Don't 'Stay back'

A hitter staying back.

Tue., Aug 31, 2011Don't 'Stay back' Today's entry will focus on hitting. A commom phrase heard around most batting cages is "Stay back". That is probably my most hated phrase in the game.

As a hitter, you should never hit off your back foot. You hit against your front foot or front side. Batters should more accurately use the phrase "Stay balanced" (A phrased constantly used by one of my former hitting coaches, Randy Cialone). Here is a video on biomechanics where the speaker makes that point. Scroll ahead to about the 9:45 point in the video.

A few throwback players illustrate this point (hitting against your front side).Roberto Clememte over-exagerrates this somewhat. Hank Aaron always hit on his front foot. There should be little or no weight on your back foot to maximize the torque you create with your core.

Clemente looks like he lunges a lot. Hitters will want to work on staying balanced so as not to shift to much weight forward on an off-speed pitch.

Here's a look at a modern day hitter.Here's Albert Pujols. Take a look at the back foot in both these videos. They are not "Staying back" -- they are staying balanced and hitting against their front side.

I tried to find a Tony Oliva video, but I'm sure none of the players would remember Tony O.

--CP

Pitchers - Day 1

Mon., Aug 29, 2011Pitching practice - Day 1
We are in the process of finalizing the practice schedule for Day 1 on Thursday. Our new pitchers will be introduced to our pitching program. We will start with long toss instruction the first day.

Here is an online video of how we instruct our pitchers to do long toss to strengthen their arms.

As a former pitcher, I am an advocate of a lot of throwing. As Ranger's pitching coach Mike Maddux say "Pitch counts are limits."

Our goal every year is to condition pitcher physically and mentally to go nine innings. The groundwork begins this fall.

--CP

Wed., Aug. 24, 2011
A new start

 

Classes started on Monday and are in full swing. Fall ball begins next week (Sept. 1st) with a number of questions to answer.

1.       What pitchers will step up to fill in for the loss of four seniors ? Senior Dan Greco, who also plays outfield? Juniors Sciandra and Murray? Sophomores Larson and Sturm? Three solid freshmen, five transfers and a couple walk-ons?

2.       What will the infield look like? Only thirdbaseman Dillon Lowe returns from last year as an everyday player. This looks to be the strength of the team.

3.       What will the outfield look like? Corner outfielders Jon Messina and Vinnie VanAuker graduated. Centerfielder Alex Foster is in Florida interning with Disney for the fall. Kody Hoth is nursing a broken finger and Greco will also figure into our pitching plans. We will look into moving some catchers or infielders to the outfield throughout the fall.

4.       Battle of the catchers. We have eight in camp. Returning juniors Fetes and Sheehan have the edge. Three sophomore Hosses bring the lumber – it’ll be exciting to see how they improved from last year. We have some talented new backstops, too.

Overall, we sport only two seniors – Greco and Tommy Tantillo – but the core of the team is juniors, so we do have a veteran presence despite the loss of nine seniors.

Stay tuned for the answers!