CHICAGO -- Randy Wells woke up Friday to the news that he'd been out all night Thursday celebrating the Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win.Wells, the Chicago Cubs' starter Friday against the White Sox, was not amused.
"I don't know what those people are talking about,'' he said. "I went to dinner with friends, then I went to bed.
"I was in the clubhouse at 8 a.m. It's pretty tough to pull an all-nighter then do that.''
Friday wasn't a good day for Wells on a number of levels. The Cubs have been prodding him to change his warmup routine because he's had so much trouble in early innings. But after getting the first two outs of the game easily, he gave up four straight hits and two runs to the White Sox.
"I understand what they are trying to do,'' Wells said. "But I don't agree with it. I hate to admit it, but I think it's become more of a mental thing for me now. I've done all I've ever done to be successful, pounding the zone, throwing hard. It's not working.''
Wells, a 12-game winner last year with a 3.05 ERA, is now 3-5 and has a 5.15 ERA. He started the season 3-0 in April, but has gone 0-5 in eight starts in May and June. On the other hand, in 2009 he didn't get his first start until May 8 and didn't get his first win until June 21, so he's got plenty of time to get to 12 wins and beyond.
Share That would take confidence, however, and that's a commodity in which Wells is tapped out. He held Friday's game at 2-2 through four innings, then was raked for three runs in the fifth as the game got away.
"I'm not exactly brimming with confidence right now,'' he said after lasting just five innings while giving up 10 hits and five runs. "My ERA is ballooning up and I'm not winning. I need to take care of some stuff, make some adjustments and get my edge back.''
Part of the problem is Wells' sinking fastball isn't sinking. Another part is that his pitches all seem to be about the same speed, 88-91 mph.
`" was talking to my teammates today, and that's what they said,'' Well said. "They told me how they would approach it as hitters. They'd eliminate [looking for] one pitch and sit on a pitch.''
It was certainly a successful strategy for the White Sox Friday. And that left Wells at perhaps his low point of the year."It's embarrassing,'' Wells said. "It really is. I know I'm better than this. I hope the fans know I'm better than this.''
As for the changes in preparing for the first inning instituted by pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Wells admitted he didn't follow through as well as he might have done.
"I really didn't change [much],'' he said. "It helped a little, but it comes down to executing pitches, and I didn't.
"It's time to look in the mirror and face facts. And the fact is I'm not doing well.''
Those mirrors tell a tough tale.
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