Cincinnati — Day after day, regardless of how chilly those Chicago winds were howling back in March, Tigers right-hander Kyle Funkhouser would be outside throwing weighted balls against a brick wall. Thunk, thunk, thunk.
It was mentally therapeutic — nothing like slamming things against a brick wall to vanquish the anguish of being one of early cuts in spring training — and physically, it was revelatory. The thing about throwing weighted balls for a pitcher, if you don’t throw them with proper mechanics, you can hurt yourself. It forces you to streamline your mechanics.
Which, turns out, is exactly what Funkhouser needed.