Well, the first game is Saturday. I'm scheduled to throw an inning.
This is it. Well, as long as the Northwest weather cooperates that is.
I'm really nervous. I had a great warmup on Wednesday night. I threw about 40 pitches. I threw pretty hard...about 90% of where I was. The cutter started working. The change was slow. The fastball popped and I would just push off harder to dial it up and down.
My arm certainly hurt afterward, but again...all muscle.
I'm not going to get any more ready. Bring on the Stingrays.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A chat with Joe Nathan
At Friday's game, I got a chance to chat with Joe Nathan.
Joe is currently a staple in the Texas bullpen but spent most years as a dominant closer with the Minnesota Twins. He was lights out often carrying a sub 2 ERA. He would make dominant hitters look silly on a fairly regular basis. In fact, he would do so enough to pass Rick Aguilera as the Twins' all time saves leader.
Not long ago, Joe joined the Tommy John club. He missed all of the 2010 season with it and went back to spring training in 2012 only 11 months after his surgery.
I wanted to talk to Joe because I felt he would be able to provide some really great insight on fighting his way back to pitching. I also figured he would be able to help me understand what some of my problems were.
Joe said that he STILL hasn't regained his velocity. He felt that much of it was mental and some of it was physical. Despite all of the work that he's done with strength training and physical therapy, it has never really come back for him. So, you have to make adjustments.
He said it was nuts to come back so early. He told me he had "no business" being in spring training so soon and regrets doing so. He reminded me to take my time and to not be in a huge rush though he understood the desire to start pitching again.
Joe was honest and encouraging. It was really great to just have 5 minutes to chat with him and get a little reassurance that I'm not going crazy. He really helped me more than he knew. That 5 minutes was distinctly valuable to me.
Maybe it's not a coincidence that I had a fantastic bullpen on Saturday. I started a LOT of legwork recently at the gym so I can use less arm and more lower body. It seems to have paid off as I'm now getting significant separation from the rubber and striding more down the slope of the mound. I did leave a few pitches up and in which I wasn't thrilled about and the change up was riding high which is precisely where I do NOT want it. It'll get better.
Thanks again to Joe Nathan for really lifting my spirits and for being so honest and forthcoming.
Joe is currently a staple in the Texas bullpen but spent most years as a dominant closer with the Minnesota Twins. He was lights out often carrying a sub 2 ERA. He would make dominant hitters look silly on a fairly regular basis. In fact, he would do so enough to pass Rick Aguilera as the Twins' all time saves leader.
Not long ago, Joe joined the Tommy John club. He missed all of the 2010 season with it and went back to spring training in 2012 only 11 months after his surgery.
I wanted to talk to Joe because I felt he would be able to provide some really great insight on fighting his way back to pitching. I also figured he would be able to help me understand what some of my problems were.
Joe said that he STILL hasn't regained his velocity. He felt that much of it was mental and some of it was physical. Despite all of the work that he's done with strength training and physical therapy, it has never really come back for him. So, you have to make adjustments.
He said it was nuts to come back so early. He told me he had "no business" being in spring training so soon and regrets doing so. He reminded me to take my time and to not be in a huge rush though he understood the desire to start pitching again.
Joe was honest and encouraging. It was really great to just have 5 minutes to chat with him and get a little reassurance that I'm not going crazy. He really helped me more than he knew. That 5 minutes was distinctly valuable to me.
Maybe it's not a coincidence that I had a fantastic bullpen on Saturday. I started a LOT of legwork recently at the gym so I can use less arm and more lower body. It seems to have paid off as I'm now getting significant separation from the rubber and striding more down the slope of the mound. I did leave a few pitches up and in which I wasn't thrilled about and the change up was riding high which is precisely where I do NOT want it. It'll get better.
Thanks again to Joe Nathan for really lifting my spirits and for being so honest and forthcoming.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Feeling better
Hi everyone,
I've been feeling a bit better with the throwing. It finally feels like things are getting back on par with where I used to be. I'm beginning to believe that mechanics are actually a pretty big part of my problem with velocity.
Kyle Boddy (www.drivelinebaseball.com) posted a video last week about Ubaldo Jimenez and how such a small tweak can make such a huge difference. Jimenez, it ends up, is breaking his hand from his glove VERY early in the windup which causes him to stutter just a bit on his back leg. Basically, they were trying to fix a mechanics issue and he ends up a bit wobbly. This caused a dramatic decrease in his velocity. From what I can see, I'd also argue that this will eventually cause him to be more up in the zone as well. As he tries to aim his pitches, which pitchers tend to start doing when they miss, he'll lose even more velocity and movement.
The other thing that he mentioned was the unathletic delivery to the mound. While it's always been odd, as Kyle points out, it's now looking almost forced. I often feel the same way with pitching nowadays. I used to be able to throw as loose as anything and now it feels very forced. Some days are easier than others of course and I do expect this to get better over time.
I'm guessing that this is mostly up in my head and I just need to relax and throw. One thing I've been doing more of is driving harder with my back leg. I'm doing the sock throwing (on a downward plane) with weights on my legs hoping to increase my hip flexor muscles. Of course, I've also been incredibly diligent with squats, leg plyo work, and walking lunges. This seems to help not only with pitching, but with hitting too.
So, it's time to get out of my head and trust my body to remember what it's supposed to do. At least somewhat.
Here's the link to Kyle's excellent writeup:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ubaldo-jimenez-and-his-missing-96-mph-heater-a-mechanical-look/
I've been feeling a bit better with the throwing. It finally feels like things are getting back on par with where I used to be. I'm beginning to believe that mechanics are actually a pretty big part of my problem with velocity.
Kyle Boddy (www.drivelinebaseball.com) posted a video last week about Ubaldo Jimenez and how such a small tweak can make such a huge difference. Jimenez, it ends up, is breaking his hand from his glove VERY early in the windup which causes him to stutter just a bit on his back leg. Basically, they were trying to fix a mechanics issue and he ends up a bit wobbly. This caused a dramatic decrease in his velocity. From what I can see, I'd also argue that this will eventually cause him to be more up in the zone as well. As he tries to aim his pitches, which pitchers tend to start doing when they miss, he'll lose even more velocity and movement.
The other thing that he mentioned was the unathletic delivery to the mound. While it's always been odd, as Kyle points out, it's now looking almost forced. I often feel the same way with pitching nowadays. I used to be able to throw as loose as anything and now it feels very forced. Some days are easier than others of course and I do expect this to get better over time.
I'm guessing that this is mostly up in my head and I just need to relax and throw. One thing I've been doing more of is driving harder with my back leg. I'm doing the sock throwing (on a downward plane) with weights on my legs hoping to increase my hip flexor muscles. Of course, I've also been incredibly diligent with squats, leg plyo work, and walking lunges. This seems to help not only with pitching, but with hitting too.
So, it's time to get out of my head and trust my body to remember what it's supposed to do. At least somewhat.
Here's the link to Kyle's excellent writeup:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ubaldo-jimenez-and-his-missing-96-mph-heater-a-mechanical-look/
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Happy Easter
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.
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.
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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