Swingtraining.net Blog: Recent Comments

Comment on Playing my way out...

JAlbert — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:26:31 GMT

All in all it was a pretty good game to watch. Our pitcher was a former 40-man roster guy with Oakland who I think came up around the time of the 'big 3' (mulder-zito-hudson). The Pelican that got him (2 hr's) was a former Oriole and had a very good swing.

Of course, there was the mysterious home run call where the ball landed on the warning track and disappeared behind one of the advertising signs and ended up being called a hr. That was interesting.

But I want that tape just so I can hear the commentators when I came up. I heard it was something to the effect of how an intern/'video guy' wound up in the lineup making his first start in the last game.

Oh, and how could I forget...I was the "cutest player of the game"! This was a promo that Pensacola does each game where they pick an opposing player and designate him as the "cutest". Each time the player comes up, they play the song "I'm too sexy" over the PA and encourage all the ladies to cheer/heckle - if the "cutest player" strikes out, there is a special price on margaritas for all of the ladies. How original.

Anyways, I've heard of Dr. Yeager, read and viewed some of his material.

Good luck to you and Joe with the lessons and the upcoming season.

Comment on Playing my way out...

Jerry Palmer — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:16:28 GMT

Jeff, I was channel surfing and came across the Pensacola game. When I saw you were playing, I decided to watch. I hope you had a good year at Louisiana Tech. By the way, my son, Joe, is taking hitting lessons from a fellow by the name of Chris Yeager, who has a phd in kinesiology and is located in Covington,Louisiana. He seems to have a thriving business. Regards, Jerry Palmer (New Orleans)

Comment on Jeff Francoeur and the "X" Factor

Ron Spragg — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:19:44 GMT

Great site. This is the stuff our kids need to see and understand. Coaches can also benefit if they are open to change.

Thanks

Comment on Mailbag #2 - A couple of comments

JAlbert — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:43:12 GMT

Eric -

I tried to provide a brief explanation of Zumaya's arm action/velocity with this image:

http://swingtraining.net/clips/pitcher1.gif

The tradeoff is that should abduction (raising your arm to the side) and internal rotation CAN cause shoulder impingement.

Of the three you mentioned, Prior is the one with shoulder problems and he was diagnosed with "laxity" of the ligaments in his shoulder, suggesting that he stability problems in the shoulder. Whether or not that was a result of how he throws, I have no way of knowing.

Comment on Opinions

JAlbert — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:35:56 GMT

Good points, Jay. Of course many coaches have been successful teaching what they "think" happens. I don't think this should be discounted...I think it should be considered along with the objective information that exists in order to create a more effective player development process.

Comment on Mailbag #2 - A couple of comments

Eric — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:31:17 GMT

First of all let me say I am a big fan of the work you have done. Every piece you have done has been right on in my opinion, except for one thing. In your Zoomlander article, you seemed to like the fact that Zumaya raises his pitching elbow above the plane of his shoulders. From what I have seen, this both increases velocity and often leads to arm problems. Examples of pitchers who raises their pitching elbow above the plane of the shoulders and are currently on the DL are Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Fransisco Liriano. At least for starters, it seems like the risk outweighs the possible reward.

Looking froward to your response.

Comment on Opinions

Jay — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:30:33 GMT

I'm willing to bet that the author's so called need for a substantiated data rather than mere opinion is nothing more than a ploy to push/sell his book/opinion. I've been around many former players whom happened to teach a style of hitting based on nothing more than mere opinion. This mere opinion produced the likes of Mike Sweeney, along with countless of other player's, from your amateur high school, collegiate (Div I), minor leagues, to major leagues, so... The game of baseball itself is measured in real time (heuristics perspective/thinking) and not simply from a statistical analysis stand point of view, because we all know what analysis is all about "forecasting". To discount heuristics which everything is based on research/substantiated data already done would be simply be nothing more than discounting the author's point being made as a mere opinion in itself, resorting back to him trying to sell a book, which is BS. So he is absolutely right there w/o the question mark "it is all BS."

Comment on Jeff Francoeur and the "X" Factor

JAlbert — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:18:45 GMT

Mr. Francoeur -

thanks for the comment. It is a little tricky with basic video equipment, but sometimes you have to make the best out of what you have.

I have seen the Motion DNA setup - Zig Z. was here at Tech to measure some of the HS players that we were doing a study on - but I didn't really get a chance to ask questions and see how it all works.

I understand your position about strength deficit, but I still feel like mechanics/technique plays a role (maybe or maybe not specific to Jeff Francoeur).
For example, weight distribution at the time of stride foot plant will effect how rotation takes place.

Flexibility may also be an issue. Here is a question: is it possible for a hitter to be too flexible across the 'serape' muscles of the torso? Just like too much laxity in the shoulder joint opens the door to injury. Torso flexibility may be great for golf, but not to the same extent for baseball due to time contraints.

_____________

And FYI, to those who have not seen Mr. JP Francoeur's site, it is surely worth a visit:

JP FITNESS FORUMS

Comment on Mailbag

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:26:28 GMT

I was wondering if you had an opinion on the benefits of a longer stride when batting. Would this hinder the hitters ability to transfer weight to their front leg and turn on an inside pitch. It seems that it would, but it also would aid the hitter take pitches to the opposite field.
Thanks.

Comment on Jeff Francoeur and the "X" Factor

JP Francoeur — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:31:21 GMT

EXCELLENT analysis! I can't believe you do this with no other technology other than photos and video.

I would love to hook him up to a Motion DNA unit to get some real objective data on his swing, like his rotation speeds at all of his joints (kinematic sequence).

[quote]So if you're out there working on separation and X-factor, fine, but please keep in mind that your hip rotation is no good if it does not contribute to bringing the bat around quickly and powerfully![/quote]

I agree that "seperation" is the problem, but the fix can't be tweaked with technique.

Im guessing that his lower body is so fast that his upper body is not strong enough _in comparison to his lower body_ to keep up, so it's lagging behind.

In addition, the law in athletics is that if you start it you must be able to stop it. If he is not strong enough to maintain an _efficient_ sequence, he's probably not strong enough to decelerate against the force he's generating, so the part that is working too hard will eventually break down somewhere along the chain. I'm guessing his back.

Great blog... What a find!