He threw 11 pitches, nine for strikes, and retired three (Juan Pierre, Mark Loretta, Matt Kemp) of the four batters he faced. Casey Blake was the only guy to reach, pulling a first-pitch smash down the third-base line on which Luis Maza made a diving stop. He threw high to first, allowing Blake to reach, but in a regular-season game, it would have been scored a hit because fielder’s are rarely penalized for a bad throw after taking away a sure hit with the glove. Anyway, Schmidt said he felt great, but he admitted that he’ll never have a high-90s fastball. In the same breath, he said that shouldn’t mean a dramatic change to the type of pitcher he is.
“I always tried to pitch like I was a finesse guy anyway, trying to mix it up all the time and trying to hit my spots. I’ll try to take the same approach. The first time I had surgery in 2000, I started off at 85 (mph) … and I was effective then. Some of my better games were when I had less velocity. I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of getting my command.”
Schmidt admitted it will take a little while for that to happen, but he said he expects it to happen sometime during spring training.
By the way, Greg Miller had a rough inning because of a defensive miscue behind him, but other than that, he was around the plate. That was good to see. He’s a great kid, and everyone is rooting for him.