Cobb trying to find where the wild 'Thing' is

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Seemingly every spring for the half-decade-plus Alex Cobb spent with the Rays, the right-hander would get approached by teammates hoping to uncork the secrets of his signature pitch. One year it was Jake Odorizzi. Another year, Jake Faria. They came inquiring about “The Thing” -- the nickname for Cobb’s famously filthy split-changeup.

But there won’t be any acolytes coming from Cobb’s first full Orioles camp, for a few reasons. One: He’s been busy, between being named the club’s Opening Day starter and becoming a first-time father. The other: Cobb can’t teach the grip of a pitch that’s literally fallen through his fingers.

“I haven’t had it,” said Cobb.

Now, less than two weeks away from taking the ball March 28 in New York, Cobb has made getting it back a focus of his late spring. After throwing a handful of split-changes over his first two Grapefruit League starts, he plans to feature the pitch often Saturday against the Blue Jays, his penultimate tuneup for Opening Day. Cobb incorporated it heavily into a simulated game last weekend with an eye toward refining what was once his premier weapon.

Doing so would go a long way toward bouncing back from a career-worst first season in Baltimore, when Cobb, rushed into action after signing late, went 5-15 with a 4.90 ERA.

“I didn’t realize how much of a disadvantage it was not going through Spring Training,” Cobb said. “I remember my first month, being out on the mound, and honest to God, not knowing what I was doing. Everything was huge. Very fast. I just didn’t feel like I could do anything I was used to doing.”

That included throwing his split-change, which Cobb said he lost consistent feel for after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015. The effects have been plain to see.

Cobb was abnormally reliant on the pitch pre-surgery, throwing the split-change (38.3 percent of the time) almost as much as his two fastballs (41 percent), per Statcast. But when he returned to the mound briefly in 2016, the pitch vanished completely. Cobb didn’t throw a single split-change that year, then used it just 14 percent of the time in 2017. He saw a minor increase to 26 percent in 2018, but both years, the byproduct was the same.

Without confidence in a third pitch, Cobb had to live and die largely with just his four-seamer and curve. His career ERA has swelled more than half a run since his operation.

Split-change usage by year:
2012: 33.7 percent
2013: 33.9 percent
2014: 38.3 percent
2015: Did not play due to injury
2016: 0 percent
2017: 14.3 percent
2018: 26.3 percent

Cobb's ERA by year:
2012: 4.03
2013: 2.76
2014: 2.87
2015: Did not play due to injury
2016: 8.59
2017: 3.66
2018: 4.90

The correlation was perhaps clearest last season, when it took Cobb more than half a season to find the feel for the split-change again. Without it, he started the year 2-12 with a 6.41 ERA over 17 starts. Cobb finished 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA across his final 11 appearances.

About Friday's game
Originally scheduled to make the trip to Fort Myers for Friday’s 12-9 loss to the Twins, Mychal Givens and Nate Karns instead stayed back in Sarasota to throw simulated games on the back fields of the club’s spring complex. It was an effort to create a controlled environment for the two right-handers, who have both battled some adversity this spring. Karns saw his rotation candidacy evaporate due to durability issues early in camp, while Givens has pitched to a 30.38 ERA in Grapefruit League play.

• Richard Bleier, the club’s other veteran reliever, did make the trip. He threw a scoreless inning in his third appearance since undergoing lat surgery last June. He appears on track for Opening Day.

• Bleier had a better day than David Hess and Josh Rogers, as both rotation hopefuls put together forgettable outings at Hammond Stadium. Hess surrendered nine earned runs – eight via four Twins home runs – over 2 2/3 innings, in what was easily his worst appearance of Grapefruit League play. Rogers allowed three earned runs on two homers in 3 1/3 innings of relief.

“I hope he doesn’t put too much into it … and gets ready to go back out and start in four or five days,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Hess, who entered play the favorite to open the year as the club’s No. 4 starter. “I was leaving David out there for him to get his innings and build his pitch count.”

• Scuffling for much of the spring, Trey Mancini broke out with a three-hit day to boost his Grapefruit League average to .263. Mancini also scored twice, both times on Joey Rickard’s RBI hits. Drew Jackson also added his first home run of camp. The Rule 5 Draft pick, in the mix for a super-utility role, is now hitting .400 this spring.

Up next
Mark Trumbo is also slated to return to the Orioles' lineup at designated hitter on Sunday, when Cobb opposes right-hander Sam Gaviglio and the Blue Jays. First pitch is set for 1:07 p.m. ET from Dunedin Stadium.