Mark Melancon: Pirates Rotation Best Since He Joined The Team
PITTSBURGH (KDKA 93-7 The Fan)- Pirates closer Mark Melancon, who entered Saturday as the saves leader in the National League with 23, joined Bob Pompeani.
Pompeani asked Melancon if the current starting rotation is the best group of starters since he's been a Pirates.
"By far, on any team. It's like they're trying to outdo one another each night. When one facet of the team takes over and really does just above and beyond what they're supposed to, it trickles down to the other facets of the team," Melancon said. "We have to give big time credit to our starters because I think they've started that, and everybody's seeing results."
Fans expressed concern earlier in the season by Melancon's drop in velocity.
"There's velocity, first off, which is always nice to have but you don't have to have it if you have movements or deception. If you have those other two things, then velocity doesn't necessarily have to be there at 98 miles an hour. Usually having two of those three will do a pretty good job for you. I like to have velocity, don't get me wrong, but it's not always one of the things that is there, in the high nineties," Melancon said.
Melancon told Pompeani that he relies heavily on watching video to prepare.
"I take pride in studying other hitters and the other team just because I feel like if there's ever a situation out there I want to be able to know what's going on and how to get out of it," Melancon said.
