Cubs vs Marlins

[Soxplosion]

It sure looks like thats what its gonna be. Series of the underdogs. But I like the Fins so if they play the Cubs Ill be rootin for them hardcore...

[HighHeat45]

sure the cubs have a one game lead over the atlanta, but the cubs have the almighty JUAN CRUZ pitching in game 4, i dont think he stands much of a chance, but who knows?

[Soxfest]

Cubs have been up 2-1 in series and lost before :fthecubs

[CubKilla]

sure the cubs have a one game lead over the atlanta, but the cubs have the almighty JUAN CRUZ pitching in game 4, i dont think he stands much of a chance, but who knows?

What did I miss? I thought Clement was starting Game 4?

[Soxplosion]

I hate the Cubs so I wouldnt have any problem with them starting Cruz in game four but if they start him over Clement theyre f***in idiots...

[HighHeat45]

What did I miss? I thought Clement was starting Game 4?

i heard cruz somewhere but clement would be a much smarter person to start.

[DBAHO]

Man da Cubs r really lookin dangerous with Prior and Wood pitching da way they r. I think Prior's da best starter in the league now. If u were building an expansion team I'd think he'd be they guy u'd pick 1st. He's only 23, throws complete games, and those fastballs of his r nasty, and he mixes in his curve well as well. The Braves looke bamboozled against him tonite.

[Soxplosion]

Bamboozled? Been watchin too much "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" lately, havent you?

[BridgeportHeather]

i heard cruz somewhere but clement would be a much smarter person to start.

I don't even think Cruz made the playoff roster.

[HighHeat45]

I don't even think Cruz made the playoff roster.

He did, Estes didnt though.

 

Cubs Roster

[witesoxfan]

I don't think Prior is the best pitcher in the league....I goddamn know he's the best pitcher in the league. When everything is considered, no one is greater then Prior.

[YASNY]

Everything I've seen has pointed to Clement as the game 4 starter.

 

The Cubs will go as far as Wood and Prior can carry them. And, that is scary to us Sox fans.

[southsider2k5]

Clement is starting game 4, I don't where anyone got Cruz?

[Bighurt52235]

Look at Dontrelle Willis. His third hit, a triple, just now. This guy is great.

[Chisoxrd5]

I don't think Prior is the best pitcher in the league....I goddamn know he's the best pitcher in the league.  When everything is considered, no one is greater then Prior.

YUPPP...Prior is the man!!!! Hes a Horse with great mechanics, an out of this world fastball, a plus breaking ball, and can locate as well as anyone!!! DARN CUBS!!!!!! But at least we can laugh at the twins for not taking him b/c if they did we probably would have lost the division by 10 games...

[southsider2k5]

YUPPP...Prior is the man!!!! Hes a Horse with great mechanics, an out of this world fastball, a plus breaking ball, and can locate as well as anyone!!! DARN CUBS!!!!!! But at least we can laugh at the twins for not taking him b/c if they did we probably would have lost the division by 10 games...

To anyone who is interested. Friday's Trib had an awesome article on the mechanics of Priors motion. Very interesting for anyone who is interested in that side of the game.

[Chisoxrd5]

To anyone who is interested.  Friday's Trib had an awesome article on the mechanics of Priors motion.  Very interesting for anyone who is interested in that side of the game.

Well thankyou Southside I shall most certainly and definitely check it Out...

 

[southsider2k5]

perfect pitching motion in baseball is a sight of beauty and terror, starting with a ballerina-like kick and ending with a punch thrown at 100 m.p.h.

 

It is also a showcase of physics, hinging on the elaborate yet swift transfer of energy from a thrower's legs to fingertips. And physics is the discipline used by a growing alliance of coaches and scientists who are combining computer analysis, high-speed video and real-world experience in a quest to quantify perfection and train a new generation of hyper-efficient hurlers.

 

Two of the most exhaustively analyzed and emulated pitchers will meet at Wrigley Field on Friday, when the Cubs' Mark Prior is scheduled to face Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series.

 

Experts say the two pitchers have different styles but a common grace of delivery that sets them apart from even the best of their peers. Prior, 23, is one of the first big-league pitchers whose technique was significantly shaped in a laboratory, where he has worked for years with biomechanics guru Tom House to hone a pitching motion that many more experienced players can't hope to match.

 

"For the first time in the history of baseball, the medical profession, the exercise-science profession and the coaching profession are all starting to get on the same page," said House, who also has coached pitching legends Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. "Mark Prior is the poster child for what's going on."

 

No two pitchers perform alike, but studies suggest that the greatest ones have remarkable balance at each point in their delivery, directing their throwing energy in what researchers call a "kinetic chain." Every step is perfectly timed, from the kick at the beginning of the motion to the turning of the torso just before release of the ball, adding power that the human arm could not produce on its own.

 

"It's a sequence of body motions where if any part of that chain is broken, the whole pitch is affected," said Arnel Aguinaldo, who has studied Prior in his lab at the center for human performance at Children's Hospital of San Diego. "The trunk is really where a lot of the pitch's power comes from."

 

Aguinaldo's center has begun offering biomechanical analysis to Little League pitchers whose parents don't want them to wear out their arms before they reach their potential. For $400, the pitchers can get a full video analysis, complete with a comparison of how they stack up to the clinic's model pitcher--Mark Prior.

 

House has meticulously studied videos of pitchers filmed at 700 frames per second, looking for any extra movement, such as a jerk of the head, that might reduce the energy imparted to the ball. Like many of the best pitchers, Prior and Maddux move their heads on a perfectly straight line toward home plate as they pitch--an ability that amazes even House.

 

"Mark's head moves on a tightrope from the moment he lifts his leg," House said. "It doesn't go right to left or up and down--it only goes forward. Every bit of his energy is going right toward the catcher's glove."

 

Parts of the delivery are literally impossible to change or refine, being tied to each pitcher's personal body blueprint. The maximum speed a pitcher can reach depends on how fast his forearm can snap the ball loose--a product of genetics and basic muscle composition.

 

That final whip of a pitcher's arm is the fastest human movement that sports researchers have ever measured, said Glenn Fleisig, research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Alabama. A tennis serve can be faster than a pitch only because the racket acts as an extension of the arm, with the greatest speeds toward the end of the racket. A tennis player's arm speed is actually less than a pitcher's.

 

"If you could maintain a pitcher's speed of arm rotation for one full second, your arm would make a full rotation 22 times in that second," Fleisig said. "It's something that happens so fast you can't coach it, you can't teach it. But there are a lot of steps that lead up to that amazing moment."

 

Although many of the fastest pitchers today are tall--Prior and flame-throwing teammates Kerry Wood and Kyle Farnsworth are 6-4 or taller--experts said no single body form is best suited to fast or efficient pitching.

 

Extremely tall pitchers like 6-foot-10 Randy Johnson have an advantage because their release point is closer to the plate, giving the batter less time to react. But some of the fastest pitchers, like "Smokey" Joe Wood of the early 20th Century Boston Red Sox and Billy Wagner of the present-day Houston Astros, have stood under 6 feet.

 

Plenty of pitchers can throw fast. The key to a long career and accuracy is an efficient, effortless motion that reduces the incredible strains on the arm.

 

What sets the chain in motion is the initial leg kick, which builds up potential energy that can then be released. One of the highest kicks belonged to Nolan Ryan, arguably the fastest pitcher of all time, who could lift his left leg up to his nose while maintaining a balanced delivery. The weight of his falling leg provided energy for the pitch.

 

House says Ryan once told him: "I throw harder when I lift my leg higher. Go put that in your computer!"

 

Prior and Maddux share what some pitching analysts consider a key point of mechanical prowess: They both rotate their upper body toward home plate extremely late in the pitch.

 

Pitchers who face home plate earlier in the pitch lose the energy from their torso movement, making the pitching arm do more of the work. By rotating their upper bodies just before the arm whips the ball forward, pitchers can more fully exploit the energy building from their legs and torso, reducing the wear on their arms. House said Prior and Maddux have two of the latest trunk rotations of the pitchers he's studied.

 

"The way [Prior] times his trunk rotation is perfect, basically," said Aguinaldo of Children's Hospital. "His motion is so fluid it doesn't look like he's throwing very hard."

 

Although Maddux's pitches are relatively slow by big-league standards, many batters say he is "sneaky fast," with pitches that are difficult to pick up early. House chalks up some of that effect to Maddux's effortless motion and late torso movement, which give no clue about the speed of the pitch that's coming. Putting less stress on the arm also increases accuracy--another Maddux trademark.

 

"That unwinding of the pitch happens very late with Prior--as it does with Maddux and Pedro Martinez, as it did with Nolan Ryan and all the great pitchers," House said.

 

For all the advances in understanding the biomechanics of pitches, biologists still have little understanding of how the full system of muscles, bones and tendons interacts to create a blazing fast pitch, said Robert Full, a professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkeley.

 

"Nobody at this point can really model the whole system," Full said. "That's how complicated it is."

 

That may be one reason why some pitchers and their coaches prefer to stick with the low-tech approaches that have produced success over time. One such practitioner is Leo Mazzone, longtime pitching coach of the Braves, who has written that when all else fails he tells his pitchers to get into position for a pitch as if they were about to throw a punch.

 

"Pitchers at all levels have a pretty good idea of how to throw a punch," Mazzone wrote.

[Chisoxrd5]

Good Stuff...Thanks for making it even easier, i didnt have to go ALL THE WAY to CHICAGOSPORTS.COM!!! LOL

[CubKilla]

perfect pitching motion in baseball is a sight of beauty and terror, starting with a ballerina-like kick and ending with a punch thrown at 100 m.p.h.

 

It is also a showcase of physics, hinging on the elaborate yet swift transfer of energy from a thrower's legs to fingertips. And physics is the discipline used by a growing alliance of coaches and scientists who are combining computer analysis, high-speed video and real-world experience in a quest to quantify perfection and train a new generation of hyper-efficient hurlers.

 

Two of the most exhaustively analyzed and emulated pitchers will meet at Wrigley Field on Friday, when the Cubs' Mark Prior is scheduled to face Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series.

 

Experts say the two pitchers have different styles but a common grace of delivery that sets them apart from even the best of their peers. Prior, 23, is one of the first big-league pitchers whose technique was significantly shaped in a laboratory, where he has worked for years with biomechanics guru Tom House to hone a pitching motion that many more experienced players can't hope to match.

 

"For the first time in the history of baseball, the medical profession, the exercise-science profession and the coaching profession are all starting to get on the same page," said House, who also has coached pitching legends Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. "Mark Prior is the poster child for what's going on."

 

No two pitchers perform alike, but studies suggest that the greatest ones have remarkable balance at each point in their delivery, directing their throwing energy in what researchers call a "kinetic chain." Every step is perfectly timed, from the kick at the beginning of the motion to the turning of the torso just before release of the ball, adding power that the human arm could not produce on its own.

 

"It's a sequence of body motions where if any part of that chain is broken, the whole pitch is affected," said Arnel Aguinaldo, who has studied Prior in his lab at the center for human performance at Children's Hospital of San Diego. "The trunk is really where a lot of the pitch's power comes from."

 

Aguinaldo's center has begun offering biomechanical analysis to Little League pitchers whose parents don't want them to wear out their arms before they reach their potential. For $400, the pitchers can get a full video analysis, complete with a comparison of how they stack up to the clinic's model pitcher--Mark Prior.

 

House has meticulously studied videos of pitchers filmed at 700 frames per second, looking for any extra movement, such as a jerk of the head, that might reduce the energy imparted to the ball. Like many of the best pitchers, Prior and Maddux move their heads on a perfectly straight line toward home plate as they pitch--an ability that amazes even House.

 

"Mark's head moves on a tightrope from the moment he lifts his leg," House said. "It doesn't go right to left or up and down--it only goes forward. Every bit of his energy is going right toward the catcher's glove."

 

Parts of the delivery are literally impossible to change or refine, being tied to each pitcher's personal body blueprint. The maximum speed a pitcher can reach depends on how fast his forearm can snap the ball loose--a product of genetics and basic muscle composition.

 

That final whip of a pitcher's arm is the fastest human movement that sports researchers have ever measured, said Glenn Fleisig, research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Alabama. A tennis serve can be faster than a pitch only because the racket acts as an extension of the arm, with the greatest speeds toward the end of the racket. A tennis player's arm speed is actually less than a pitcher's.

 

"If you could maintain a pitcher's speed of arm rotation for one full second, your arm would make a full rotation 22 times in that second," Fleisig said. "It's something that happens so fast you can't coach it, you can't teach it. But there are a lot of steps that lead up to that amazing moment."

 

Although many of the fastest pitchers today are tall--Prior and flame-throwing teammates Kerry Wood and Kyle Farnsworth are 6-4 or taller--experts said no single body form is best suited to fast or efficient pitching.

 

Extremely tall pitchers like 6-foot-10 Randy Johnson have an advantage because their release point is closer to the plate, giving the batter less time to react. But some of the fastest pitchers, like "Smokey" Joe Wood of the early 20th Century Boston Red Sox and Billy Wagner of the present-day Houston Astros, have stood under 6 feet.

 

Plenty of pitchers can throw fast. The key to a long career and accuracy is an efficient, effortless motion that reduces the incredible strains on the arm.

 

What sets the chain in motion is the initial leg kick, which builds up potential energy that can then be released. One of the highest kicks belonged to Nolan Ryan, arguably the fastest pitcher of all time, who could lift his left leg up to his nose while maintaining a balanced delivery. The weight of his falling leg provided energy for the pitch.

 

House says Ryan once told him: "I throw harder when I lift my leg higher. Go put that in your computer!"

 

Prior and Maddux share what some pitching analysts consider a key point of mechanical prowess: They both rotate their upper body toward home plate extremely late in the pitch.

 

Pitchers who face home plate earlier in the pitch lose the energy from their torso movement, making the pitching arm do more of the work. By rotating their upper bodies just before the arm whips the ball forward, pitchers can more fully exploit the energy building from their legs and torso, reducing the wear on their arms. House said Prior and Maddux have two of the latest trunk rotations of the pitchers he's studied.

 

"The way [Prior] times his trunk rotation is perfect, basically," said Aguinaldo of Children's Hospital. "His motion is so fluid it doesn't look like he's throwing very hard."

 

Although Maddux's pitches are relatively slow by big-league standards, many batters say he is "sneaky fast," with pitches that are difficult to pick up early. House chalks up some of that effect to Maddux's effortless motion and late torso movement, which give no clue about the speed of the pitch that's coming. Putting less stress on the arm also increases accuracy--another Maddux trademark.

 

"That unwinding of the pitch happens very late with Prior--as it does with Maddux and Pedro Martinez, as it did with Nolan Ryan and all the great pitchers," House said.

 

For all the advances in understanding the biomechanics of pitches, biologists still have little understanding of how the full system of muscles, bones and tendons interacts to create a blazing fast pitch, said Robert Full, a professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkeley.

 

"Nobody at this point can really model the whole system," Full said. "That's how complicated it is."

 

That may be one reason why some pitchers and their coaches prefer to stick with the low-tech approaches that have produced success over time. One such practitioner is Leo Mazzone, longtime pitching coach of the Braves, who has written that when all else fails he tells his pitchers to get into position for a pitch as if they were about to throw a punch.

 

"Pitchers at all levels have a pretty good idea of how to throw a punch," Mazzone wrote.

What will they write about next? How Prior went to a wedding and changed the water into wine and fed the guests by turning loaves of bread into fishes? :puke

[The Critic]

What will they write about next? How Prior went to a wedding and changed the water into wine and fed the guests by turning loaves of bread into fishes? :puke

...and he heals crippled children with a laying of hands...

 

"The key to Prior's laying of hands is the fact that he turns his wrist VERY LATE in the delivery, therefore ensuring maximum healing powers upon contact. Kerry Wood has inconsistent healing mechanics which lead to the children he heals sometimes walking with a limp or a cane, but Prior's even and consistent healing release point guarantees complete use and mobility of the limbs for the children he treats."

 

[SoxFanForever]

...and he heals crippled children with a laying of hands...

 

"The key to Prior's laying of hands is the fact that he turns his wrist VERY LATE in the delivery, therefore ensuring maximum healing powers upon contact. Kerry Wood has inconsistent healing mechanics which lead to the children he heals sometimes walking with a limp or a cane, but Prior's even and consistent healing release point guarantees complete use and mobility of the limbs for the children he treats."

 

Rofl, nice Critic. Im laughing my ass off here.