Post by cardsfan643 on Mar 22, 2007 1:15:24 GMT -5
JUPITER, FLA. — Kip Wells thought he was merely throwing a routine side session Wednesday morning. He was wrong.
What was supposed to be normal maintenance for the Cardinals' new No. 2 starter instead became an enthusiastic endorsement from one of the game's greatest living pitchers.
Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer happened upon the session while speaking with Cardinals pitching coach and former teammate Dave Duncan. After Palmer had spent 10 minutes kibitzing with Duncan as Wells threw an arm's length away, Palmer declared himself a believer.
"It looks to me like this Wells throws everything with command. There's nothing not to like," Palmer said. "What I see is great stuff. You've got to be excited by that if you're Tony (La Russa) and Dunc."
On Wednesday, Palmer saw promise.
"I'm standing there and Wells is hitting both sides of the plate with everything," Palmer said. "Dave (Duncan) said they had been interested in acquiring him for a while. He just needed to get hurt for it to happen. I can see why."
"This isn't another Sidney Ponson," said Palmer, a frequent Ponson critic during and after the hefty righthander's time at Camden Yards. "Sidney lacked the self-discipline to get the most out of himself. From what Dunc tells me, Wells is open to making changes needed to improve."
What was supposed to be normal maintenance for the Cardinals' new No. 2 starter instead became an enthusiastic endorsement from one of the game's greatest living pitchers.
Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer happened upon the session while speaking with Cardinals pitching coach and former teammate Dave Duncan. After Palmer had spent 10 minutes kibitzing with Duncan as Wells threw an arm's length away, Palmer declared himself a believer.
"It looks to me like this Wells throws everything with command. There's nothing not to like," Palmer said. "What I see is great stuff. You've got to be excited by that if you're Tony (La Russa) and Dunc."
On Wednesday, Palmer saw promise.
"I'm standing there and Wells is hitting both sides of the plate with everything," Palmer said. "Dave (Duncan) said they had been interested in acquiring him for a while. He just needed to get hurt for it to happen. I can see why."
"This isn't another Sidney Ponson," said Palmer, a frequent Ponson critic during and after the hefty righthander's time at Camden Yards. "Sidney lacked the self-discipline to get the most out of himself. From what Dunc tells me, Wells is open to making changes needed to improve."
www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/3A673B57D387657B862572A60010AC60?OpenDocument