Lakeland, Fla. — Jordan Zimmermann’s buzzword this spring has been tempo. His mission is to get back to working quicker and being quicker to home plate.
One of the first things pitching coach Chris Bosio noticed was Zimmermann took a full second longer to deliver a pitch last year than he did during his dominant years in Washington. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is significant lag.
Zimmermann got his first chance to test a quicker tempo Saturday in the Tigers’ spring home opener, a 5-4 win against the Blue Jays.
“I got out there and I was trying to work quick and I got pretty winded in the first inning,” he said.