Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway is confident John Axford can reacclimate to the closer's role after losing the job with Milwaukee last season, according to The Plain Dealer. Axford revealed in mid-January his struggles last season had to do with tipping his pitches.
"Anytime you’ve closed games, you remember what it’s like," Callaway said. "It’s just him being able to finish what he was doing at the end of last season. When he went over to St. Louis and made adjustments with his pitch usage, it doesn’t matter where he’s at, he’ll dominate."
Callaway said Axford's success with the Cardinals also had to do with him using his high-90s fastball a lot more.
"We teach that here," Callaway said. "We want guys to attack with their fastballs and finish people off with breaking balls. Last year I think we ranked third most in using our fastball in the big leagues."