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Indians address Carrasco's mechanics concerns

SAN FRANCISCO -- Indians manager Terry Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway met with starter Carlos Carrasco on Saturday morning to gain some clarity about the pitcher's recent comments about his mechanics.

Throughout the winter and Spring Training, Callaway and Carrasco concentrated on having the pitcher raise his lead arm in his delivery to create more deception. Following his loss to the Giants on Friday, Carrasco said he felt as though he was pitching with less velocity with the raised slot and with more velocity when he lowered his left arm.

Callaway said that was not the case.

"We talked to him this morning about it after reading his comments," Callaway said. "I think we're all on the same page on where we want his arm. We want it up. He's throwing harder when his arm is up. It just doesn't feel like it.

"It's like a golfer. I can swing as hard as I can, and it's not going to be as powerful as when I swing easy and square the ball up. He has the feeling it's more powerful, even though it's not."

Callaway said he presented Carrasco with statistical data to support the fact that the raised arm slot actually increases the right-hander's pitch speed. Francona also wanted to make sure that Carrasco still wanted to proceed with the altered mechanics.

"We want to put him in the best position to succeed, so we visited with him about that," Francona said. "I know he said something about when his arm's up, he was throwing 92 [mph]. This is what we have to get to, because maybe that's what it feels like, but that's not what it is. He was 94-96 actually on the first two hitters of the game. They got hits.

"We tried to just stress with him, 'Hey, if that's how you feel, talk to Mickey, so he can help you.' He understands. He wants to feel comfortable [with the mechanics]. That's his goal. We asked him that, because again, we're not going to make someone do something they don't want to do.

"He said, 'No, I definitely want to get there, and Mickey explained why, being in a power position and things like that. It's ongoing."

On the season, Carrasco is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in four starts for the Indians. In Friday's outing, the right-hander worked a season-high six innings, during which he allowed four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk against San Francisco.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.
Read More: Cleveland Indians, Carlos Carrasco