Stepping aside from the delgado talks, heres a nice article on leiter :thumbup

 

MIAMI -- Perfecting the art of pitching isn't brain surgery. But astute veteran Al Leiter understands the importance of pitchers using their head to get batters out. The great ones blend smarts with their skills.

In signing Leiter as a free agent, the Marlins not only brought in a proven winner, but They also added a veteran to lead by example and assist the education process of Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett.

 

The 39-year-old Leiter, who left the Mets after seven seasons, should also provide valuable insights to energetic lefty Dontrelle Willis.

 

Since signing for $8 million (with $1 million going toward his childrens charity), Leiter has been looked upon as an anchor to a staff that clearly took a blow with the loss of free agent Carl Pavano to the Yankees.

 

Leiter, a hero on the Marlins' 1997 World Series championship team, is coming off a respectable, if not spectacular, 10-8 campaign with a 3.21 ERA.

 

Rejoining the Marlins was appealing for several reasons. Leiter threw a no-hitter, the first of three in Marlins history, in '96 and he was the Game 7 World Series starter against the Indians in '97. Even after he was dealt to the Mets in '98, Leiter maintained a home in Weston, Fla.

 

But the Marlins' biggest sell for Leiter was the personal push delivered by team owner Jeffrey Loria.

 

"Jeffrey Loria made me feel wanted in more ways than every fifth day," Leiter said. "At my age, I plan on having a good year, no doubt about it."

 

If 2005 is indeed Leiter's last season, and it may be, he wants to make a significant impact. Because of his outgoing nature, he will likely emerge as a vocal leader.

 

Leiter would be the first to say he doesn't have all the answers. But he won't shy away from asking questions. In fact, he believes curiosity is essential to helping untangle the secrets to pitching.

 

"I'm not the greatest guy who ever pitched," said the 39-year-old. "I've had a pretty good career. I'm not the smartest guy, and I'm not a know-it-all. But I do know this: The more you talk about something ... and you engage people -- pitchers -- to bring out their knowledge, their viewpoints, their opinions, game plans and routines, it instills some sort of inner plan that has to be positive."

 

Communication is crucial in Leiter's mind. Discussing pitching goes a long way towards mastering it.

 

Leiter recalls being Kevin Brown's teammate with the Marlins. In 1996, Brown (17-11 with a 1.89 ERA) was simply dominating. What Leiter remembers was how Brown constantly strived to improve, even if he was making only subtle changes. On numerous occasions, Brown approached Leiter and pointed out something as simple as how to improve his grip on the ball. Leiter recalls Brown noting he would apply a tad more pressure on the index or middle fingers when he delivered a pitch.

 

"He was always coming up, saying, 'Al, I was trying this. And I've noticed I'm putting a little more pressure here.'" Leiter said. "This guy's got an ERA of 1-something. He's dominating every game, and he's looking to make an adjustment. Is it change? Yeah. Is it radical? No. He's trying. You have to have the willingness to open up to that."

 

Leiter's views are clear. He expresses himself -- some say he wears his emotions on his sleeve -- and teammates can expect a healthy dose of dialogue.

 

Some players talk a good game. Leiter will also listen to his new teammates, breaking down their words to get to the specific reasons why they do what they do. Not only does he want to hear their approach toward winning, but he will question exactly how they will achieve success.

 

"If you get to a guy who's stubborn, and they think they've got it and say, 'Don't change me,' that scares me," Leiter said. "Because one, you don't have it all figured out. And two, even if you are a three-time Cy Young Award champion, you get around guys like Curt Schilling, and they are always learning."

 

When does the light go on for young pitchers? That's up to the individual, Leiter says.

 

"It depends on one's intellectual capacity to comprehend it," Leiter said. "Plus their openness and lack of stubbornness to not be afraid of change. If you view a change as a radical change, you are going to be much more resistant."

 

Connecting and bonding with teammates, in Leiter's view, occurs in places other than a ballpark.

 

"I think it's important that the guys go out together," Leiter said. "I want to try to instill getting [the Marlins] all out. Usually, a nice little steak place is appealing to most people. Just to get them out, get them together. It's a good thing. I like to keep [pitchers] together because ultimately baseball will be discussed."

 

Leiter also stressed that friendly competition, especially among pitchers, can be a good thing. He again cited his relationship with Brown in '97 as an example.

 

"We competed," Leiter said. "I had a heck of a year; Brownie was better. But I enjoyed if Brownie threw seven scoreless innings and won the game, because then I wanted to do it. It was like setting the bar higher. The [Marlins' pitchers] should do that, because they are that good."

Al's a good guy.

Agreed.. he's a good man. Always been a fan of his.

Good article; thanks for posting it, Mr. Monster.

I remember Terry Pendelton's homer into the Right Field staging area in Al Leiter's no hitter. So freaking awesome.

I hope he has a presence in this organization for a long time. :thumbup

Nice Article!

Good guy.... unfortunately, he can;t get out of the sixth inning because he goes 3-2 on EVERYONE... probably by trying to "outthink them".

 

Wish he was still with us... but not for 8 mil.

 

Good Luck, Senator Al.

He's a good guy but I don't want to see him give up a grand slam like the one he gave to Conine.

He's a good guy but I don't want to see him give up a grand slam like the one he gave to Conine.

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Captain Obvious. lol

Good guy.... unfortunately, he can;t get out of the sixth inning because he goes 3-2 on EVERYONE... probably by trying to "outthink them".

 

Wish he was still with us... but not for 8 mil.

 

Good Luck, Senator Al.

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He may not have been worth $8M to the Mets. But for the Fish, the mentoring he will give to our young staff is worth a couple extra mil.

Al should call Delgado and tell him about how crappy Shea stadium and whatnot is .

Hey Al, go show Carlos that you left the Mets for greener pastures and he should join you.

Al had a lot of problems with blisters early in his baseball career. Hopefully he can give Josh pointers on techniques, or what have you, on how to help fix the problem.

 

and so did Valdez for that matter... I guess we have the whole blister crew on our team.

Hey Al, go show Carlos that you left the Mets for greener pastures and he should join you.

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:lol

Good guy.... unfortunately, he can;t get out of the sixth inning because he goes 3-2 on EVERYONE... probably by trying to "outthink them".

 

Wish he was still with us... but not for 8 mil.

 

Good Luck, Senator Al.

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Would you throw strikes with the 04' Mets infield behind you? :lol

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Exactly what I was thinking...

he did the same thing with the 99 defense behind him. He was just younger then, so he could last longer. That's what he's ALWAYS done... unfortunately, he can;t keep up like that anymore.

Leiter carried the mets to the series in 99. Lets see if spending 200 million in an offseason will win anything for the Mets. That 99 team was the best the mets have had ina while and it was a team that had benny agbayani (sp) starting, along wiht shinjo. The bets teams arent the most expensive, lets see how the mets do this year, seems like theyre shaping up to be this years orioles

and that has what to do with the point that he went 3-2 on every batter then, but could last longer?

and that has what to do with the point that he went 3-2 on every batter then, but could last longer?

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He actually had his career high in pitches per at-bat last year at 4.33 and his career high in pitches per inning at 18.8. In 2000, when the Mets made it to the World Series, his pitches per at-bat was 3.98 and his pitches per inning was 16.7. Last year he didn't want to give in to the hitters because the Mets infield defense was horrendous. Maybe he does naturally make a lot of pitches per at bat and per inning, but last year's Met D did not help matters. Now he's got one of the top 4-5 defenses behind him... he can trust his guys.

 

The stats: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?statsId=4130