Well, the season didn't end as well as it could've, but at least it's over. Now I get to focus on all that schoolwork that I put off until now... It's going to be a fun couple of weeks here.
The season came down to 2 things: walks and catching. I walked too many people, and it came back to bite me. I think every batter I walked scored eventually. That's not a good ratio. I still ended up with a sub-4 ERA on the year, and hopefully I come back throwing harder next year. Catching, however, takes the cake as the greatest part of the season. I got to catch. I got to start at catcher. I got an at bat. Hell, I got up to the plate twice. Was I productive? Not at the plate. But behind the plate I was the team's best receiver (so modest) and threw out 2/4 runners. It was pretty great.
But the postseason is here, and it's time to say goodbye to all the times I spent mindlessly spitting seeds in the dugout. It's time to get to work, both physically and mentally. I have put my offseason weightlifting program into motion, and even though it's very basic I want to keep it up at least until I arrive at Palantir for the summer. It's pretty simple: hit every big body part once per week. Legs, arms, shoulders, chest, back, and abs. One day is dedicated to explosive movements like cleans. 7 workouts in 7 days. Perfect.
But schoolwork will be the death of me. I've put off most of my work until now, and I'm starting to feel the pressure. German will be German and I'll do fine. But for my other 3 classes, I'm going to have to hunker down in the library pretty much every day for a few hours and put in some serious work. It's a little worrying, but I'm sure it'll work out in the end. After all, I have all of 1.5 weeks to get all that studying done.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Throwing with Pain
Yes, the pain is back.
On the plus side, I'm playing in games. And I only gave up my first earned run of the year yesterday, so that's good. But the pain is starting to come back. It's not worrying yet, but my shoulder is starting to ache more and more quickly as I throw more and more. But, again, I'm playing in games and doing well, and I'm not at the point of worrying.
Florida was pretty great for me since I got 4 and 2/3 innings in eating innings that needed to be eaten. Yesterday I ate 3 innings that needed to be eaten. It looks like my job this year is going to be more as a long reliever. I'm hoping this means I'm in line for a starter position next year, and I figure if I keep doing well that will be the case. I should probably add some more velocity, but with the extra days off between sessions on the mound I think my arm problems will quickly be behind me. For now, though, it still isn't 100%.
On the plus side, I'm playing in games. And I only gave up my first earned run of the year yesterday, so that's good. But the pain is starting to come back. It's not worrying yet, but my shoulder is starting to ache more and more quickly as I throw more and more. But, again, I'm playing in games and doing well, and I'm not at the point of worrying.
Florida was pretty great for me since I got 4 and 2/3 innings in eating innings that needed to be eaten. Yesterday I ate 3 innings that needed to be eaten. It looks like my job this year is going to be more as a long reliever. I'm hoping this means I'm in line for a starter position next year, and I figure if I keep doing well that will be the case. I should probably add some more velocity, but with the extra days off between sessions on the mound I think my arm problems will quickly be behind me. For now, though, it still isn't 100%.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Throwing without Pain
Baseball practice has started, and with it another year of testing the levels of pain my right arm can take. Actually, it started 3 weeks ago, but I've basically had nonstop midterms since then.
The first week was pretty relaxed. So was the second week. But by that Saturday pitch day, I could feel it. All that work trying to relax my nerves and calm my shoulder were gone. I was back exactly where I was before: in quite a bit of pain.
But there was good news to go along with the pain, thankfully. I was throwing harder. I would even say much harder, but that's hard to quantify. Everything looks like it's zipping in there when you're the one throwing the ball. I was actually complimented by my coach (who rarely gives direct compliments) on how my motion had become more repeatable. I would like to thank all my time wasted on YouTube for that (but actually). My curveball was also significantly improved, with a much sharper bite to it. On the flip side of my revamped motion was the inconsistencies that came with it. I missed high with basically everything but my curveball, which I consistently spiked. Like really, really high. And I still don't throw hard enough to make batters bite on that pitch up out of the zone, so I was in a little bit of a pickle.
Fast forward to today. My arm hurt when I woke up. My shoulder ached when I moved it around. I was dreading practice, especially since it was bullpen day.
I got to practice, took a deep breath, and started warming up. Today I focused on pronating more after release. I had heard that it helps. I kept throwing. Backed up and threw a little harder. Backed up some more. On each throw I winced in anticipation of some pain. None. None at all. I threw my bullpen and only felt anything bad at the end of my session. No pain. I can't believe it. I can't comprehend what just happened. It has been 4 years since I threw without any pain or discomfort whatsoever. Today was close. I don't know if it was the pronation, the great sleep I got last night, or what. I just know that I loved it.
The first week was pretty relaxed. So was the second week. But by that Saturday pitch day, I could feel it. All that work trying to relax my nerves and calm my shoulder were gone. I was back exactly where I was before: in quite a bit of pain.
But there was good news to go along with the pain, thankfully. I was throwing harder. I would even say much harder, but that's hard to quantify. Everything looks like it's zipping in there when you're the one throwing the ball. I was actually complimented by my coach (who rarely gives direct compliments) on how my motion had become more repeatable. I would like to thank all my time wasted on YouTube for that (but actually). My curveball was also significantly improved, with a much sharper bite to it. On the flip side of my revamped motion was the inconsistencies that came with it. I missed high with basically everything but my curveball, which I consistently spiked. Like really, really high. And I still don't throw hard enough to make batters bite on that pitch up out of the zone, so I was in a little bit of a pickle.
Fast forward to today. My arm hurt when I woke up. My shoulder ached when I moved it around. I was dreading practice, especially since it was bullpen day.
I got to practice, took a deep breath, and started warming up. Today I focused on pronating more after release. I had heard that it helps. I kept throwing. Backed up and threw a little harder. Backed up some more. On each throw I winced in anticipation of some pain. None. None at all. I threw my bullpen and only felt anything bad at the end of my session. No pain. I can't believe it. I can't comprehend what just happened. It has been 4 years since I threw without any pain or discomfort whatsoever. Today was close. I don't know if it was the pronation, the great sleep I got last night, or what. I just know that I loved it.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Football Stats are Still in the Dark Ages
The NFL playoffs are here. In fact, they're halfway done. It's been a pretty good year for them so far, with many close games and well matched teams. The problem is that we know how Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning episode gajillion, and we will inevitably get into the argument over who was the better quarterback.
You'll see stats thrown around like crazy, you'll see the trolls on ESPN come out and yell and shout about "Brady can suck Peytons dick" or "Count dem rings, bitch", and I will go cry about how backwards football, its stats, their fans, and their "experts" are. Full disclosure, if it wasn't obvious before: I'm a baseball guy. I'm a hardcore baseball stats guy. I don't like it when people use stats that don't matter (except in fantasy. Fantasy I can survive). ESPN has even started reporting on WAR and FIP and other baseball stats that are genuinely smart instead of letting Joe Morgan give all his analysis on RBIs.
But football is baseball in the '90s. It is baseball with Joe Morgan announcing. It is the overvaluation of the trivial, luck-based occurrences and then giving credit to players for them.
The biggest thing in the Manning/Brady debate is postseason wins. Baseball abandoned wins long ago. They're a useless stat that tell you nothing about the player. They tell you about the team and your luck. Brady played with elite defenses. Manning played with bad defenses. Unless Manning is much better than Brady (in which case we wouldn't be having this argument), wins only tell you about the teams that Brady has played on.
I still think interceptions are a stupid stat. I think completion percentage is a stupid stat. If you make the perfect throw and it goes through your receivers hands and right into the chest of a defender, why do you get penalized on the stat sheet. Drops should not factor into the completion percentage. Hell, even deliberately throwing the ball away shouldn't have any effect. Completion percentage should be reserved for balls thrown with the intention of being catchable. Baseball figured out long ago that once the pitcher lets go of the ball, they lose control of it. Earned runs and unearned runs are separated. Football has not. Football believes that the quarterback is entirely at fault for whatever may happen to the ball after release.
There are many, many other "definitive" stats that frustrate me because they rely too much on luck: passing yards, yards after the catch, and tackles being just a few. Football will never have the statistical knowledge of baseball from the nature of the sport. The fact that the game isn't clearly divided into separate occurrences is the primary culprit. But it can do better than what it is. Much better.
You'll see stats thrown around like crazy, you'll see the trolls on ESPN come out and yell and shout about "Brady can suck Peytons dick" or "Count dem rings, bitch", and I will go cry about how backwards football, its stats, their fans, and their "experts" are. Full disclosure, if it wasn't obvious before: I'm a baseball guy. I'm a hardcore baseball stats guy. I don't like it when people use stats that don't matter (except in fantasy. Fantasy I can survive). ESPN has even started reporting on WAR and FIP and other baseball stats that are genuinely smart instead of letting Joe Morgan give all his analysis on RBIs.
But football is baseball in the '90s. It is baseball with Joe Morgan announcing. It is the overvaluation of the trivial, luck-based occurrences and then giving credit to players for them.
The biggest thing in the Manning/Brady debate is postseason wins. Baseball abandoned wins long ago. They're a useless stat that tell you nothing about the player. They tell you about the team and your luck. Brady played with elite defenses. Manning played with bad defenses. Unless Manning is much better than Brady (in which case we wouldn't be having this argument), wins only tell you about the teams that Brady has played on.
I still think interceptions are a stupid stat. I think completion percentage is a stupid stat. If you make the perfect throw and it goes through your receivers hands and right into the chest of a defender, why do you get penalized on the stat sheet. Drops should not factor into the completion percentage. Hell, even deliberately throwing the ball away shouldn't have any effect. Completion percentage should be reserved for balls thrown with the intention of being catchable. Baseball figured out long ago that once the pitcher lets go of the ball, they lose control of it. Earned runs and unearned runs are separated. Football has not. Football believes that the quarterback is entirely at fault for whatever may happen to the ball after release.
There are many, many other "definitive" stats that frustrate me because they rely too much on luck: passing yards, yards after the catch, and tackles being just a few. Football will never have the statistical knowledge of baseball from the nature of the sport. The fact that the game isn't clearly divided into separate occurrences is the primary culprit. But it can do better than what it is. Much better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)