Tigers manager Jim Leyland delivered his latest theory on why starting pitcher Justin Verlander continues to struggle following another tough outing for the former AL MVP Saturday against the Royals.
"I don't know what Justin will say, but it looks to me like he's pitching a little careful, just not being aggressive with his stuff and pitching a little bit too careful. That's just my observation," Leyland said, per MLive.com. "I'm just saying that's what I see. I'm not going to comment any further on it. That's just kind of what I sense."
Verlander seemed to disagree with his manager's assessment.
"No," he said when asked if he was being "too careful."
Catcher Alex Avila suggests Verlander is having trouble repeating his release point.
"He was throwing anywhere from 90 to 98 today," Avila said. "That's pretty damn good. … It's about your release point, about repeating delivery and having that same release point. That's the same across the board with everybody. I'm not concerned about his fastball (velocity). He's throwing hard."