Bumstead is nails

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by SabanFan, Apr 4, 2004.

  1. tirk

    tirk im the lyrical jessie james

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    actually i think weight training helps tremendously for pitchers. See Billy Wagner and his legs...yes i think its fine for their arms as well from what I have seen. Guys dont lose their flexibility as once believed....unless they are on the juice and have some abnormal size muscles for their frame and not too many pitchers have that. They need a solid base ... look at fat Bartolo Colon... very durable. Same with David Wells before his back problems. What about CC Sabbathia? lol

    i think pitchers who work out their upper bodies as well as lower with above average (lifting) weight do just fine. Its the smaller ones who seem to break down that don't throw everyday all day like we did when we were growing up...but i am not medical expert.
     
  2. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    I don't know how much size has to do with it but Pedro has to extend himself to the max on every fastball. I'm sure Clemens does to but he has more muscle mass than Pedro. Maybe thats one reason Clemens' career has been relatively injury free.
     
  3. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Getting back to pitch counts, a power pitcher is going to throw more pitches per 9 innings than a finese pitcher. Lets say Randy Johnson has a 1-1 count on a hitter. He either throws a ball and its 2-1 or he throws a swinging strike because the batter can't get wood on the pitch. He works the count to 3-2 and after a couple of foul balls he has thrown 6 or 7 pitches to that hitter. Greg Maddux has a 1-1 count on a batter and he throws a strike that results in a ground ball to the shortstop. He has gotten the same out that the Big Unit has gotten but he has done it with 3 pitches. A couple of years ago the Unit struck out 21 in a complete game 10 inning performance. His pitch count for that game was 125. He picked up the win in his next outing after being relieved in the 7th inning and got shelled in his next start. Maddux has pitched complete 9 inning games with a pitch count as low as 86. Both Johnson and Maddux are about the same age and both will be first ballot Hall of Famers 5 years after they retire. Maddux goes into this season needing to win 13 games to reach 300 wins. The Unit needs about 150 strikeouts to become only the 4th pitcher ever to reach 4000 strikeouts. I admire the abilities of both of them but it is more fun to watch the Big Unit.

    Johnson is even skinnier than Pedro Martinez but he achieves his velocity due to his 6'11" height and his long arms. Unlike Pedro he has never had a serious arm, shoulder or elbow injury. He was sidelined for much of last season due to a knee injury.
     
  4. cajdav1

    cajdav1 Soldiers are real hero's

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    Good job Bengal B

    I live in Atlanta and have followed Glavine and Maddux for years and get to read a lot of great articles on them. The Braves pitchers have always thrown more than any other pitchers in the league on the off days and haven'y had near as many arm problems as most teams. Smoltz has had some but he throws that damn forkball/splitter and I think that just may be the worse pitch a guy can throw, but of course I am just guessing. Last year they think his arm injuries were due in part to not using him enough, especially since the Braves went on a long roll where they were blowing teams out game after game.

    And Tirk I think the main reasons Clemons and Ryan were able to throw so long with that much velocity was due in part to their tremendous leg strength from working out as well as running 100's of sprints in the offseason. Their leg strength is the primary force used to generate that speed. Pedro uses more of a whipping motion and not as much leg strength IMO. Johnson is just a freak, he's tall but doesn't really use his stride to his advantage, watch him when he pitches. Most power pitchers just about scrape their rear knee on the ground they extend so far, Johnson doesn't even come close, he uses more of a catapult motion in a way. When he first came up they thought he could add about 5 miles per hour on his fastball and they tinkered with his delivery in the minors and his first few years in the majors before he went back ot his old style and started throwing strikes and therefore becoming a great pitcher.
     
  5. G_MAN113

    G_MAN113 Founding Member

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    With an ungodly amount of movement. I watched him up close warming up before a game in the bullpen in Tampa a few years ago. I don't think I've ever seen a baseball move like that...I can only imagine what the hitters are thinking.

    Don't laugh. We just about DID see that happen once, with the late Dave Draveckey. Dude's arm just snapped in mid pitch.
     

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