We Can All Learn A Lot From Zambrano

A few years ago, Carlos Zambrano may have been the best pitcher in baseball. His mid 90's fastball and devastating breaking ball worked extremely well with a 'Take No Prisoners' competitive edge that had many batters feeling uncomfortable just to step in the box. Unfortunately, much has changed since those days. In an earlier post this year, I posed the question "How Will Zambrano react to being sent to the bullpen?" He is known for temper flare ups and not always being a team player. So, there was reason to be concerned about a perceived demotion to the bullpen. Apparently, these concerns were validated after Zambrano's most recent dugout spat with teammate Derek Lee. Of course, no one truly knows what was said and in what context it was perceived, but DLee is one of the classiest ball players in the game today, and I find it tough to believe he was out of line. Either way, the Cubs could scarcely afford any more distractions during an already disappointing season - especially with cross-town rivals, the White Sox on an 11 game win streak. The fallout of the incident has landed Carlos on an indefinite suspension and none of his teammates seem to miss him yet. Alfanso Soriano referenced this when saying simply that the team was not inspired by the tirade (as Zambrano tried to spin it) but that they would rather not have him.

So, what can an aspiring pitcher take from this whole mess? For starters, it must be understood that it is a very thin line that a pitcher walks from being the meanest mother on the whole baseball field and not taking any crap from anyone and still respecting the game to completely showing no self control, respect for the game, or discipline. In fact, I'd say respect for the game is the ultimate issue. By allowing your emotions to get the best of you, your actions tell the other team and everyone that you are not mentally tough enough to handle the tests of a baseball game and season. Now, this is by no means and easy task, but it is a task that players have handled with grace for years. Personally, I feel it requires far more mental fortitude and "strength" to swallow ones pride and handle both your terrible defeats with the same demeanor as your greatest victories. It shouldn't matter if you throw a no-hitter or give up 9 earned in the first, a the true gamer keeps his emotions and on an even level. Because, if you allow yourself to ride that emotional rollercoaster, it will impossible to replicate any kind of success. It appears that Zambrano had been struggling with this for many years, but he had been able to keep at bay for the most part. Unfortunately, I fear this may be one of the last (if not THE last) straw for him. The Cubbies do not appear to be interested in his antics now that his performance has suffered.

So, going forward, the "Intelligent Pitcher" must be willing to walk that line. The one between extreme focus and intensity break down. The line between firery determination and emotional breakdown. It is no easy task, but the true gamers achieve this as they dominate the competition.

Let me hear your thoughts.

Until Next Time!

The Power Position

There are probably over a thousand ways to teach pitching mechanics. There are probably even more ways to pitch effectively that aren't considered "proper mechanics." However, we here at Less Is More believe that there are few key components of the delivery that most pitchers most hone to be able to repeat their motion and repeat their release point. Balance throughout the delivery, utilizing the hip turn for velocity and finally, getting into the "power position" with the elbows and scapula "loaded" before those hips turn. So instead of words today, here are a few pictures of big leaguers in the Power Position.

Here is CC Sabathia with elbows up.

Notice how the front foot has not yet hit the ground.

The hips are just about to turn, forcing the upper half to release.

Even though he has a long stride, the weight is still on the back leg - allowing those hips to fire.

Front side is on target and loaded.


Although is low arm is unconventional, Ubaldo Jimenez gets both his elbows up faster than anyone.

Just before the front foot hits the ground again, look where his power is - his back leg.

The throwing arm elbow is behind his back - prepared to reach full power position.

Front shoulder is closed and on target.

Weight is back, power is still in hips.

Verlander throws 100mphs by getting those elbows up.

This pic has him just before front foot hits, with weight still back.

The throwing arm is coming up and the shoulder blades are "loaded" as the hips are preparing to turn.

The hall of famer, Nolan Ryan gets into the power position better than any one.

The power is in the hips - notice they are still closed.

Elbows are perfectly up - still bent.

Front shoulder and hip are both are on target with weight on back leg.


These are just a few examples of what the power position can look like. Ideally, Nolan Ryan's pic shows the true PP. The elbows up and parallel to the shoulder. The weight is still on the back leg and both the front shoulder and hip have not rotated off target.

Now, get to work developing your own Power Position.

Until Next Time!!

Big Leaguer Breakdown Ted Lilly

As the major league seasons plows through June, the talking heads at ESPN are beginning to realize what I have been saying for at least a month. This year in baseball, is the "year of the pitcher." Of course, yours truly has blogged already twice about the fact that the balance of power is swing back towards the pitchers. Case in point, yesterday, the Chicago White Sox played the Chicago Cubs. Gavin Floyd was on the mound for since the Sox and Ted Lilly took the ball for the Cubs. What resulted was nothing short of masterful on both sides. Gavin and Ted both took no-nos into the 7th inning, where Floyd ultimately surrendered a few hits and the only run of the game. Lilly on the other hand, kept the White Sox hitless into the 9th when Juan Pierre finally ended the no-hit bid. It had been 8 starts since Lilly's last win, and despite a roller coaster ninth for the Cubs' bullpen, the game ended with a win for the Cubbies. I had a chance to study Lilly during the game last night and felt it was reason enough for Lilly to be this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown.

Here is a clip from youtube user cleveworld of Lilly warming up in Spring Training.

Ted Lilly makes his living interchanging an assortment of off speed pitches to complement a mid 80's fastball. While not over-powering, Lilly is also successful by utilizing some deception in his delivery. It is difficult to see, but at the 22 second mark, we see how Lilly rotates his an entire body and front leg around, showing his jersey number to the hitter. By doing so, Lilly does an excellent job of hiding the ball until he rotates back forward. He also keep the ball in his glove behind his back shoulder as you can see in the video. At the 23 second mark, you can see the hand break as his shoulders tilt back and the hand drops behind his back leg. The ball is still hidden at this point. Personally, I don't like how far he has collapsed on his back leg here, but moving forward, we see the tell-tale elbows elevating and hips rotate at the same time. Lilly could have used his inward to turn to try and develop more velocity, but it is my feeling that is merely for deception. I feel this way because you see very little "explosion" upon release of the ball. Going further in the video, we see how upright Lilly is as he finishes his pitch. There is very little upper half tilt forward at release either. By staying upright, the tends to flatten some of his pitches, but also helps to increase some of the balls lateral (side to side) movement. On a the next pitch in the sequence, we do see Lilly do a better job of finishing over his front foot and locating down in the zone. It is important to notice how controlled Ted is as the ball is released. Undoubtedly, this is a product of his control getting to the foot strike.

Repeating this delivery is made possible by how deliberate Ted Lilly is with his front foot and front leg when it is planted. Instead of being out of control, he lightly lets the foot plant and works down over the mid-line of the body. This is important to aide in the repeating of the body.

So we see a unique aspect of the pitching delivery in Lilly. His inward body rotation allows him to keep the ball hidden. It also allows him as well to put unique spin on his pitches as he rotates toward the midline and finish down.

Keep studying and post and questions.

Until Next Time!

Stephen Strasburg is the Real Deal

It's is the top of the 8th in Washington and Strasburg has just punched out the side to end his much anticipated Major League debut versus the Pittsburg Pirates for the Nationals. The score is 4-2 and after 14 total strikeouts, Strasburg's start was nothing short of legendary. He set a Nationals franchise record for K's in a debut after going 7 innings, giving up only four total hits, 2 earned runs, and the 14 K's mentioned previously. His stuff was "as advertised." The gun on MASN has his fastball at 93 - 103 MPHs. (The gun was probably juiced a few ticks, but still no doubt he was hitting triple digits) His curveball was a knee buckling 82 MPH and the slider and change-up were equally devastating. More than once, as Pirates hitters were gearing up for another heater, Strasburg would drop in that hammer and buckle the knees of those Big League hitters. Most of those strike-outs were wild swings and misses on super heaters and exploding breaking stuff.

So it almost doesn't even need to be said that Strasburg is good. Truly, the only question that remains is 'Will Strasburg be the perennial All-Star that everyone expects him to be?' While I'm not fortune teller, I do consider myself an expert on the subject of pitching. Without attempting to tell the future, I think the answer to that question is a resounding yes. The main reason for my confidence in the phenom is found in his delivery. Very few guys are able to replicate such incredible velocity with such poise and apparent ease. Who knows, he could blow out his arm tomorrow, but I'm not betting on it. When compared to other 100 mph fireballers, Stephen has the smoothest, most fluid delivery of all of them. Other pitchers in this category are guys like Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Verlander, Joel Zamaya, and perhaps old-schooler, Nolan Ryan. Of those, only Nolan Ryan rivaled Strasburg's apparent lack of "effort." All of the others appear to be trying to throw that hard. On the contrary, he is smooth loose and the only thing that is violent is the ball exploding into the catcher's glove. These facts tell me that Strasburg has mastered the art of staying loose and under control and allow the lower half to do the work for you. The ultimate thesis behind the Less Is More philosophy.

So going forward, I look forward to seeing what becomes of Mr. Strasburg. It is my prediction that he will be an All-Star by next year. Plus, if Bryce Harper turns out to be the offensive stud that everyone say he is, then the Nationals could be led by two no. 1 draft picks all the way to the 2015 World Series. A bold prediction, but I'll stand by it as long as those two are healthy.

I look forward to five days from now to see Strasburg start again. Look for a Big Leaguer Breakdown on him fairly soon.

Until Next Time


Image By Geoff Burke, U.S. Presswire