according to an article in the KC star today, new royals pitching coach guy hansen has apparently detected an obvious flaw in brian anderson's delivery that led him to completely restructure brian's pitching motion. how serious was it? well, in hansen's own words:

"I don't think I've been around a professional who had worse deception (in his pitching motion) than he had."

to most royals fans, this would sound like a positive step – and, don't get me wrong, it very well may be. who wouldn't want a better brian anderson? but, in another way, this reflects poorly on the royals coaching staff. I mean, look at that quote again. how long has hansen been a coach in the major leagues? something that serious sounds as if it would be an obvious flaw, something that would be immediately noticeable to a professional pitching coach.

so, the question is, why are they just beginning to work on it?

hansen was named to the royals staff at the beginning of october, meaning he's had over four whole months to study our pitchers and make whatever changes he deems necessary. yet, barely more than a month before the regular season starts, he has completely changed anderson's delivery. that may be enough time to truly work itself in successfully but, then again, it may not. why take a chance? you really want a pitcher facing major league quality hitting with an unsettled pitching motion? this is something that easily could have been worked on over the winter. in fact, don't you just assume that's what professional baseball players and their coaches are doing? not sure about you, but my job actually expects me to come in all year long. crazy, I know, but probably something the royals might want to consider, too..