http://www.sbnation.com/users/thepainguy Posts made by thepainguy on SB Nation http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2007/9/21/153518/289 thepainguy Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:35:18 -0000 <p>Chris O'Leary here.</p><p>My name has popped up in a couple of threads and I thought I'd start a thread to address some of the open questions that have been directed my way (and some other things that haven't) regarding pitching mechanics.</p> <ol> <li value="1">In terms of my credentials, I am currently doing some consulting with a ML team in the area of pitching mechanics. I can't say who the team is, but it's not the Cardinals). The guy I'm working with wants me to see if I can help him find the Greg Maddux's and stay away from the Mark Prior's.</li> <li value="2">Anthony Reyes is a clone of Mark Prior mechanics-wise and is likely in the process of breaking down. I don't think the Cards should count on him for next year. Rather, I hope they trade him to someone who thinks his problems are just due to a poor fit.</li> <li value="3">Chris Carpenter has terrible mechanics, which is why he has been injured so often. He's not a good guy to try to build a franchise around.</li> <li value="4">I think Kip Wells' mechanics are fine and his problems are mostly in his head. We need to dump him.</li> <li value="5">Mark Mulder's problems are likely mechanical in nature. I think he has a serious timing problem that may lead to Labrum problems. He may be done for good.</li> <li value="6">While Adam Wainwright's mechanics aren't as bad as Anthony Reyes', he does have a couple of major problems. Hopefully he'll make it through next year but I'm nervous about him beyond then.</li> <li value="7">Barring a couple of great deals, next year may be just as bad, if not worse, for the Cards.</li> <li value="8">Dyar Miller may be a great guy, but I have read a number of things that he has said about Anthony Reyes that convince me that he has never looked at high speed or frame by frame video of his pitchers. It's IMPOSSIBLE to understand pitching mechanics without looking at frame by frame or high speed video.</li> <li value="9">IMO Carlos Gomez is overly concerned with velocity and not sufficiently concerned with location, movement, and injury prevention. On multiple occasions he has said that he isn't concerned about injury prevention. I think that's crazy given that injuries are the overwhelming problem with respect to pitchers nowadays. That's why I am highly focused on understanding why injuries happen and what you can do to prevent them.</li> </ol>