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Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
Ok .. Another one inspired by the Pomeranz thread.

What exactly happens when a team does the required physical exam in order to complete a trade?

One assumes the other team will have sent over all medical documentation .. Scans, X-rays, MRIs , blood tests etc.

So the physical consists of your team doctors reviewing this stuff plus a simple physical exam you'd get at any doctors? I can't imagine they would do any fresh tests, scans or X-rays or MRIs at this stage?
 

cjdmadcow

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Jul 16, 2005
1,477
St Albans, UK
Never having played a single game of baseball in my life I'd be interested in another aspect of being left-handed - playing the infield. I played cricket at a decent level, was a better than average fielder so had good hand-eye coordination plus I had what I considered an advantage in that I bat right-handed but throw / bowl / pitch left-handed.

Having watched baseball now for a good number of years I have often pictured myself playing the game but have really struggled to think what position I could play in the infield as a left-handed thrower, so I would welcome more experienced suggestions as to where I could play (hypothetically, of course).

Is it actually feasible for a LH thrower to play any other position on the infield outside of 1B? 3B, possibly but that would require the field to take a lot of balls on the back-hand which I would guess slows down the throw over to 1B?

Are there any examples of top-quality LH throwing SS or 2B's? What about catchers?

The article linked below is 7 years old now so I was wondering if anyone could update this information?

http://www.hardballtimes.com/bats-right-throws-left-the-best-players-in-major-league-history/
 

soxfan121

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Dec 22, 2002
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Is it actually feasible for a LH thrower to play any other position on the infield outside of 1B?
No. Every throw would be much more difficult to execute. No one has done it as more than a novelty since the late 1800s.

EDIT: Go shag some flyballs. You're an outfielder, mate.
 

Idabomb333

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Feb 5, 2007
202
Is there a relatively precise way to describe how many more doubles Papi would have if he had average speed this year? Maybe using HitFx?
 

glasspusher

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Jul 20, 2005
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Oakland California
No. Every throw would be much more difficult to execute. No one has done it as more than a novelty since the late 1800s.

EDIT: Go shag some flyballs. You're an outfielder, mate.
I played recreational league hardball in my early 20s (go ahead and laugh) and we had a left handed catcher who would pick guys off of first with a killer throw. I think a lefty could make it as a catcher in the bigs. Way more left handed hitters, negating the "better for a righty throwing catcher"

YMMV.
 

dhappy42

Straw Man
Oct 27, 2013
15,725
Michigan
I played recreational league hardball in my early 20s (go ahead and laugh) and we had a left handed catcher who would pick guys off of first with a killer throw. I think a lefty could make it as a catcher in the bigs. Way more left handed hitters, negating the "better for a righty throwing catcher"

YMMV.
I never totally understood the prohibition against left-handed catchers. Fielding bunts, the the throw to 1st is be easier. Pickoffs at first easier too, but throwing down to third, harder. Neither of those happen a lot, but I'd guess throws to first a little more often, so advantage lefty. It's all about the throw down to 2nd base. About 25% of hitters bat left. So are right-handed catchers less successful throwing out runners when left-batting hitters are up? Should be a relatively easy stat to determine. If not, or if the effect is small, then why not lefty catchers?
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
53,844
Saw this online:

Distefano himself offered the most salient point against left-handed catching I've ever seen: The left-handed catcher is often hung out to dry on plays to the plate, as he would be required to field throws from the outfield with a backhand, thus making a sweeping tag from in front of the plate impossible. The only way for the left-handed catcher to position himself over home plate would be in the direct path of the slide, practically asking for a play we've seen destroy catchers' ankles recently, most notably Buster Posey's in 2011.
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/44139204/milwaukee-could-use-a-left-handed-catcher-would-be-first-baseball-team-to-do-so-since-1989----why-are-left-handed-catchers-so-rare
 

glasspusher

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If you have a LH-throwing catcher who can put out a base runner stealing second, his arm is strong enough that you should make a pitcher out of him.
I'm pretty sure the sox had a guy like than around 1915- he ended up becoming an outfielder before the bigs because left handed throwing catchers were not considered an option. His arm got better in the outfield and he made it to the bigs as a pitcher, but ultimately went back to playing the outfield because his bat was so good. I think he ended up going to the Yankees.
 

Skiponzo

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As one case in point. I have managed LL teams for a number of years. For the last 3 years I've had a kid on my team (let's call him Aidan since that's his name). He is a good player overall but really LOVES to catch. Controls the game well, has a big arm, thick legs , etc. He's a catcher and a good one....except he's lefty. WTH I say. It's LL right? I'm gonna play him at catcher, in the infield etc.

Well now he is of the age where travel ball comes into play. He's playing on a team with my son and because of his arm he's being directed toward the mound and will not be catching at all. This is just one small point in the baseball universe but it's my bet that there are many kids like Aidan who could potentially catch but are moved to other positions at an early age.
 

chrisfont9

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So does Rusney Castillo have any hope of re-entering the team's plans at some point? He's been on base a ton lately and there are quotes out there about a change in approach. On the other hand, he's off the 40-man and Benintendi is up. At most, I can seem him taking Brentz's 40-man spot and hanging around in September for ABs against lefties? If they really are ready to anoint AB the full-time guy, they would at least do well to increase Rusney's hypothetically no-longer-nonexistent trade value.
 

Bowlerman9

bitchslapped by Keith Law
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So does Rusney Castillo have any hope of re-entering the team's plans at some point? He's been on base a ton lately and there are quotes out there about a change in approach. On the other hand, he's off the 40-man and Benintendi is up. At most, I can seem him taking Brentz's 40-man spot and hanging around in September for ABs against lefties? If they really are ready to anoint AB the full-time guy, they would at least do well to increase Rusney's hypothetically no-longer-nonexistent trade value.
They will save more money from luxury tax payments by keeping him off the 40 man roster than they would most likely save by trading him and eating most of his contract. I don't think there's any chance you see him this September.
 

simplicio

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Apr 11, 2012
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They will save more money from luxury tax payments by keeping him off the 40 man roster than they would most likely save by trading him and eating most of his contract. I don't think there's any chance you see him this September.
Yeah, if he becomes good enough to force his way back Boston given the current starters and Chris Young's eventual return, he's probably more valuable as a trade chip for pitching prospects or relievers.
 
Dec 21, 2015
1,410
If you have a LH-throwing catcher who can put out a base runner stealing second, his arm is strong enough that you should make a pitcher out of him.
What? It's the same distance to 2B from a catcher's left arm as it is from a catcher's right arm. How is this not equally true of RH catchers?

This smells like old-timey baseball BS, much like how all starting pitchers need to be at least 6'3" 230 lbs in order to have "the body to survive the strains of the bigs", or that taking a walk was unmanly.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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What? It's the same distance to 2B from a catcher's left arm as it is from a catcher's right arm. How is this not equally true of RH catchers?

This smells like old-timey baseball BS, much like how all starting pitchers need to be at least 6'3" 230 lbs in order to have "the body to survive the strains of the bigs", or that taking a walk was unmanly.
I suspect the real answer (going back decades) is... who makes a LH catcher's mitt and why are paying that money for something that may not get used?! Leftys just don't get a chance at a young age.
 

dhappy42

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Oct 27, 2013
15,725
Michigan
I suspect the real answer (going back decades) is... who makes a LH catcher's mitt and why are paying that money for something that may not get used?! Leftys just don't get a chance at a young age.
There are plenty of LH catcher's mitts on the market today. It used to be, when I was a kid, that teams provided catchers' gear, including gloves, and teams only had RH mitts, so young lefties rarely caught. The main reason is throwing down to 2nd with a RH batter in the way and the awkward throwing angle to 3B.
 

dhappy42

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Oct 27, 2013
15,725
Michigan
Are we disagreeing?
Dunno. I thought you said one reason for no LH catchers was no one makes LH mitts. They do. You can go to almost any sporting goods store or online glove seller and find LH catchers' mitts.

But on young teams, where catchers' gear is often provided by the team, there's usually one mitt, for a righty. So young lefties don't get to catch unless they have their own mitt and parents of lefties aren't likely to buy them one because few, if any coaches, want lefties to catch.
 
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FinanceAdvice

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Apr 1, 2008
167
Albany, NY
Just read on Top 30 Prospects that Jason Groome is ranked 4th saying he has all the tools to be an ace. The article (Redsox.com) said he has the talent to become the best drafted and best developed pitcher since Roger Clemens. Is that not a tad far fetched? The kid is 17 and has not pitched yet.
 

chrisfont9

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Just read on Top 30 Prospects that Jason Groome is ranked 4th saying he has all the tools to be an ace. The article (Redsox.com) said he has the talent to become the best drafted and best developed pitcher since Roger Clemens. Is that not a tad far fetched? The kid is 17 and has not pitched yet.
No, it's based on stuff, scouting at high level competition, body type, mechanics, and other things that make him relatively easy to project. If that's a quote, it's just a comment on his present ability, not a guarantee that it'll all work out. Also I think if you write talent evaluations, you probably start just thinking it's always implicit that a kid could fizzle out for a thousand reasons, so you don't keep repeating that part every time.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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What? It's the same distance to 2B from a catcher's left arm as it is from a catcher's right arm. How is this not equally true of RH catchers?

This smells like old-timey baseball BS, much like how all starting pitchers need to be at least 6'3" 230 lbs in order to have "the body to survive the strains of the bigs", or that taking a walk was unmanly.
I didn't think I'd have to refer to supply and demand, but there, now it's explicit.
 
Dec 21, 2015
1,410
That would win you huge snark points, if the only thing that determined whether someone would make a good pitcher is whether he has a big enough arm to throw out runners at 2B.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Yeah, most explanations for why there are no lefty infielders (other than 1B) or catchers tend to focus on throwing, but tagging is also a big part of it. If we ran bases clockwise, it would be much different, but fielders at second, third and home almost always have runners coming from the left, and so a lefty has to reach across his body to apply a tag, while a righty already has the glove on the runner's side of the base. Think about what it looks like when a shortstop or second baseman tries to apply a tag to a runner going back to second base from the third base side. It's cumbersome. For a lefty fielder or catcher, nearly every play would look just like that. At first base, the vast majority of tag attempts are on runners coming back to the bag, so lefty 1Bs actually have some advantage.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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Mar 11, 2008
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Yeah, if he becomes good enough to force his way back Boston given the current starters and Chris Young's eventual return, he's probably more valuable as a trade chip for pitching prospects or relievers.
The only way for him to build that kind of value is to play in the majors and barring something terrible happening, he's not getting that chance in Boston. No one is taking the chance on finding out if a good run in AAA will translate to major league success.
 

FinanceAdvice

New Member
Apr 1, 2008
167
Albany, NY
No, it's based on stuff, scouting at high level competition, body type, mechanics, and other things that make him relatively easy to project. If that's a quote, it's just a comment on his present ability, not a guarantee that it'll all work out. Also I think if you write talent evaluations, you probably start just thinking it's always implicit that a kid could fizzle out for a thousand reasons, so you don't keep repeating that part every time.
Glad you think its not far fetched as I believe the Red Sox need to improve their pitching development especially with the loss of Anderson Espinoza and the current roster of the like of Owens (not just today) and Johnson.
 

dhappy42

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Oct 27, 2013
15,725
Michigan
In 1968, when runs-per-game fell to 3.4 per game, the MLB reduced the height of the pitching mound from 15" to 10" to increase offensive production. In 1969, runs-per-game increased to 4.1. This season, so far, teams are scoring an average 4.5 runs per game, but there's still talk about how to increase scoring.

With more and more pitchers throwing 95 mph-plus, has increasing the distance from the pitching rubber, now 60' 6", to home plate ever been proposed? Or is the 60'6" distance sacrosanct?

Note: the midway point between home plate and second base is 63' 7.5".
 

dhappy42

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Oct 27, 2013
15,725
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PitchF/X and the various pitch tracking systems used by TV networks show a static box representing the strike zone. However, the top and bottom of the strike zone change according to batters' physiques and stances. (Top of the strike zone is the midpoint between the batter's shoulder and the belt line. Bottom is the bottom of the knee cap.) How does this discrepancy affect PitchF/X data, if at all?
 

iayork

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Apr 6, 2006
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How does this discrepancy affect PitchF/X data, if at all?
It's complicated.

PITCHf/x data come with a per-batter top and bottom of the strike zone indicated ("sz_bot" and "sz_top"). These are supposed to be manually added as the batter goes into his crouch, with a PITCHf/x operator marking lines at the appropriate spot on the batter. So, in theory, each pitch should have its own data that show where the top and bottom of the strike zone was for that particular pitch.

Unfortunately, theory and reality collide pretty hard on this, to the point that I (and I think everyone who looks at PITCHf/x data) mostly ignore the sz_bot and sz_top columns. For one thing, many of the measurements are ludicrous. For example, in the 2015 PITCHf/x database, I see "sz_bot" measurements -- theoretically the bottom of a batter's strike zone in feet -- that range from 2.43 down to 0.09 (ignoring the large number that are given as "0"). If you can show me a batter whose kneecaps are two and a half feet high, I will give you a nice shiny nickel. For other batters, PITCHf/x assures me that the bottom of this guy's strike zone is 1.66 feet and the top is 5.61 feet high, and that guy ranges from 1.7 feet to 4.58 feet. Because of these obviously crazy values, I have no faith in the other values, even though the great majority do seem more reasonable.

But on the other hand (and I haven't looked at this for a while, but I did play with it a year or two ago), the other PITCHf/x data strongly suggest that umpires don't pay as much attention as you'd think to a batter-specific strike zone, but have a sort of Platonic ideal of a strike zone that they only slightly adjust for outlier batters. Pedroia doesn't get the same strike zone as Ortiz, but there's not nearly as much difference between them as there should be based purely on their height.

I don't know where ESPN and so on get their on-screen strike zone from, but I suspect it's not just from PITCHf/x (because it never shows the wildly silly numbers that PITCHf/x sometimes has), and I strongly suspect that they just show a generic strike zone, and that's within an inch or so, at the top and bottom, of the zone that's called for almost every batter no matter their body shape. The TV zone is idealized anyway, since the sides are not actually square (though the called strike zone is now much closer to the rulebook zone than a few years ago -- it's become much closer to straight-sided and sharp-cornered than it used to be), so it no more than a helpful approximation to what the umpire is going to call.
 

InsideTheParker

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Jul 15, 2005
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Buchholz is pitching so much better than he was earlier in the year, and, if I understand correctly, he worked w/ Brian Bannister, looking at videos, and discovered that he had changed his arm angle. He has worked to get back his previous angle, and it is paying dividends. Now, all of us are very aware that his having "fixed" his problems earlier might have saved Anderson Espinosa for the Red Sox. My question is, how hard would it be for some entrepreneur to develop a program to look at struggling pitchers, examine their stances, arm angles, and other physical parameters., and compare differences between the times they were pitching well and not so well? This could also be done for batters. I am imagining a package of more than numbers, but schematics that demonstrate differences. If this has already been developed, can someone point me to it?
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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Nov 24, 2015
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Buchholz is pitching so much better than he was earlier in the year, and, if I understand correctly, he worked w/ Brian Bannister, looking at videos, and discovered that he had changed his arm angle. He has worked to get back his previous angle, and it is paying dividends. Now, all of us are very aware that his having "fixed" his problems earlier might have saved Anderson Espinosa for the Red Sox. My question is, how hard would it be for some entrepreneur to develop a program to look at struggling pitchers, examine their stances, arm angles, and other physical parameters., and compare differences between the times they were pitching well and not so well? This could also be done for batters. I am imagining a package of more than numbers, but schematics that demonstrate differences. If this has already been developed, can someone point me to it?
Are there any stats that track arm angle? I would think they might need to go to film, which would mean a lot of labor.

If release point is a reasonable proxy for arm angle (which I would think it is) and the pitchfx data isn't too messy in that respect (iayork?) I wouldn't think it would be too huge of a project. The code generally isn't the problem with these things - its getting good data.
 

Savin Hillbilly

loves the secret sauce
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Jul 10, 2007
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The wrong side of the bridge....
But on the other hand (and I haven't looked at this for a while, but I did play with it a year or two ago), the other PITCHf/x data strongly suggest that umpires don't pay as much attention as you'd think to a batter-specific strike zone, but have a sort of Platonic ideal of a strike zone that they only slightly adjust for outlier batters. Pedroia doesn't get the same strike zone as Ortiz, but there's not nearly as much difference between them as there should be based purely on their height.
That's fascinating, and I assume it's because umpires' crouch position is more or less constant from batter to batter--so they're getting a different perspective (literally) on Pedroia's strike zone than Papi's. I wonder if this is why Pedroia has always been so good at hitting high fastballs--because he's had to adapt to the fact that they're more likely to be called strikes on him than on most hitters?
 

helloooonewman

New Member
Jul 16, 2005
15
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Long time lurker here. I have a question for the stat heads. Is there a site that provides filters to determine Red Sox' ability to bring home runners from third base with nobody out relative to the rest of the league?
I am sure that it is simply my homerism showing but I swear that for the last decade I have been watching this team squander more runners at third base with nobody out than times when they were successfully driven home.
Tonight Pedroia came up with runners on second and third and nobody out and I said to my daughter that he is somehow going to hit into a double play... Success!
Where can I find info on how the Sox compare in these situations to other teams? Thanks in advance.
 

iayork

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Apr 6, 2006
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Long time lurker here. I have a question for the stat heads. Is there a site that provides filters to determine Red Sox' ability to bring home runners from third base with nobody out relative to the rest of the league?
50 lines of scripting on 1 cup of hotel-room coffee means I'm not confident this is right, but based on PITCHf/x I think Boston has had hits in 47% of runners-on-third-nobody-out situations, while the league average is 37%. Someone with Baseball-reference.com's Play Index might get a different answer.

Edit: Further contemplation and a shower, but no more coffee, suggests that the above is too generous (but is comparable for Boston and the rest of baseball), and that a better answer might be that with runners on 3rd, none out, the Sox have got a hit 19.7% of the time, while the rest of baseball have done so 9.7% of the time.

(Edit again: Meh, this still isn't right (it's probably per pitch rather than at-bat, because I think I forgot to group it) but I don't have time to do it properly. In any case, all the numbers I ran show the Sox as above league average for whatever it is I was measuring. PITCHf/x is just doing it the hard way.)

(PITCHf/x shows the out count for the end of an at-bat, which makes sense, but it means I have to include both 0-out and 1-out situations in the denominator, but only count hits in the 0-out scenario. Further coffee may change my mind on this. At any rate, any way I look at this the Sox are well ahead of the league average.)
 
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helloooonewman

New Member
Jul 16, 2005
15
Halifax, Nova Scotia
At any rate, any way I look at this the Sox are well ahead of the league average.)
In addition to hits what about sac flies and fielders choices that allow the runner to score? I guess I'm looking for runs in that situation anyway they can get them.

Interesting that the Red Sox are above average according to your findings. Makes me glad that I'm not cheering for other teams because the squanders send me into an unhealthy rage each time.
 

iayork

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639
In addition to hits what about sac flies and fielders choices that allow the runner to score? I guess I'm looking for runs in that situation anyway they can get them.
I looked at "in play, run(s)" with runners on third and various out counts. Sox are either league-average or higher every way I look.
 

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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Just catching up on this thread, and back to the no left handed throwing catchers thing if I may, I've seen most of the arguments against pointed out above. One other is that all pitchers for over a hundred years have thrown to the catcher's mitt on the catcher's left hand. If it were in the other hand, it could screw up pitchers' rhythm, or control, or something. I don't know, sounds contrived. A corollary might be left handed quarterbacks. The ball coming in to receivers spins the other way, which seems like it could be a big deal. Jerry Rice, for one, said he didn't care, he could catch Steve Young's passes as well as Joe Montana's, as long as they were on target, which they definitely were. Kenny Stabler, Boomer Esiason and a few others were successful also.
 

The Napkin

wise ass al kaprielian
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Jul 13, 2002
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right here
Are there any stats that track arm angle? I would think they might need to go to film, which would mean a lot of labor.

If release point is a reasonable proxy for arm angle (which I would think it is) and the pitchfx data isn't too messy in that respect (iayork?) I wouldn't think it would be too huge of a project. The code generally isn't the problem with these things - its getting good data.
They could sew 25* or so motion capture things into the jerseys on all the pitchers and capture data that way. Overlay them and see when there is a different pattern emerging and then work with them to get back to the "good" motion.



*number completely made up and I'm sure someone will come along ans tell me I'm an idiot and it would take 47.2 for righties and 42.6 for lefties even though it's irrelevant to the point.
 

jerry casale

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Jul 18, 2005
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OK, here goes,
I'm a lifelong Sox fan. I'm 70. I've been watching the team for 60 years. My father brought my to a game where I saw Ted and Vic Wertz go back to back. I was there when Conig got beaned and there for game 7 in 67 and 75. How many of you can say that?
I picked up SOSH in the mid 90s. (when you were good) I have read about 50% of what has been on here since then. Think about it.
In 2005 I was asked to join, even though I didn't care, but because it only meant creating a password, I did. I never had posting rights, but I didn't care.
Fast forward to three days ago. I was reading the Steven Wright thread and I saw at the end I could reply. I thought it just meant I was replying to the most recent post so I wrote a very innocent, mundane reply. It went to the main board!!! I have NO idea how after all these years.
Anyway, some asshole nicknamed Byrdbrain trashed my post, calling me a troll account and making fun of my nickname. Another poster member replied to my post with a very neutral remark. Byrdbrain jumped in AGAIN calling me a troll account and mocking my screen name.
You have to kidding me!!! I've watched more Sox games than this guy, I've been a member as long as he has, yada, yada and he hits on me twice!! I contacted him and he admits that he didn't even know Jerry Casale was a Red Sox pitcher. He thought I was a Devo band member!! Think about it!! Twice he trashed my post and he didn't even know who he was dealing with or what my screen name was all about. I really wonder if this guy hasn't got better things to do with his time? I know I do. This is the current state of SOSH.
I wrote a "dope" and was blown off. Now I know why you're called Byrdbrain and Dope.
YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF ELITIST SNOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go ahead, cancel my membership because you all can go and play with yourselves.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Hey Jerry, a belated welcome to Sosh and to the Internet. Kind of surprised that you've read 50% of Sosh postings and that you're surprised that comments here can result in insults or misunderstandings. Also surprised that you'd expect much of this crowd would know who Jerry Casale was. One day if you hang around I'll tell you about the poster who used the name of a short timer Sox utility infielder for his screen name and most folks thought he was just a fan of a former POTUS from Massachusetts.
 

Darnell's Son

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OK, here goes,
I'm a lifelong Sox fan. I'm 70. I've been watching the team for 60 years. My father brought my to a game where I saw Ted and Vic Wertz go back to back. I was there when Conig got beaned and there for game 7 in 67 and 75. How many of you can say that?
I picked up SOSH in the mid 90s. (when you were good) I have read about 50% of what has been on here since then. Think about it.
In 2005 I was asked to join, even though I didn't care, but because it only meant creating a password, I did. I never had posting rights, but I didn't care.
Fast forward to three days ago. I was reading the Steven Wright thread and I saw at the end I could reply. I thought it just meant I was replying to the most recent post so I wrote a very innocent, mundane reply. It went to the main board!!! I have NO idea how after all these years.
Anyway, some asshole nicknamed Byrdbrain trashed my post, calling me a troll account and making fun of my nickname. Another poster member replied to my post with a very neutral remark. Byrdbrain jumped in AGAIN calling me a troll account and mocking my screen name.
You have to kidding me!!! I've watched more Sox games than this guy, I've been a member as long as he has, yada, yada and he hits on me twice!! I contacted him and he admits that he didn't even know Jerry Casale was a Red Sox pitcher. He thought I was a Devo band member!! Think about it!! Twice he trashed my post and he didn't even know who he was dealing with or what my screen name was all about. I really wonder if this guy hasn't got better things to do with his time? I know I do. This is the current state of SOSH.
I wrote a "dope" and was blown off. Now I know why you're called Byrdbrain and Dope.
YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF ELITIST SNOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go ahead, cancel my membership because you all can go and play with yourselves.
Please direct all complaints about member behavior to @absintheofmalaise.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

has big, douchey shoulders
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OK, here goes,
I'm a lifelong Sox fan. I'm 70. I've been watching the team for 60 years. My father brought my to a game where I saw Ted and Vic Wertz go back to back. I was there when Conig got beaned and there for game 7 in 67 and 75. How many of you can say that?
I picked up SOSH in the mid 90s. (when you were good) I have read about 50% of what has been on here since then. Think about it.
In 2005 I was asked to join, even though I didn't care, but because it only meant creating a password, I did. I never had posting rights, but I didn't care.
Fast forward to three days ago. I was reading the Steven Wright thread and I saw at the end I could reply. I thought it just meant I was replying to the most recent post so I wrote a very innocent, mundane reply. It went to the main board!!! I have NO idea how after all these years.
Anyway, some asshole nicknamed Byrdbrain trashed my post, calling me a troll account and making fun of my nickname. Another poster member replied to my post with a very neutral remark. Byrdbrain jumped in AGAIN calling me a troll account and mocking my screen name.
You have to kidding me!!! I've watched more Sox games than this guy, I've been a member as long as he has, yada, yada and he hits on me twice!! I contacted him and he admits that he didn't even know Jerry Casale was a Red Sox pitcher. He thought I was a Devo band member!! Think about it!! Twice he trashed my post and he didn't even know who he was dealing with or what my screen name was all about. I really wonder if this guy hasn't got better things to do with his time? I know I do. This is the current state of SOSH.
I wrote a "dope" and was blown off. Now I know why you're called Byrdbrain and Dope.
YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF ELITIST SNOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go ahead, cancel my membership because you all can go and play with yourselves.
Wait, so what is your question?
 

Doooweeeey!

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,466
Baltimore via Brimfield
I hear a lot about the arm slot change, etc. that Brian Bannister identified for Clay Buchholz, and how it has turned his effectiveness around. Does anyone here with deeper knowledge have access to details? Would love to see a before/after kinda thing. Thanks!
 

absintheofmalaise

too many flowers
Dope
SoSH Member
Mar 16, 2005
23,335
The gran facenda
I hear a lot about the arm slot change, etc. that Brian Bannister identified for Clay Buchholz, and how it has turned his effectiveness around. Does anyone here with deeper knowledge have access to details? Would love to see a before/after kinda thing. Thanks!
In an article by either Britton or BMac, Buchholz said that he watched video from this season and from 2013 and noticed that his arm slot was lower. He talked to Bannister about it and he did some research and confirmed the drop. They worked together the get it back in the higher position. They also worked on him going to the stretch all of the time because Bannister saw there is something in his windup that's causing his arm to drop.