Matusz's session mattered, too

Other pitchers threw on the covered mounds today. Brad Bergesen wasn't the only one. It just seems that way, since a small media contingent braved a torrential downpour to watch him throw and immediately retreated to the trailer as soon as he finished. Brian Matusz threw with the first group, two spots ahead of Bergesen, and was a couple of notches above outstanding. At least that's how he looked when streams of water weren't running into my eyes. Matt Wieters caught Matusz for the first time this spring. Get used to seeing them together this season - and many years to come. Matusz threw all four of his pitches, just like a regular side session, and stopped after his count approached 45. "I was really happy with my fastball, in and out. It was excellent," he said. "I was able to transition from away to a righty to in to a righty, just back and forth really well. I was hitting the corners. That's what I was most happy about. And the changeup today was the first time I felt like it was there consistently. Both breaking pitches (curveball and slider) were there, too. "It just felt good, like I was in a good grove back and fourth between all four pitches. I'm really excited. I know I'm about a week away from having my first outing and I feel ready." This was the second session where Matusz broke out his slider. "Today, I threw it a little bit more and it felt very good," he said. "Two different looks, two different breaking pitches. The curveball is more 12-to-6. It's just a different angle and they both felt really good today. I was able to throw from the windup and the stretch and use them all very effectively for strikes." Meanwhile, I just ate a white cheddar rice cake that tasted like a Styrofoam cooler. But a white cheddar one.