It's unseasonably nice in the Northwest today. We spent it by taking the pups out along the waterfront so Lucy could bark at other dogs and Ginger could chase ducks. The fact that Ginger can still move at anything more than a trot is great.
Yesterday I threw a great bullpen. It was about 35 pitches off of the mound. My velocity crept up just a little bit and I firmly belive that there's a mechanical issue in there someplace. I may simply be overthinking it and that's why I'm unable to solve it. I keep thinking that my legs are outpacing my arm and that I'm just a little behind myself up top. I added just a small twist in to try to let everything play out as it should and it seems to be better. I just need to remember that cadence so I can repeat it with regularity.
I'm finally having good batting practices as well. It's amazing how much better you hit when stuff stops hurting. I'm hitting a lot of things to right center and to dead right field while still being able to turn on something pretty easily. I'm just hoping to be a better gap hitter and go for a lot of singles and doubles this time. I think I can do it as I feel like I've been better able to handle pitches.
Baseball is really a lot more fun when it's not 34 degrees and cloudy.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Year Ago today...
It has been a year.
To the day.
March 23rd, 2012 was the day I had "the" baseball surgery that is so commonplace now that you simply wait to see who's going under the knife every spring training. Every time you hear "elbow issue" or "tightness" you always start to think about when they're going to go under the knife.
So I had to celebrate a little bit. I spent the morning where I hoped I would be: On a baseball field playing catch and throwing some pitches. I even managed to hit a little bit and run around in the outfield. It was a lot of fun. Significantly better than being wheeled into an operating room and waking up to Otter Pops and confusion.
My arm feels good too. Sure, there's a little soreness right now, but I'm expecting that. I threw probably 30 pitches from the mound and did a lot of long toss as well. The real thing is much more different than throwing into a sock.
Tomorrow are the PSSBL tryouts so I'll warm up with someone again. It'll be the first time I've done that back to back since the surgery.
The velocity is getting there again. I made a small mechanical adjustment that seemed to help a little bit. I ended up twisting my left hip inside just a little bit which seemed to slow everything else down enough to let my arm catch up. I think my arm was behind my legs so I slowed the legs down to catch up.
My pitches still move pretty well, but could be better I think I need to make a mechanical adjustment to my brain and just throw the pitches the way they're meant to be thrown.
So a year. What a long road it's been. I just know that, in a month, when I take the mound in a game it's all going to be worth it. There's no doubt in my mind. Just like I didn't ever doubt I'd be back.
I've been fortunate to have such a wonderful bunch of people supporting me especially my (now) wife Katy. She put up with the brace nonsense, the PT, the pain, the soreness, the multiple ice packs and everything else. My teammates, friends, and Ken have been as supportive as ever. Everyone just wants my arm to get better.
I think, if I had to sum it all up, I'm grateful to be where I am. I'm thankful that this last year is behind me and I'm ready to move forward.
To the day.
March 23rd, 2012 was the day I had "the" baseball surgery that is so commonplace now that you simply wait to see who's going under the knife every spring training. Every time you hear "elbow issue" or "tightness" you always start to think about when they're going to go under the knife.
So I had to celebrate a little bit. I spent the morning where I hoped I would be: On a baseball field playing catch and throwing some pitches. I even managed to hit a little bit and run around in the outfield. It was a lot of fun. Significantly better than being wheeled into an operating room and waking up to Otter Pops and confusion.
My arm feels good too. Sure, there's a little soreness right now, but I'm expecting that. I threw probably 30 pitches from the mound and did a lot of long toss as well. The real thing is much more different than throwing into a sock.
Tomorrow are the PSSBL tryouts so I'll warm up with someone again. It'll be the first time I've done that back to back since the surgery.
The velocity is getting there again. I made a small mechanical adjustment that seemed to help a little bit. I ended up twisting my left hip inside just a little bit which seemed to slow everything else down enough to let my arm catch up. I think my arm was behind my legs so I slowed the legs down to catch up.
My pitches still move pretty well, but could be better I think I need to make a mechanical adjustment to my brain and just throw the pitches the way they're meant to be thrown.
So a year. What a long road it's been. I just know that, in a month, when I take the mound in a game it's all going to be worth it. There's no doubt in my mind. Just like I didn't ever doubt I'd be back.
I've been fortunate to have such a wonderful bunch of people supporting me especially my (now) wife Katy. She put up with the brace nonsense, the PT, the pain, the soreness, the multiple ice packs and everything else. My teammates, friends, and Ken have been as supportive as ever. Everyone just wants my arm to get better.
I think, if I had to sum it all up, I'm grateful to be where I am. I'm thankful that this last year is behind me and I'm ready to move forward.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Not pain, just different
So I think the pain I've been feeling in the elbow has been from getting into "Maui" shape. I've been going way too hard on the weights.
I'm changing direction now and moving toward the movement training as well as the really heavy leg items. I'm doing a ton of lunges, squats, deadlifts, etc. I'm also doing plyometric routines to try to get my agility back up and going.
We had a great practice on a field last week. I ran around like a deer chasing balls down in the outfield and felt great. I also made a lot of longer throws at about 130 feet or so and they seemed to have some zip and accuracy.
I then threw about 30 pitches off of the mound with no pain. The FB, change, and new 2 seamer all were working just great. However, the velocity is still down.
I'm changing direction now and moving toward the movement training as well as the really heavy leg items. I'm doing a ton of lunges, squats, deadlifts, etc. I'm also doing plyometric routines to try to get my agility back up and going.
We had a great practice on a field last week. I ran around like a deer chasing balls down in the outfield and felt great. I also made a lot of longer throws at about 130 feet or so and they seemed to have some zip and accuracy.
I then threw about 30 pitches off of the mound with no pain. The FB, change, and new 2 seamer all were working just great. However, the velocity is still down.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Sorry...got married
I got married on February 25th.
That's one of many reasons that this blog has been empty. Sorry about that.
I'm not sorry about spending two weeks in Maui marrying my awesome wife. That...was....fantastic.
Here's a quick update:
-My elbow is much less sore after Maui. I was clearly overdoing it on the weights. That's not a surprise. I tend to do that. I think the swimming helped a BUNCH.
-I am cleared to throw off of the mound now.
-I am very cleared to throw from flat ground as much as I want to now.
- I'm starting my baseball training regimen now. I'm going to focus on my core and legs this year and then keep up my PT strength training as well. I'm thinking that should be everything I need.
Sorry this is short but I'll have more next week I'm sure.
That's one of many reasons that this blog has been empty. Sorry about that.
I'm not sorry about spending two weeks in Maui marrying my awesome wife. That...was....fantastic.
Here's a quick update:
-My elbow is much less sore after Maui. I was clearly overdoing it on the weights. That's not a surprise. I tend to do that. I think the swimming helped a BUNCH.
-I am cleared to throw off of the mound now.
-I am very cleared to throw from flat ground as much as I want to now.
- I'm starting my baseball training regimen now. I'm going to focus on my core and legs this year and then keep up my PT strength training as well. I'm thinking that should be everything I need.
Sorry this is short but I'll have more next week I'm sure.
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