Hudson Gets Stronger, Ready To Perform

Tim Hudson is supposed to be a No. 1 starter. Last season, he pitched like he belonged at the back of the rotation. The former 20-game winner blames himself for costing the Atlanta Braves another trip to the playoffs, and he's determined not to let it happen again.

Hudson might have been the Braves' most disappointing player in 2006, a label he won't dispute. The right-hander was handed the honor of starting on Opening Day but struggled most of the season, finishing 13-12 with a career-worst 4.86 ERA.

Hudson went 14-9 with a 3.52 ERA in his first season with the Braves, a bit of a disappointment but one that he felt was easily explainable. He was with a new team, a new league. He figured it would take a year to get adjusted, then everything would return to normal. Instead, it got worse in 2006.

"It was just my delivery," Hudson said. "I had some bad habits that I developed in my delivery. I was just getting into the habit of overthrowing a little bit. I was trying to do too much out there, and from that you get into bad habits."

He's not the biggest pitcher in the world - listed at 6-foot-1 and a slender 170 pounds - and there were times when he felt weak in the searing Atlanta heat.

"I lost a little bit of strength," Hudson conceded. "When that happens, there's a tendency to overthrow a little bit to compensate for not feeling so strong. Things kind of snowballed on me a little bit."

During the offseason, he worked on simplifying his pitching motion and getting stronger. Even though Hudson hasn't pitched his first game of spring training - that comes today against Houston - he already has noticed the difference.

"I got a lot stronger," he said. "I feel really good right now coming into this year."
Source: macon.com