WillisWG
I don't like radicals left or right!
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On what he liked about AJ Russell’s second outing of the season as he works his way back from Tommy John Surgery
“It was good that it was efficient, because right or wrong, and maybe kind of put a little extra pressure on the kid and told him, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be four or five hitters no matter what,’ just because it was — you know, LL Cool J would say, ‘don’t call it a comeback,’ because he’s already thrown once, but we had that little separation in there. And again, all that started just because he really did abnormal things to get himself back. And, I mean, really, it was kind of record time, is not being overdramatic. So we kind of took a timeout and said let’s build up pitch count and get closer to the date that was the target date, which would have been last week. He was a little sick, so we didn’t mess with it. Could have went last week, but this was the restart of everything.
“So the fact that it was efficient, and, you know, didn’t get to a situation where you got to pull him or anything like that, was great. But also, the ball was coming out of his hand. And I think the benefit of him throwing a ton in this rehab process is, instead of just throwing every pitch like he’s trying to throw it through a brick wall, he can pitch a little bit. You saw the velocity kind of sporadic there, and that’s intentional. It’s not because he can’t repeat his delivery or anything like that. So a lot of positive and I think he even went down to the bullpen and worked on some things off-speed wise, so the more reps, the better for him.”
On what’s next for Russell
“Probably next week. And I’m glad he didn’t fight us on the coming out of the game. Again, I think it was 12 pitches in this first inning, so he would have stayed under a reasonable pitch count if we would have put him back out there, I feel. So probably just to get more in a routine where it’s a preparation bullpen and then a competitive day. And you know, more than likely that next competitive day would be next Tuesday. And try and stack another inning on top of another one would be ideal. But you saw tonight, we’re always going to get tested, and we’re trying to win these games too on Tuesday. It’s tough. I talked with another SEC coach two days ago, I talked to Coach Van Horn, and you’re trying to win on Tuesday, but you’re also trying to do some other (stuff). That’s dicey, but it’s also a point in the year where I think every coach in the league says, yeah, that makes sense. That’s what we got to get done. You got to keep guys rested, keep guys involved, try to win, but also kinds of other things. So we want to win next Tuesday, but he’ll pitch.”
On if he has a long term vision for Russell’s role
“I do. But I haven’t discussed that with him yet, so I’ll do that with him tomorrow, and then maybe we’ll share that. But, you know, Plan A never works out. Like I said, we had Plan A was, you know what it was, hang on, and then another Plan A, and something quirky happens. I mean, he even got hit with a foul ball on his foot a while back, on his toe. So we’ll discuss what Plan A is, and then fully be ready to adapt and improvise and overcome.”
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“It was good that it was efficient, because right or wrong, and maybe kind of put a little extra pressure on the kid and told him, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be four or five hitters no matter what,’ just because it was — you know, LL Cool J would say, ‘don’t call it a comeback,’ because he’s already thrown once, but we had that little separation in there. And again, all that started just because he really did abnormal things to get himself back. And, I mean, really, it was kind of record time, is not being overdramatic. So we kind of took a timeout and said let’s build up pitch count and get closer to the date that was the target date, which would have been last week. He was a little sick, so we didn’t mess with it. Could have went last week, but this was the restart of everything.
“So the fact that it was efficient, and, you know, didn’t get to a situation where you got to pull him or anything like that, was great. But also, the ball was coming out of his hand. And I think the benefit of him throwing a ton in this rehab process is, instead of just throwing every pitch like he’s trying to throw it through a brick wall, he can pitch a little bit. You saw the velocity kind of sporadic there, and that’s intentional. It’s not because he can’t repeat his delivery or anything like that. So a lot of positive and I think he even went down to the bullpen and worked on some things off-speed wise, so the more reps, the better for him.”
On what’s next for Russell
“Probably next week. And I’m glad he didn’t fight us on the coming out of the game. Again, I think it was 12 pitches in this first inning, so he would have stayed under a reasonable pitch count if we would have put him back out there, I feel. So probably just to get more in a routine where it’s a preparation bullpen and then a competitive day. And you know, more than likely that next competitive day would be next Tuesday. And try and stack another inning on top of another one would be ideal. But you saw tonight, we’re always going to get tested, and we’re trying to win these games too on Tuesday. It’s tough. I talked with another SEC coach two days ago, I talked to Coach Van Horn, and you’re trying to win on Tuesday, but you’re also trying to do some other (stuff). That’s dicey, but it’s also a point in the year where I think every coach in the league says, yeah, that makes sense. That’s what we got to get done. You got to keep guys rested, keep guys involved, try to win, but also kinds of other things. So we want to win next Tuesday, but he’ll pitch.”
On if he has a long term vision for Russell’s role
“I do. But I haven’t discussed that with him yet, so I’ll do that with him tomorrow, and then maybe we’ll share that. But, you know, Plan A never works out. Like I said, we had Plan A was, you know what it was, hang on, and then another Plan A, and something quirky happens. I mean, he even got hit with a foul ball on his foot a while back, on his toe. So we’ll discuss what Plan A is, and then fully be ready to adapt and improvise and overcome.”
Everything Tennessee HC Tony Vitello Said After Midweek Win Over Tennessee Tech | Rocky Top Insider
See everything Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said after the Vols knocked off Tennessee Tech on Tuesday night.
www.rockytopinsider.com
