CHICAGO – Matt Cain and Dave Righetti are approaching the logical end of their dozen-year professional relationship — an extraordinary stretch of continuity between a right-hander and his major league pitching coach.
It only makes sense: their fondest memories of one another involve throwing things.
Righetti won’t forget the time that he noticed Cain, as a 20-year-old “bull in a china closet,” beginning his long toss routine to get ready for a start. Most pitchers throw parallel to the warning track. Cain was perpendicular. Righetti knew that wasn’t how it was supposed to be done, but hmmpfh, okay.