ChrisOLeary.com > Projects > Baseball > Pitching > The Pitching Mechanic > February 2009 The Pitching Mechanic February 2009 Real-Time Illustrations and Analyses of Proper and Improper Pitching Mechanics The Pitching Mechanic - March 2009 *2/25/2009* *Same Old BJ Ryan* I just came across this photo of BJ Ryan from earlier today. BJ Ryan BJ Ryan It's clear that BJ Ryan's mechanics haven't changed significantly and that he still has a significant Inverted L in his arm action. As a result, I expect his problems to continue, and to migrate to his shoulder next. *2/20/2009* *Is Jeff Francis the Next Mark Mulder?* It was recently announced that Jeff Francis has been having shoulder problems. While some people have been using this as an opportunity to pound on me and to say that this proves that I don't know what I'm talking about, the truth is that I'm not totally surprised by this. As a result, and like the whole Freddy Garcia experience , I am using this as an opportunity to refine and improve my theories. Back in October of 2007, I took a quick look at the pitching mechanics of Jeff Francis . While I mostly liked what I saw, at the time I stated that I had some questions about Jeff Francis's arm action, and in particular his low Pitching Arm Side (PAS) elbow, and wondered whether he was going to end up like Greg Maddux or Mark Mulder. I now think that Jeff Francis is fairly likely to end up like Mark Mulder because they are both LHPs who share a common problem; *they both pull in early with their Glove Side (GS) elbows which creates a subtle timing problem and increases the load on their shoulder.* Their low PAS elbow is the result of this problem, more than the cause. This problem was made clear to me just a couple of days ago when a friend of the blog was showing me some stuff using Right View Pro. He showed me a couple of clips of Mark Mulder during his time in Oakland where something really stood out. I then confirmed it with some footage of Mark Mulder that I have access to. Mark Mulder Mark Mulder The photo above of Mark Mulder is really the money shot. The thing to notice is that his PAS forearm is vertical and in the high-cocked position at this moment. However, notice how much he has pulled in with his GS elbow at this moment; it's in a pretty significant position of negative adduction. That is going to cause two problems. First, it's going to cause his PAS elbow to drop and to negatively adduct (and drag) into a mechanically weak position as his body tries to maintain what Tom House calls an equal and opposite position (although I think equal and opposite is something the body does to maintain balance rather than something a pitcher has conscious control over). Second, it's going to cause his shoulders to start rotating early, creating a timing problem that is going to increase the load on the shoulder (at least). I'm still trying to find some decent video of Jeff Francis to definitively confirm this, but I have found some stills of him that suggest that he has the same basic problem; that he pulls in early with his GS elbow, creating a timing problem and increasing the load on the shoulder. Jeff Francis Jeff Francis First, the photo above shows a suggestion of a timing problem. Notice how his GS foot has planted but his PAS forearm isn't yet vertical. Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis The two photos above show some evidence that Jeff Francis starts to pull back with his GS elbow before his PAS forearm is vertical. Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis Jeff Francis The photos above show quite definitively that Jeff Francis pulls back with his GS elbow before he reaches the high-cocked position. Notice how his GS elbow has adducted (moved behind the Coronal Plane or the back) as his PAS forearm passes through the vertical, high-cocked position. Although Jeff Francis's PAS elbow doesn't seem to drop and drag as much as Mark Mulder's PAS elbow does, he does seem to pull back with his GS elbow a bit early and this does seem to create a subtle timing problem that could explain Jeff Francis' recent shoulder problems. Ryan Madson Ryan Madson Finally, while I need to find some good video to confirm this, I wonder if Ryan Madson's rather strange arm angles, and in particular the negative adduction of his PAS elbow, are caused by a similar problem. In the picture above, his PAS forearm is only just passing through the high-cocked position but his GS elbow has already pulled back and adducted significantly. *2/11/2009* *Growing Acceptance* While people are constantly pounding on me and my ideas, and trying to make the case that Mark Prior's pitching mechanics have nothing to do with his problems, I am finding that more and more people are putting forth ideas that are thinly-veiled derivatives of my ideas. Dick Mills has spent some time lately talking about the the relationship between arm action flaws and injury rates. First, he suggests that BJ Ryan's problems are related to his arm action , among other things. Second, he seems to understand that the Inverted V is problematic . Good for him. At least people are starting to believe that there is a relationship between pitching mechanics and injuries. *2/3/2009* *Stephen Strasburg Analysis* Stephen Strasburg's name has popped up at the top of a number of lists of draft prospects. As a result, I just did an analysis of the pitching mechanics of Stephen Strasburg . I'm not thrilled by what I see. The Pitching Mechanic - January 2009 about | contact | copyright | sitemap | liability policy