking fastball rarely reaches 90 mph. Redman learned his changeup at The Master's from coach Geoff Zahn, who pitched in the major leagues for 13 seasons from 1973-85.

"The changeup is what really makes the difference for Redman," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "Hitters know it's coming and they still can't hit it, that's how good it is. He'll drive you to drink at times because he'll throw a lot of changeups off the plate for balls because he's trying to get hitters to chase.

"He'll run a lot of 3-2 counts but he'll also find a way to get guys out."

That is because Redman rarely leaves a pitch over the middle of the plate and has walked only 2.8 batters per nine innings during his career that has seen him go 48-51 with a 4.37 ERA in 139 games, 127 starts.

"I don't throw hard but I also don't throw many pitches straight," Redman said.

Redman strikes me as one of Littlefield's better acquisitions, but the only that can be shown or proven is on the field. My biggest concern with him actually concerns our defense. We don't want our guys going to sleep out there as Redman nibbles. They appear to be plenty challenged, defensively - with notable exceptions.