It’s taken several seasons. It’s taken countless interviews. It’s taken a boatload of theories, but finally the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Dallas Braden’s once-feared screwball can be revealed to all.

Oakland won’t let him throw it, for fear that it might have hurt his shoulder a few seasons back.

Diamond Dallas Braden, the out-of-nowhere phenom of the 2004 Vancouver Canadians season, who bounced out of the 24th round of that year’s draft to suddenly destroy all comers with a screwball that nobody could touch, has been an up-and-down addition to the Oakland A’s major league roster at times over the past two seasons, but whenever he’s shown up in The Show, the infamous screwball has been nowhere to be seen.

A’s manager Bob Geren once claimed Braden never had a screwball to begin with. A’s head honcho Billy Beane claimed he had no idea if Braden had a screwball, or what might have happened to it if he did. A’s pitching boss Ron Romanick said he just wanted Braden to rely on his change-up more.

So what was the truth?

Now, finally, the folks at Scout.com’s Oakland Clubhouse have interviewed the player and put it to him squarely:

OC: I spoke with Ron Romanick last season
about your change-up and his desire to see you throw that more than the
screwball. How comfortable are you with throwing that change-up more
often and not throwing the screwball that often, or even at all?

DB: They actually won’t let me throw [the screwball] at all.
That comes from the fear of really not knowing exactly how the injury
in my shoulder occurred. So I am concentrating on just being more
effective with a couple of different kinds of change-ups and really
focusing on getting the breaking ball – the slider – working. That is
what I have been really doing this spring – not over-exposing the
change-up. I think I threw two or three in three innings [on Saturday].

One other part of that interview warrants special mention; as we’ve said often on NFTN over the years, the Dallas Braden story isn’t just one of a kid who came from nowhere to touch the Majors – it’s also one of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who nearly threw it all away, only for his grandmother and high school coach to pull him aside, give him an inspirational talk or twelve, and put the kid back on the rails. 

Braden, for his part, took his sign-on check and gave it away to both of them, in thanks for what they did for him. Now that he’s making some serious coin, Braden’s gone to the ‘thank you’ well a second time. 

OC: Was your off-season a little different this year since you were able to make a little more money last year?

DB: Oh, definitely. [laughs] It was a lot different. I was able
to take care of my grandma and kind of put her at ease.

You’re a prince among men, Dallas Braden. May this be the year that the over-protective nannies in Oakland finally allow you to unleash The Scroo, thus leading you to utter dominance across the Majors.

Big ups to your nan.