When he arrived back at spring training, Tommy was soon ushered back onto the mound. The regular season was less than two weeks away. He needed more innings.
That became abundantly clear when he faced the Twins, who touched him up for four runs and six hits over five innings.
He pitched even worse against the Red Sox, allowing two home runs in the first inning.
Those bad outings confounded both Blasingame and Showalter. They met to discuss Browning’s problems.
“Maybe it’s a mental thing,” Showalter suggested. “You know, with the protesters hounding him at camp and the tornado hitting his hometown. Maybe they’ve been weighing on his mind.”
“I think it has to be physical,” Blasingame said. “But he hasn’t said he’s hurt.”
“Could he have a dead arm?” the manager asked.
Blasingame shook
