Ron Darling on Jimenez's mechanics and how his addition might impact the clubhouse

I wrote about this some yesterday, but it is a valid concern with right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. That is, his high pitch counts, as he averaged 17.3 pitches per inning last season, which was among the highest in baseball. Part of this is due to, of course, his high strikeout and walk totals. While he struck out the ninth-most batters in the American League last year, he also was tied for third in most walks allowed. That is a lot of pitches he's throwing without a batter putting the ball in play in fair territory. Despite that, Jimenez can be an innings-eater over a full season. He pitched 182 2/3 innings last season and has thrown 198 or more innings three times in his career, most recently in 2010. But that 17.3 figure leads to his pitch counts rising some nights before he can get deep in the game. Last season with Cleveland, Jimenez went six innings or less in 21 of his 32 starts. He averaged 5.7 innings per start last year. By comparison, O's innings-leader Chris Tillman averaged 6.3. Despite those numbers, Jimenez finished 10th in the American League in ERA last year. Over his last 28 starts, he gave up two runs or less 21 times while going 13-7 with a 2.61 ERA. That will help you win a lot of games. Last night on MLB Network, analyst Ron Darling talked about Jimenez coming to Baltimore. "I think it's a great signing," Darling said. "I think Baltimore had to do something and they needed a starter. They also signed (Suk-min) Yoon, the Korean pitcher. So I think those two signings are really important for the Orioles as they take a shot. "When he was in Colorado, he could have done it blindfolded, that was the kind of talent he had. Then he lost his way but I think he is trending toward finding where he belongs. "He could be a better pitcher than he was when he was in Colorado. Why? Well, he finally is commanding his fastball. He went through a phase there when he threw more breaking balls. He's got to use the fastball early and often. Now he starts to mix in his most devastating pitch, the split-change. That is where he gets a lot of swings and misses." Darling said Jimenez can struggle with his mechanics and keeping those consistent will continue to be big as he joins the Orioles. "If you are a starting pitcher, you want about four or five moving parts and he has about 15," Darling said. "Sometimes he gets out of whack mechanically. (Indians pitching coach) Mickey Calloway straightened him out in Cleveland. He's going to Baltimore, where Dave Wallace is one of the best." Meanwhile, one possible side benefit of adding Jimenez is the message it sends to the clubhouse. Without quoting any Orioles players, there was a national report after the Jim Johnson trade indicating some O's players were questioning the team's direction at the time. Now that we are past those first few days and weeks of that trade, when I'm sure O's players were stunned by the loss of a clubhouse leader, by now they have come to terms with the move and realize it's part of the business of baseball. Dan Duquette said he would reallocate those funds and it happened with this Jimenez agreement. In addition to helping the team win, can the Jimenez deal help the Orioles in any potential long-term contract talks with Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters? Seeing their GM pony up the largest free agent contract for a pitcher in club history and go beyond the so-called three-year limit for a pitcher has to say something to the clubhouse. Amid speculation that other AL East clubs were interested, Duquette acted to get his man. The next few years will tell if this was a wise investment, but to those players, Duquette's move here can't hurt as we find out whether they will sign new contracts with the Orioles or not.