Alek Manoah was a visible presence in the Blue Jays’ dugout throughout their just-completed homestand, but it has been a long time since he’s helped them on the field.
Manoah went from one of the best pitchers in baseball to one of the worst in a hurry. The 26-year-old finished third in American League Cy Young voting in 2022, but followed it up with a 5.87 ERA last season that would have been second-worst in the majors had he pitched enough innings to qualify. His 1.740 WHIP would have been the worst.
Manoah, the Jays’ opening day starter last year, is currently working his way back from spring shoulder soreness. He will start for the Buffalo Bison on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio, against Cleveland’s Triple-A team. It will be his second rehab start with the Bisons.
“Feels really good to get back into that game rhythm,” Manoah said in a revealing interview that can be heard on the latest episode of “Deep Left Field,” the Star’s baseball podcast. “You know, not really worry about some of those factors when you’re throwing sides and stuff in the off season …
“It’s just really fun to be able to … get back to having a lot of fun and competing and not really thinking about the arm or mechanics or anything, just making those in-game adjustments like we all do from pitch to pitch. It feels great.”
Not really thinking is the key, since thinking was something Manoah did way too much of as last season spiralled out of control.
“It can be frustrating when you’re not helping the team and you’re not out there living up to the expectations that I have for myself, not necessarily what other people have for me,” Manoah said.
“But also understanding that I need to take everything that’s happening and learn from it, you know, and that’s something where, right now, looking back on it, (I’m) disappointed at getting down on myself, being really hard on myself and not seeing the bigger picture.”
The bigger picture, Manoah believes, is not simply understanding the ups and downs of big-league baseball, but understanding that even a great year can present its challenges.
“You’re going to have bad stretches, you’re going to have bad games,” Manoah said, and it’s true. Kevin Gausman finished third in Cy Young voting last season but had four starts in which he allowed six runs or more.
”(In) hindsight, obviously you see things way more clearly but, for me, it’s more about separating each start from itself, separating each pitch from itself. If I throw a ball, it doesn’t matter. Attack the next pitch. If I had a bad game, it doesn’t matter. Go have a good, strong week, good bullpen, good side session and go attack like it never even happened.”
It’s the right attitude to have, but will Manoah be able to put it into practice if things don’t go well on the mound? We won’t find out until he gets back to the major leagues and when that will happen is unknown.
“We see the stuff is there,” pitching coach Pete Walker after watching Manoah throw a bullpen session Wednesday. “He’s got his low-to-mid-90s fastball back, the action on his sinker is as good as it’s been, the spin on his breaking ball is as good as it’s been, so it’s really just a matter of him competing again and understanding how those pitches work again.
“Last year, the action on the pitches was different. He didn’t have the same sink and he didn’t have the same spin on the breaking ball.”
Neither Manoah nor the Jays could figure out how to fix it.
“It’s difficult as a pitching coach when you can’t get someone where they need to be,” Walker said. “So that was a very difficult year, not only for him but for me and for our coaching staff and the pitchers around him. You feel for somebody, you try to find solutions. Things that you try don’t always work.”
Manoah did a lot of work between the ears in the off-season and hit the gym hard, reporting to camp in much better shape and with a more Zen-like attitude.
“There’s going to be ups and there’s going to be downs, but who I am as a person does not reflect based off of those results,” Manoah said. “And that (thinking) is what’s going to make me have more ups than downs. This game is going to test you. And when it does, embrace it.
“You get punched in the mouth? Good. Learn from it and move on.”
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