Jerry Weinstein

@ClintHurdle13 Just trying to have the ability to access both forks in the road.

@JWonCATCHING Good luck in changing the direction. There’s not enough of us.

SEMI RANT I have been reading INSIDE THE BOX by David Epstein. It’s about how constraints are not obstacles to creativity and performance—they are often the very conditions that produce them. In today’s game of baseball we have all kinds of data to help us develop players or at least to evaluate our processes because we are able to quantify the outcomes. Take pitchers & pitching coaches for example. Some become overly reliant on the data. If they don’t have their Trackman data, their Edgertronic videos & KineTrac graphs they are often at a loss in the development process. My suggestion is restrict( constrain) the use of all those aids during a % of the development process in order to force the coaches & players to become more creative. As a coach, be able to evaluate ball flight/shape by using your eyes. Same for the pitcher’s movement pattern(s). Same for pitchers but also more in touch with FEEL(Kinesthetic Awareness). You MIGHT come up with some training methodologies that you would not have when you just lean on the data. This is not a revolutionary concept & I think many of the best players & coaches follow this path. Obviously this applies to hitters as well. I’m not suggesting that all the tools we have are not valuable because I truly think they are. They reinforce what our eyes tell us & often tell us what we think we are seeing is not really accurate. In the strength field measurable data is invaluable. IMO there is a need for both to maximize the development process & provide for maximum transfer into the game. In the game you are making pitch by pitch adjustments without access to any data so why not make that a part of your preparation plan. Just a thought worthy of considering. The bottom line is to find the sweet spot/balance point in the process to produce the best version of the athlete most consistently.

The other night Patrick Bailey converted 5+ stri-balls into strikes. Here is an example of three high balls with 10% or lower strike %’s called strikes. 1) Still body. 2) Extension. 3) Let’s ball sit after catching it. 4) Karate chop glove angle.

Interesting graph/study from ⁦@KickDirtBB⁩. Note the LKD stance data for blocking & receiving.

Can any of the World Cup footballers match the grit of these guys? Puts things in perspective.

Knoxville Cubs Owen Ayers CS 1) Tough pitch which forces him to catch the pitch while still grounded. 2) ++ body control & athleticism. 3) Good direction/Very accurate throw. 3) POP TIME 1.91/TRANSFER .50/84 MPH

SANCHEZ PICKS VIERLING When you are on the move establishing your primary lead late verses a LHP, you are vulnerable to the left hander’s step back move. This is not a particularly quick or accurate pick & he is still easily out.

Interesting thought, but when you do that you are telling the pitcher that you are probably not running & he is free to put 100% of his focus on making the pitch. I know you can set him up move into the line or run from a deeper lead. Yes it becomes somewhat of a guessing game which is not all bad. Overall more is often less & we don’t want to complicate the process.

@Coach_KGraber One takeaway I have is that if you are not trying to steal 2nd, take a 25 deg angle on your lead so you can go 1st to third on a base hit. What do you think @JWonCATCHING ?

What does physics say about rounding bases? Mathematicians found the optimal path: angle 25° to the right out of the box and run a smooth curve. 6% faster than a perfect circle. And the fastest route is the same whether you're Billy Hamilton or your John Kruk.

From The Daily Coach Blog This doesn’t have to be verbal “rah rah” involvement, but you need to be totally engaged in the action. It’s a synergistic thing from a team perspective & it’s a learning opportunity for the individual player. If you do this you’ll “never make the same mistake once.”

Really good two knee PIVOT tag to reroute the runner on a close play at HP.

Really good defense of the 1st & 3rd situation in many respects. 1) Runner from 1B breaks on the ball in the dirt. 2) Catcher is athletic & quick. He blocks the ball & checks the runner before throwing to 2B. 3) In ensuing run down between 1B & 2B MIF has his head on a swivel.

An old Johnny Sain spin aid from 1963. Still valuable today to explain spin axis.

Rockies win one late with perfect bunt execution. 1) Jake McCarthy with early turn BHB to 3B out of his stance. 2) ++ speed & direction. 3) His back foot is on the line but not out of the box. 4) Giants pretty much do everything right & have no play at 1B.

Good take from Josh Rodrigues Substack FOUNDATIONS ON THE FIELD. He was analyzing the Washington Nationals.

We really miss Mike Leach’s wisdom.

Great thoughts from Terry Francona

Braves Drake Baldwin catches the ball at extension & up to the plate plus he “ lets it sit.” Notice how low he is & how wide a visual lane he creates for the umpire.

@ITalkBsbl No. Entire foot has to be out of the box.

@JWonCATCHING McCarthy should have been out. He made contact out of the batters box - watch his back foot on the top view. I know that’s not the purpose of your post, just wanted to say the play should have never happened.

YOU CAN’T DEFEND THE WHOLE FIELD/CAN’T PLAY EVERYWHERE This well designed & executed game winning play by the Rockies in last nights Dodger-Rockie game is a prime example. 1) 8th inning one out with runners on 1st & 3rd with Dodgers ahead 3-2.( Average runner on 1B/Plus runner at 3B/Plus runner hitting) 2) Dodgers up at 3B anticipating safety squeeze to 1st base side. Freeman is closing on the pitch. 3) The batter/bunter Jake McCarthy executes an early turn firm BHB to 3B. 4) Carrigg, the runner on 3B, has a long primary & breaks on the bunt( Most often he trails the 3B & breaks on the throw to 1B making sure the SS is not rotating to 3B.Short route to HP 45’ & two long throws with two exchanges). No chance for Muncy to throw Carrigg out because of his speed & the jump he got & he is dealing with a ++ runner in McCarthy so he has to get rid of it quickly. 5) Both Dreyer & Muncy go for the ball which is bunted firmly by design. Makes it difficult for Dreyer to reroute to 3B & get there early enough to not have to take Freeman’s throw on the run. 6) Rojas is covering 2B for a potential steal & a possible force if the ball is bunted hard to Muncy’s left. If he vacates early for 3B, the Rockies can steal 2B putting the go ahead run in scoring position. If he vacates once he sees there is no play at 2B, it still is a foot race because Tyler Freeman is going to have a + jump with Freddie Freeman vacating early. HOW TO DEFEND THE 1ST & 3RD SAFETY TO 3B 1) Cheat the 3B up enough & closing hard enough on the bunt so he has time to check the runner at 3B before throwing to 1B( SS rotating to 3B). An occasional arm fake is in play. 2) Rotate the SS to 3B on the bunt. 3) Keep the second baseman in position to cover the steal & possible force at 2B. 4) Keep the 1st baseman at 1B. 5) If you position/scheme for the safety to 3B & you guess wrong & they bunt to 1B you lose. You can scheme for both but then you are vulnerable to the steal of 2B. The reality is that runners on 1st & 3rd present numerous defensive challenges & YOU CAN’T DEFEND THE ENTIRE FIELD.

SMOOTH & FAST The arm side sinker stri-ball down & to your glove side is probably the most difficult pitch to keep in the zone.

Ari Armas Knoxville Cubs athleticism on display here.