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.

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.

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.

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.

Meeting Moyer

I've gone on and on in this blog about how much I admire Jamie Moyer.

Well, I finally got to meet him.

It was great.  We hung out and chatted about Ken Roll (my physical therapist and the PT for the Mariners for years), Tommy John surgery and pitching.  It was awesome. I was so thrilled.  It was really one of the best baseball experiences I've ever had.

So, here's the rundown:
-They always called Ken "The Claw" because Ken has gigantic paw like hands.
-Jamie is ready to pitch this year if anyone calls.  Unfortunately, my Padres aren't interested due to the "youth movement" which, as Jamie put it, "Always works so well."
-I told him how much I admired him and looked up to him especially being able to come back from surgery like he did.  He appreciated it.
-Jamie took no painkillers after surgery.
-We shared stories of having to sleep in the weird positions with that crazy half cast
-We both agreed that the big wrap/cast thing was the worst part of the surgery.
-He only wore the brace for a few weeks.  Said he couldn't stand it and just gave up.  Meanwhile, I told him that I would look at it wrong out of the brace and it would hurt like hell.
-He was lifting boxes 6 weeks out of surgery.
-He signed a ball and a couple of cards for me.

This was just such a neat experience for me I can't even explain. I have a whole new respect for Jamie.  I mean, he is an iron man. He truly is a wonder.  How he can come back strong from that surgery at his age is amazing.  I admire him more now than I did before.

He's great.  He's just a fantastic person and I'm thrilled to have met him.

New Glove

I got a new glove when I was down in California.

My dad, nephew and I were headed back to the house after a glorious burger at In N Out when dad wanted to stop at Dick's Sporting Goods on the way back.  He wanted to get a glove so he could play catch with my youngest nephew Josh.  He thought when Josh was then old enough, he could give him the glove.

Makes sense.  Josh is super into baseball and football.  He's really into sports of all kinds and it turns out he's pretty good!  I think he's more football than baseball, but baseball has a pretty good place in his heart.  Here's a picture:

He's a good dude.  Anyway, dad loves playing catch with him.

Dad told me at Dick's that he would really love to buy me a great glove.  I had told him a few months ago that my old Mizuno outfield glove was one strong line drive away from tearing through the pocket. It's almost 10  years old and has seen heavy use so I suppose that's probably about right.

I spent a pretty strong 45 minutes picking out the right glove.  It's a Rawlings for the first time. I've always used Mizunos, but the Rawlings felt really good this time around.

Anyway, when we got back to the house, we both loosened up the laces a bit and then did something we hadn't done in ages.  We went out back and played catch on the patio...for probably about 20 minutes.

That was the patio that I used to throw on when I was a kid.  I would spend as much time as I could pitching to my dad.  I would toe up at the edge of the iceplant and deliver to the now-enclosed dining room (formerly outdoor deck).  Dad would dutifully catch me as often as he could.

If dad wasn't around, I would throw a tennis ball against the side of the house as often as I could.  I figured I would work on throwing hard and then fielding as well.  That was back when I could actually field a ground ball.

At any rate, that day brought me solidly back to my childhood and my love of baseball that I've had as long as I can remember.

It's one of those things that I'll always look back on and remember really fondly.  I just thought I'd mention this.  I know it's not TJ related really, but it was special to me.

Bullpen and BP on Saturday

As I've mentioned, we've been holding some BP and bullpen sessions on Saturdays down at Newport High School.

By the way, Newport is another crazy good secret spot.  The cages are always unlocked. They're undercover.  They are lit. There are L-Screens already there.  They even have the nice sturdy wooden mounds. This is a great place that's centrally located and always available. 

They also maintain this place.  They don't let it rot like Lake Washington does. Plus, the janitor guy is there every Saturday morning and he's always painting.  I don't know how many more coats of paint the interior needs, but apparently it's a lot.  We think he likes his quiet Saturdays working in the office upstairs and uses "painting" to get away from his family.  

Had another good session hitting the ball.  I think having no pain is a gigantic deal. You don't realize how lousy you feel until you don't feel it.

Throwing wasn't as successful.  I didn't feel great and I couldn't figure out what it was.  I'm guessing it was something with my mechanics, but I had no idea what.  It was frustrating either way. My targeting was mediocre and velocity was way down.  

It's a bummer and probably a case of "Don't worry about it, you'll get there." However when you're trying to throw the heat and it's just not there...that's a mighty odd feeling.