OnlyBucs

181C14233525103738560 wrote: I got to go to Pirates City one time.  Matt Capps was pitching an inning in a scrimmage against a few Twins minor leaguers.  I was able to get right up to the backstop.  His ball hissed as it came to the plate.  Just then, whatever thoughts I ever had that I could stand in a major league batters box and get my bat on the ball quickly faded.   :'(


One of my favorite things to do there is getting behind the catches when the pitchers are throwing their session. It is hard to understand how hard they throw as well as the movement they can put on the ball until you get that close. When Glasnow was there and he threw a curveball it was amazing the amount of break the ball had. At that point, he could not throw a lot of strikes with it but it was impressive none the less.




One year when I was down there there was a outfielder or infielder who been converted to a pitcher and was throwing over a hundred almost every pitch - with no control, but even the other minor league players were lining up behind watching him throw.




100 MPH. It's insane to think a batter can hit something like that. And yet they do.


A friend of mine stood in against a Bob Walk fastball a couple of years after he retired, and said it was the scariest experience of his life. He said he didn't even have time to think anything before the ball was in the catcher's mitt.


And just think, Bob Walk wasn't a speed pitcher and, by that time, was out of baseball for a few years. Imagine standing in a batter's box against Aroldis Chapman. His pitch really would, as they say, look like an aspirin tablet. Or at least the blur of one.

Exactly, I almost put fast ball in quotes, but I didn't want to look like I was disparaging Walk. He said it was in the 80s somewhere, and even that seemed impossible.

2F2B2314021227000F610 wrote: Exactly, I almost put fast ball in quotes, but I didn't want to look like I was disparaging Walk. He said it was in the 80s somewhere, and even that seemed impossible.


Which reminds me of pitchers like Jamie Moyer, a guy who didn't throw hard. I loved watching him work. He made batters gets themselves out. He was masterful.

Batters can adjust even to 100 mph FBs. The problem is that the offspeed stuff gets them when they are geared up for the FB.

5F727F6E69786F2F2C1D0 wrote: Batters can adjust even to 100 mph FBs. The problem is that the offspeed stuff gets them when they are geared up for the FB.


Right, the great fastball pitchers also had that knee buckling breaking pitch they used so effectively. Those were fun guys to watch work, too.

Good news from the Josh Bell side. Check out this story in the Trib about how he has worked on his throwing problems. It's a good read and shows how Josh worked on this on his own in the offseason and how Shelton and his team are helping him improve on it in ST.



Josh Bell Throwing Like Teke

62434B624941260 wrote: Good news from the Josh Bell side.  Check out this story in the Trib about how he has worked on his throwing problems.  It's a good read and shows how Josh worked on this on his own in the offseason and how Shelton and his team are helping him improve on it in ST.



Josh Bell Throwing Like Teke


Speaking of throwing I am really interested to get eyes on Polanco and see how he is actually throwing. Last year before he went on the DL it was painful to watch and it crossed my mind that it might be a career-ending injury. Guess we will see. Hopefully, Bell can figure it out but when you start talking about changing the way you have always thrown does not give you that warm and fuzzy feeling when he goes to second with the ball.

0920262A28450 wrote: Good news from the Josh Bell side.  Check out this story in the Trib about how he has worked on his throwing problems.  It's a good read and shows how Josh worked on this on his own in the offseason and how Shelton and his team are helping him improve on it in ST.



Josh Bell Throwing Like Teke


Speaking of throwing I am really interested to get eyes on Polanco and see how he is actually throwing. Last year before he went on the DL it was painful to watch and it crossed my mind that it might be a career-ending injury. Guess we will see. Hopefully, Bell can figure it out but when you start talking about changing the way you have always thrown does not give you that warm and fuzzy feeling when he goes to second with the ball.
I agree. Per the article:



For Bell, it is more about comfort than effort. Since being converted from an outfielder, where he was used to having more time to get his arm up and out, Bell has struggled to find his footing and make accurate throws on double-play balls.



It shouldn't be that hard. Bell logged 1,890 innings at 1B in the minors and another 3,679 in the majors. And he still has major problems adjusting to the shorter infield throw than the longer outfield throw??? Has he never played catch at a shorter distance with a teammate to loosen his arm before a game? Like maybe every game? That INF vs OF throw excuse just doesn't wash. Countless MLB players throughout history have moved from the OF to 1B without experiencing a complete inability to throw from 1B to 2B because it's not the same throw they used to make from the OF. It's more like a bad case of the yips. He suffers from a total lack of confidence when throwing from 1B and overthinks his release. It's easy to correct the motion in ST when a bad throw doesn't make a difference in a game. We'll see if he gains confidence this year in making that throw and just does it naturally without overthinking the ball into the dirt or left field. The problem is more in his head than his arm.

Keep in mind we've now moved into the "I'm in the best shape of my life" (for older players) and "I have a new swing" (for others) phase of the off-season. After a few weeks it'll be business as usual again. I don't take too much of what is said at this point very seriously.

Lecom at Bradenton.- Keep us posted. Alw ays look forward to your observations