DENVER (AP) -Franklin Morales, who went from postseason phenom to minor leaguer last season, is blaming a bad back for his drop-off, something he didn’t mention to the Colorado Rockies until the offseason.
The left-hander with a 98 mph fastball who played a key role in the Rockies’ first trip to the World Series two years ago revealed Thursday that he dealt with lower back pain almost all of last season.
He said the pain affected his velocity and forced him to throw more breaking pitches. It was the first time Morales had publicly acknowledged his health was a factor in his fall.
After going 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA and 17 walks in 25 1-3 innings covering five starts for the Rockies in April, he was shipped to Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he spent the remainder of the season, going 10-5 with a 5.47 ERA in 110 1-3 innings spanning 21 starts. He walked 82 batters and struck out 83.
orales, who beat the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the playoffs to help the Rockies win their first pennant in 2007, was one of several disappointments last year for Colorado, which slipped back to a losing season.
Morales’ strikeout-to-walk ratio was much better in winter ball this offseason in Venezuela, where he went to work on his mechanics and where he said he rediscovered his confidence, command and consistency.
He said his back is feeling fine now thanks to stretching exercises, strength training, massage therapy and a 10-pound weight loss. And he believes he can crack the Rockies’ rotation this spring now that his back is no longer barking.
“I feel very comfortable because I feel healthy,” Morales said Thursday at the conclusion of the team’s winter development program.
Morales said he never told the team about his bad back last season and therefore never went on the DL, because he felt he had a chance to return to the major leagues last summer and he didn’t want to take any time off that might curtail that possibility.
He said he never lost faith in himself because he knew the reason for his struggles and his demotion.
Morales said his lower back started to hurt at the end of spring training last March and didn’t quit bothering him until September.
likes his chances of winning back his job with the Rockies because now his mechanics are proper.
“I feel good right now,” Morales said.
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