Chris Tillman handled the news that he's going back to Triple-A with the good grace you would expect of a solid young guy who knows he'll be back soon. It wasn't easy for him, but he's a stand-up guy and let everybody in on his feelings:
On whether he was surprised: "I could kind of see it coming the last few weeks. I think it's the issue that I've been saying the whole spring about being inconsistent and working on all my pitches. I dind't throw them all for strikes. Obviously it's disappointing but we're going to talk tomorrow and we will have a better plan tomorrow."
Did he feel like he was blindsided: "I don't think I was blindsided, but I did think mentally like it was a battle. I think that was the only fair way to go about it. I went into the offseason with that mentality. I wouldn't say I'm blindsided but I did expect more of myself obviously. I didn't pitch as well as I probably should have. It is what it is."
What does he need to work on?: "Throwing my pitches for strikes, came a long way with the changeup last year and I want to focus on my cutter now, my new pitch. See how that comes along. We're happy with the changeup progression this last year and they want to see that with the cutter I think. I think that's what we will talk about tomorrow."
On adding the cut fastball to his repertoire: "I think it's all a confidence thing. It started the same way with my changeup, I didm't have any confidence in it, was scared to throw it. That's what they want to see with my cutter, have confidence in it and try to throw it whenever I wanted."
Did working on the cutter hurt his chances: "No, it's getting me ready for the season and working on things, you know? I think if I were to stick with my fastball, changeup and curveball, it would have been a totally different outcome. I was working on my cutter, I'm not saying where I would have been but I think the results would have been a different outcome. I'm excited, I think the cutters going to help me. I'm excited to see where that takes me."