I feel like a pioneer with the split-fingered fastball. I was the first one to really throw it pretty much 100 percent of the time. It was a pitch that I had to have. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been in the big leagues.
The big thing will be having two pitches you can throw for strikes and developing a change-up, too.
My changeup needs to be better. Until I feel comfortable throwing that pitch - or any pitch - in any count, I've got stuff to work on.
In '05, '06, '07 and '08, I wasn't throwing any changeups at all. Maybe two or three per game. In '09, I started playing with the grip, started throwing it in the bullpen and playing catch. It came out really good.
Getting my curveball back and finding another pitch just helped me figure out how to pitch.
There were no surprises, because when you sell a pilot based on a pitch, no matter how great the script is, it's going to look different and feel different from what someone imagines in their head. There will always be varying degrees of disappointment or confusion.
I want to throw a faster fastball. I want a sharper curve. I want to improve all my pitches.
We have heard projects with some of the writers, who we've been in business with for a long time at the studio, that we've heard as a studio - often, pitches that are still in their formation stage where we or the writers have wanted our input on developing them. We've probably heard more pitches with the network hat on. Certainly all of the outside pitches are that way, and many of the pitches that have been in great shape coming out of the studio we've heard from a network perspective.
