When I work with pitchers there are two things I try to never let happen:
1) I never allow pitchers to reach fatigue.
2) I never allow pitchers to become overly frustrated.
Pitchers generally reach fatigue when they have thrown 30 pitches in a row. Since I love to see pitchers get out of an inning in around 15 pitches, I usually work in sets of 15 in the bullpen. This allows them to get a feel for an economical inning and keeps the bullpen fresh.
If a pitch isn't working on a given day and we have tried a few items on our checklists to no avail, I'll usually take the pitcher off the mound and do some work in the outfield. This removes him from the mound, gives him a different environment, and allows us to work on flat ground. This tends to divert their attention from a troublesome pitch and will often times fix the problem. Then we can go back to the mound with confidence.
danny@arizonapitching.com
www.arizonapitching.com
Friday, April 11, 2008
