March 10--Even after a scripted late Cactus League start, Jake Arrieta believes there will be plenty of time for him to work on more pitch sequences and game situations he will encounter during the regular season.
In his spring debut Wednesday against the Indians, Arrieta picked up where he left off from his 2015 National League Cy Young Award winning season, throwing two perfect innings in his spring debut against the Indians.
"Spring training is (good) because you want to work on certain scenarios," Arrieta said after striking out four in a 31-pitch outing. "You want to pitch with guys on base. You want to work on altering your signs with a runner at second. How do you intentionally put a guy on second base?
"But the biggest thing is I feel great. The timeline is laid out in a manner that will prepare me for opening day, and that's what I'm excited about."
Arrieta agrees with the Cubs' decision to bring him and fellow starters Jon Lester and John Lackey along slowly to preserve their workload for the regular season. Arrieta threw 20 of 31 pitches for strikes with a fastball that topped out at 96 mph, and he didn't mind that he was pulled before reaching his prescribed limit of 40 pitches.
"It actually was nice to keep the effort level down, knowing where the finish line is as far as spring is concerned," said Arrieta, who likely will make four more starts before pitching the Cubs opener against the Angels on April 4. "I'm easily going to build up to 85-90 pitches. I'm fine with that. I'm confident I can get through seven or eight innings with it."
There was plenty of confidence and calmness around Arrieta, 30, who hopes to lead the Cubs to a World Series title and be rewarded with a long-term contract before he becomes a free agent after the 2017 season.
Arrieta wasn't curious about how he would fare in his first spring start after experiencing fatigue in his final two starts in the playoffs. Any questions were quelled during a dominant live batting practice session Feb. 26.
"He doesn't shy away," said new teammate Jason Heyward, who hit an opposite-field home run against Arrieta for the Cardinals in the NL Division Series. "That's outstanding about him and keeps your guys on defense in tune to each pitch. That's a part of why he's successful."
His aggressiveness is part of the boost in confidence he experienced after he reverted to the delivery he used as a youth after his trade from Baltimore. He had spent a mostly-rough three-plus seasons with the Orioles (2010-14).
"I had some success and then was changed to something different," Arrieta recalled. "All I was worried about was mechanics. When Miguel Cabrera steps in the box, you can't worry about where your front side is. You have to worry about executing a pitch.
"And that's the mindset adjustment. Mechanical adjustments are made on side days, long toss days and recovery days."
mgonzales@tribpub.com
