It's good to challenge the narrative I'm supporting (obviously I have no proof) and you're correct, maybe that's the case. However, wouldn't a team like Toronto or LA or TB figured that out years ago? Verlander's explanation is that he looked at slowmo of his release on different pitches and how they came out of his hand. Almost every stadium has those slowmo cameras and apparently Verlander is a research hound.
So, at age 35, on a pitch you're trying to get as much spin as possible, it's never occurred to him before that he should check that? Further more, how did he change the release of his pitches so that no ill effects at all were felt during the transition?
It smells like serious ******** to me.