Lean and confident beats chubby and uncertain every time.
Rockies reliever Manuel Corpas learned that firsthand. Now he says he’s ready to compete with Huston Street for the closer role.
Corpas wowed the baseball world with his 2007 postseason (1-0, 0.87 ERA, five saves). But last season, the right-handed pitcher ballooned to 230 pounds. He admitted Monday that the spare tire around his midsection was a contributing factor to a disappointing season.
“I started feeling more tired,” said Corpas, who blamed his weight gain on too many late-night meals of chicken, rice and beans.
Corpas, who has been working out five days a week with teammates at Coors Field, is down to 216 pounds. He would like to drop six more pounds before heading to the Dominican Republic at the end of the month.
Corpas made it clear he covets the closer role he lost to Brian Fuentes early last season.
“I like the competition, I like the pressure,” he said.
It’s up to Corpas, 26, to convince the Rockies that he’s the pitcher he was in 2007. His 4.52 ERA in 2008 was more than twice as high as his 2.08 ERA in 2007.
After watching a lot of tape, Corpas also discovered he had slipped into a habit of dropping his arm to the side instead of throwing with a more over-the-top motion. As a result, his pitches were spinning over the plate instead of breaking sharply.
Footnote.
Right fielder Brad Hawpe has accepted an invitation to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, his agent confirmed Monday. Last week, catcher Chris Iannetta accepted.
