I was looking for something else and came accross this article and thought it was worth sharing:

 

MCGREW WORKS OUT WITH LEGENDARY 'BIG UNIT'

 

By Bob Marr - The Sun StaffPHOENIX - The road to the major leagues took Hope Valley's Mike Megrew to Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

There the 2002 Chariho High graduate worked out at Fischer Sports Physical Therapy and Conditioning where he met none other than Randy Johnson, one of baseball's all-time great pitchers.

 

For about two hours, Megrew "hung out" with the man they call The Big Unit.

 

"It was pretty impressive. You can't even imagine what it's like until you meet him. It's shocking. He just has an aura," Megrew said Wednesday afternoon before his flight home.

 

The two did a light workout, then did some throwing.

 

"He talked to me about what I should be working on and how much of an advantage we have being tall in terms of torque and leverage," Megrew said.

 

Johnson is 6-feet, 10-inches tall. Megrew goes 6-6. Both are left-handed pitchers.

 

Megrew said Johnson also talked to him about the proper way to land when throwing off a mound.

 

Johnson struggled with control early in his big league experience, but when he adjusted the way he landed he was able to harness his blazing fastball, the break on his slider became sharper and his career skyrocketed.

 

Megrew said Johnson also talked to him about how the lower back comes into play when pitching.

 

Megrew and Johnson have the same agent - Alan Nero, who arranged for Megrew to go to Phoenix.

 

Megrew called the experience extremely helpful.

 

"They (the medical staff) really stress your core. It's your base, your center of gravity," he said.

 

"They showed me a lot of different workouts. They found that my left side was about 15 percent stronger than my right side," he said. "My left side dominates my body now and that makes a huge difference on my landing.

 

"They showed me some drills to make my right side core close to equaling my left side. In terms of hand strength, there was almost a 25 percent difference."

 

Megrew said he also met Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood and did some work with him.

 

Megrew is preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime, a legitimate shot at making a major league roster.

 

The Florida Marlins selected Megrew in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 8.

 

Major league teams must protect players on their 40-man rosters within three or four years of their original signing, depending upon their age at the time of the signing. Unprotected players are available to other teams as Rule 5 picks.

 

A Rule 5 pick must be kept in the major leagues for the entire upcoming season or be offered back to the original team for half of the $50,000 selection price.

 

Not many Rule 5 players have made it big, the most notable exception being the immortal Roberto Clemente.

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Megrew in the fifth round of the 2002 June amateur draft.

 

Megrew, who will turn 22 on Jan. 29, pitched 13 professional innings in 2002, then garnered considerable attention in 2003.

 

Pitching in the Pioneer League, Megrew struck out 99 batters in 76 2/3 innings (11.7 per nine innings) while walking just 24. His earned run average was 3.40.

 

Megrew was selected as one of the Minor League News 2004 Fab 50 prospects, a list that included David Wright of the Mets, B.J. Upton of the Devil Rays and Dallas McPherson of the Angels.

 

The following season, Megrew pitched 105 innings in the Class A Florida State League, fanning 125 while walking 43. His ERA was 3.41.

 

But in mid-August of 2004, Megrew began to experience soreness in his left elbow. He pitched through the pain for two weeks, even hurling a seven-inning no-hitter.

 

"It didn't bother me too much until one day it was just killing me," Megrew said last March.

 

On Sept. 24, 2004, Megrew underwent Tommy John surgery.

 

Numerous pitchers have undergone the procedure. Many of them have made successful comebacks. Some pitchers, like Wood, say their arms have gotten stronger in the year following the surgery.

 

Megrew made it back late in the 2005 season, but was ineffective in two appearances and soon developed tendonitis in his left shoulder. He was supposed to pitch in the fall instructional league, but the Dodgers chose to shut him down.

 

"I came back in 10 months, which is early for anyone," he said. "They wanted to see what I could do before next year.

 

"That organization has some crazy (really talented) athletes and they were trying to determine who they should put on their 40-man roster."

 

Megrew was left off the roster and the Marlins nabbed him.

 

"The Marlins had enough confidence in me, thinking I was going to be healthy," Megrew said. "They had seen me pitch enough to know how effective I can be."

 

Megrew said he began throwing again in early December and has not experienced any pain.

 

"I've been on a mound about five times in the past month or so," he said.

 

Megrew said he alternates between long-tossing sessions one day and 35-40 pitch bullpen stints the next at the Baseball Academy in Warwick.

 

"It feels like I never had surgery," he said. "The elbow feels great. The shoulder felt weak about a month and a half ago, but in the past month or so it has picked up strength a lot.

 

"I would say it's about 75-80 percent. I would say by February it'll be 100 percent."

 

Megrew said he will report to the Marlins' spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla., on Feb. 18, and fully expects to be ready to pitch when Grapefruit League games begin March 1.

 

The door appears to be pretty wide open for Megrew to make Florida's opening day roster.

 

The Marlins cleaned house after last season. Only 12 players on the current 40-man roster played for Florida last season and 34-year-old Joe Borowski was the only notable free agent pitcher to come onboard.

 

Of the 24 pitchers on the current roster, only eight have pitched in at least 15 major league games.

 

Dontrelle Willis won 22 games last season and Jason Vargas showed considerable promise in 17 appearances (13 starts), going 5-5 with a 4.03 ERA.

 

Veteran Brian Moehler went 6-12 with a 4.55 ERA after missing all of 2004.

 

Borowski had a combined ERA of 4.47 in 43 games with the Cubs and the Devil Rays.

 

Sergio Mitre posted a 5.37 ERA in 21 games, seven of them as a starter.

 

Nate Bump has a 4.68 career ERA in 113 games, 111 of them in relief.

 

Randy Messenger (5.35 ERA in 29 relief appearances) and Chris Resop (8.47 ERA in 15 relief appearances) were rookies in 2005.

 

"I'm definitely happy about it (being drafted by the Marlins)," Megrew said. "It's pretty much a new beginning. I already know what I can do. I've just got to do it. Hopefully, I can open some eyes."

 

 

http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/200...rts/sports1.txt

 

A few comments. At the slightest bit of discomfort in this throwing arm I hope the Marlins take advantage of the Rule 5 dictate that allows acquiring teams to hold onto a player by placing him on the DL rather than being forced to offer him back to the team (in this case the Dodgers) from which he came.

 

There are a couple of stories out there that the Dodgers in fact shut him down towards the end of the year as he was coming off rehab in hopes of "hiding" him from other teams. Now the shoe is on the other foot and if the Fish can use the rules to their advantage without having to place him on the 25 man roster, and give him a chance to work at his own speed to fully recover, from my perspective this is a good thing.

 

Additionally I found it fascinating that his agent put him together with Johnson (flashback to the "Arli$$ series) obviously hoping to catch lightning in a bottle a second time. I doubt the guy would have gone out of his way to make this happen if he didn't think the kid had potential.

 

The other thing that got my attention was this quote, "Megrew said Johnson also talked to him about the proper way to land when throwing off a mound." Anyone who watched Randy Messenger pitch last season knows his biggest problem is just that. Here''s a guy who is as big as house and yet he drops his landing foot almost straight down off the rubber rather than extending it as every successful pitcher does. Part of Randy Johnson's success in using his height is his stride brings him that much closer to home plate, intimidating batters and shortening their reaction time. I believe that if Messenger (who's 6'6") can learn to use his height to his advantage and lengthen his stride he could be a dominating guy out of the pen.

We shouldn't hold our breath, but it's a small risk (for the Marlins anyway)

Where did we get him, again? rule v?

yep. Both he and Uggla could be interesting to watch.

We didn't stash Haggerty on the DL, I don't think we'll do it with McGrew.

 

However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the lefty 'pen arm next season, even if he is sub-par in the spring.

It depends if we can get away with stashing him on the DL. That's the entire risk. You definetly won't see him pitching significant innings in the majors this year.

We didn't stash Haggerty on the DL, I don't think we'll do it with McGrew.

 

However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the lefty 'pen arm next season, even if he is sub-par in the spring.

 

The fact that the Dodgers shut him down before the end of the season with arm concerns (really to hide him) is what I believe allows the Marlins some flexibility in this matter, at least as it relates to the way Rule 5 works. The difference between Haggerty and McGrew is that Haggerty was deemed "healthy" when he came to the Fish (from the Cubs through Baltimore) but just didn't make the squad, while school's out (technically) right now on McGrew's arm.

Yeah, by the time we acquired Hagerty he had recovered enough to pitch the final few weeks of rookie ball.