Give Me the Ball!!

So, I've tried to be very positive with most, and or all, of my posts so far in the LessisMorePitching universe. Unfortunately, that all ends to day thanks to Cole Hamels. As a general rule, I like the guy as a pitcher. I'll admit, he has struggled some this year, especially in the playoffs, but as I mentioned in his Big League Breakdown, he really has one of the best change ups in the game and is very very good.

But................

After his comments following game 3 of the World Series, I've lost a bit of respect for the guy. In case you missed it, following his loss to the Yankees he was asked what went wrong and basically his response involved complaints about the erratic start times during the season and that he "could wait for the season to end." He continued to say it has been an emotionally draining season and just needed a fresh start.

A fresh start!?!?!?!?! You want the season to end!?!?!?!? You're still in the WORLD SERIES, Cole!!!!! You could possibly be the GAME 7 starter!!!!! As a professional baseball player myself, I can relate to being frustrated with a few bad games or even an entire season, but I also understand just how delicate the balance in a club house can be. There's no doubt that he'll be getting more than just a few dirtly looks from his teammates...espeically if they don't mount an incredible comeback in game 6 and 7. I would be much more understanding of his comments if his season were over. In fact, Derek Lowe was quoted saying similar things at the conclusion of his disappointing season. But his team was completely out of contention and had no way to make it in. I just couldn't believe he was so short-sighted to feed the media with such explosive material with two games to go in the world series. There's no doubt countless distractions as it is for all the players involved in the game...let alone the media asking everyone how the feel about Cole Hamel's comments.

From a pitching standpoint, the "Intelligent Pitcher" must always appear and act confident on the outside even if he doesn't necessarily feel it on the inside. Trust me, hitters are like wolves, they can smell and feed off of fear. And perhaps he did the Phillies a favor but giving them an idea of how unconfident he is. Hopefully, the will not give him the ball for game 7. I know atleast one former Philadelphia Philly agrees with me. Mitch Williams was asked if Cole should start, and he rightly said there is no way he can be given the baseball now. Again, let me acknowledge that I understand some of what Hamels is going through and I know that confidence and success are both absolutely necessary for the other to survive. It then begs the age old athletic question...what comes first "Confidence or Success?"

Regardless, Cole should have really thought twice before being so honest with the media. The fact remains that game 7 is still a possibility and whoever gets the baseball will undoubtedly be nervous. But he also will be the most focused, anxious, and fired up for the most important game of the season. The person who starts this game MUST want the baseball and never let on that he has EVER doubted a pitch he's ever thrown.

THE INTELLIGENT PITCHER MUST EXUDE COCKY CONFIDENCE!

Until next time......I'll return to my postive upbeat nature next entry...I promise...unless Cole says something else rediculous.

Big Leaguer Breakdown: Cole Hamels

With the Phillies-Dodgers NLCS series tied at 1 game apiece, I felt it appropriate to look at one of the most important pitchers in that series so far; Cole Hamels for this weeks Big Leaguer Breakdown. Hamels battled the powerful Dodgers lineup every inning producing a line of 5 1/3 innings pitched, giving up 4 earned runs, striking out 4 and walking 1. Not particularly stellar on this particular night, but thanks Carlos Ruiz and the rest of the Phillies lineup, good enough for an ever-important game one win.

Check out this video of Cole Hamels warming up to study his mechanics.

Immediately, you should notice a theme developing about the elite pitchers in the major leaguers and their mechanics. None of them are immediately similar! I feel however, that there is much to be gained from that knowledge. Essentially, its important to understand, as I've mentioned previously, that deception and variations in a delivery can be very important to disrupting a hitters timing and making the hitter less comfortable in the box against you. And of course, I can't stress enough, that there a few key points that the "Intelligent Pitcher" must get to as Cole Hamels does here.

Lets first pause the video at the 1 second mark as his leg lift get to hits highest point. You've notice a small rock to the right before pivoting and lifting the leg, but his leg lift is one of the higher kicks in the game. However, he allows this to develop good momentum to the plate without falling off balance. This technique requires incredible core strength to keep his body in-line and on target to release. You should also notice how his chin is tucked down and in line with his front shoulder and front hip (essential to most pitchers delivery).

If you watch the video for another full second, you'll notice some sink in his back leg as the front leg swings out and around on its way to its landing. I am not a particularly huge fan of this as it "shrinks the pitcher" and can potentially flatten out his pitches (because he's throwing from a lower angel), and the leg swing can make finishing to the plate very tricky. However, it does provide for some disruption in tempo and hides the baseball very well from the hitter.

Once Hamels gets to foot-strike, watch how his glove swivels underneath as his chest turns follwing the hips to the square position. Of course, the finish is what is most important since its where the ball is released and Hamels finishes slightly off center (with a slight head tilt) but if he is able to repeat that release point, he can use the run on the pitch that it creates to be even more deceptive.

Go ahead and watch the second pitch in the video and watch how well the hips stay online and the elbows accelerate up late in the delivery. Hamels sometimes elevates pitches because his throwing elbow lags behind the front side. However, when it is times up perfectly (as it usually does) Hamels perfect front side and great hand speed are successful in keeping even the Dodgers off balance.


Comment on any things you might see in his delivery.


***** As mentioned, I'm getting married today, so will be offline until next week....keep working on those mechanics and I'll be back soon*****


Image Source: http://chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Pitchers/ColeHamels/ColeHamels_2006_006.jpg