Tribe wants consistency from Salazar in between starts

OAKLAND — When Danny Salazar took a major step forward last season, the Indians were quick to praise the pitcher’s diligence behind the scenes. Now, Cleveland wants the right-hander to get back to the solid routine that helped him emerge as one of the game’s top young arms.

On Wednesday morning, Indians manager Terry Francona said that — like a lot of young players — Salazar has been in need of reminding at times to stay consistent with his between-start program. The manager said that has especially been the case since Salazar was named to his first career All-Star Game.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to remind them,” Francona said. “I don’t think it’s anything remotely like a lazy thing. I just think sometimes you’ve got to remind young guys that, ‘Hey, sometimes on a day when you don’t want to do it, that’s the day you’ve really got to do it.’ So, when you do show up to pitch, you have a much better chance of being consistent, because you don’t have the ups and downs of how you feel that day.

“I think Danny is still learning that, like a lot of young pitchers and players. That’s part of it. I think sometimes it’s unfair to expect guys to just grow into it without growing into it. The All-Star Game can be a little bit of [an …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com