The Pitching
Mechanic
December 2006
Real-Time Illustrations and Analyses of
Proper and
Improper Pitching Mechanics
The
Pitching Mechanic - January 2007
12/20/2006
Long-Term Deals For Bonderman
and Carpenter
In the past couple of weeks both
Chris Carpenter and Jeremy Bonderman have been given multi-year
deals. If I'm right, then those will turn out to be bad deals
because I think they both have problems with their mechanics.
In the case of Bonderman, he takes his elbows both
above and behind his shoulders. In the case of Carpenter, he
starts to rotate his shoulders before his PAS forearm is vertical
and in the High Cocked position.
However, I am more hopeful about Carpenter because I
have heard that he has become a freak about conditioning, which
should improve his chances of surviving his mechanics.
12/18/2006
Swing Analysis: Albert Pujols
I know this is supposed to be a
pitching blog, but I know that some of you are also interested in
hitting, so I thought I'd let you know that I have just completed
a frame by frame analysis of
Albert Pujols' Swing
(.pdf).
In this document I break down Pujols' swing (from a Rotational
Hitting perspective) and identify some of the things that I think
have helped him be so successful.
12/14/2006
Frame By Frame Analysis: Jim
Palmer
I have just finished
an analysis of
Jim Palmer's pitching motion and mechanics using a number of
frames from the clip below. As a result, I think I understand the
root cause of his shoulder problems.
![](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Videos/Video_Pitching_JimPalmer_Catcher_001.gif)
I have created both
PDF and
PowerPoint versions of this document. Once the document loads,
use the page up and page down buttons to go frame by frame through
the clip.
12/13/2006
Eric Gagne's Change-Up Grip
Eric Gagne has been in a news in
the past week, with his trade to the Rangers, and as a result I
have come across a number of photos of his change-up grip. Some
people call it a Vulcan Change, as if it's a completely different
grip, but the photos show that Gagne's grip is just a variant of
the Circle Change-Up. Also,
since Gagne's change-up is described as having screwball-type
movement, I believe it is thrown by pronating the forearm through
the release point. Some people refer to that as "throwing the
circle".
![Eric Gagne](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_EricGagne_003.jpg)
![Eric Gagne](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_EricGagne_001.jpg)
![Eric Gagne](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_EricGagne_002.jpg)
![Eric Gagne](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_EricGagne_2006_006.jpg)
![Eric Gagne](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_EricGagne_2006_003.jpg)
I believe that Jamie
Moyer and Tom Glavine also throw similar variants of the Circle
Change-up.
![Jamie Moyer](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_JamieMoyer_002.jpg)
![Tom Glavine](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_Grip_CircleChange_TomGlavine_001.jpg)
12/12/2006
Frame By Frame Analysis: Dizzy
Dean
I have just finished
an analysis of
Dizzy Dean's pitching motion and mechanics using a number of
frames from the clip below.
![](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Videos/Video_Pitching_DizzyDean_1B_001.gif)
I have created both
PDF and
PowerPoint versions of this document. Once the document loads,
use the page up and page down buttons to go frame by frame through
the clip.
12/8/2006
Tom Seaver's Circle Change-Up
Up until a few days ago, I was
under the impression that the Circle Change-Up was a relatively
recent invention. Then I came across the photo below of Tom Seaver
throwing what sure looks like a Circle Change-Up.
12/8/2006
Frame By Frame Analysis: Curt
Schilling
I have just finished
an analysis of
Curt Schilling's pitching motion and mechanics using a number of
frames from the clip below.
![](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Videos/Video_Pitching_CurtSchilling_2006_3B_001.gif)
I have created both
PDF and
PowerPoint versions of this document. Once the document loads,
use the page up and page down buttons to go frame by frame through
the clip.
12/7/2006
Anthony Reyes: A Mechanical
Trainwreck
I just completed
this brief essay that explains exactly what my problem is with
Anthony Reyes' (and by extension Mark Prior's) mechanics.
12/5/2006
Frame By Frame Analysis: Jeff
Weaver
I have just finished
an analysis of
Jeff Weaver's pitching motion and mechanics using a
number of frames from the clip below (which is super slow motion).
![](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Videos/Video_Pitching_JeffWeaver_SuperSlowMotion_3B_001.gif)
I have created both
PDF and
PowerPoint versions of this document. Once the document loads,
use the page up and page down buttons to go frame by frame through
the clip.
12/4/2006
Frame By Frame Analysis: Jeremy
Bonderman
I have just finished
an analysis of
Jeremy Bonderman's pitching motion and mechanics using a
number of frames from the clip below.
![](/web/20080314103639im_/http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Videos/Video_Pitching_JeremyBonderman_3B_001.gif)
I have created both
PDF and
PowerPoint versions of this document. Once the document loads,
use the page up and page down buttons to go frame by frame through
the clip.
I'd be interested in what you think.
The
Pitching Mechanic - November 2006
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