The Sock Puppets

The Flyboys are on a two game losing streak, what? The Sock Puppets, you heard that right, are traveling to Greenville for a two game set. In an article from mlb.com, it is written that the team from Burlington now has an identity that embraces the history of the community as well as one that is unique. The identity was created by Dan Simon of Studio Simon. The name Sock Puppets, gives homage to the rich textile tradition of the Burlington area by featuring two different sock puppets inside the primary logo.

The Flyboys pitchers have been working hard before each game. The team of seventeen pitchers is a good group. The players all are religious with their arm care. The Greenville team has supplied the fellas with bands for daily warmup and strengthening. The band routine is something every pitcher should do on a daily basis. We have several sets of bands that clip on to any chain link fence. The club also has plyo balls. These pliable throwing balls are of different weights. Driveline is the manufacturer of these balls. There are a series of throwing drills the pitcher can do every day as well. Generally, one would choose a maximum of four throwing drills to complete every day. There are seven basic movements to do with these “skittles” as some call them because each ball is a different color. Driveline not only makes the weighted balls, it provides education for throwers as well as research to back the benefit of each throwing drill. What I like most about the drills is that they should be unique for each pitcher as everyone has different needs, The idea of the drills is to make the user better at pitching, not good at the drills. So each throwing drill has a purpose and needs to be completed with the purpose of the drill in mind. The Appy League also uses the latest tracking technology, Rapsodo and Trackman. These simply track the flight and spin of the ball. It will tell us how fast the baseball is moving, the direction it is moving, how much spin is on the ball. These devices can also give the user some metrics about the pitcher. How high from the ground he lets go of the baseball, what the pitchers’ arm angle is at release, the angle of the ball when it is released. So, fun stuff. This data that is collected can be used to help the coach and player script an individual development plan for every athlete .Something as simple as the pitcher’s arm angle is different on each type of pitch the pitcher may throw. So, along with video, we can assist the pitcher release his fastball, curveball and changeup from the same window. This way, everything looks the same to the hitter when the pitch is released. Hey, every competitive edge we can get we use here with the Flyboys. However, with all the technology available, the pitcher must cross that white foul line and compete. The pitcher must plan his work( pregame) and work his plan during the game. That is a simple formula for a high percentage of success on the mound.

Game one of the series goes to the Boys. The bats were rolling tonight and an eighth inning bomb off the scoreboard in left field sealed the deal. The bullpen was not clean tonight but each pitcher managed to make a pitch to escape the big inning. Game two was hampered by lightning delays but the Flyboys tossed their second shutout of the young season. More importantly, two of the four pitchers in this game made adjustments from their previous games. Dawson Gause worked two shutout innings. Zach Fruit,’of Easter Michigan, worked two exceptional innings showing a huge gain in control of his pitches and quality of his slider. Zane Robbins finished the shutout with two strikeouts in final frame. Zane, has developed since joining the beginning of the season. He has seen a significant jump in velocity, throwing efficiency and quality of breaking ball spin. Remember how we measure pitch metrics? Many fans and coaches can be intimidated by the new way of collecting data. But the truth is, baseball has always quantified a player’s tools. The days of just using a stopwatch, a hand held radar gun and a vhs recorder are over. We are quantifying player performance at a new level. When used correctly this information can help a team sign the best player available, it can cut the learning curve down for players of all ages as well.

Flyboys earned a day off Monday. The team went 4-2 on the week including sweeps at Bristol and at Pioneer Park against Burlington. The team heads East Tuesday for the longest road trip of the season to date, a five game trip starting in Pulaski and ending in Johnson City with a stop in Burlington in the middle

Consistency

The first place Flyboys return home for a four game homestand before a day off on Monday. The team will host the Bluefield Ridge Runners. Being the curious type, I am looking for a definition of Ridge Runner. This is what I found. The nickname refers to people from the higher parts of mountainous areas in the Southeast United States, especially Appalachia. The term has significantly different meaning in other parts of the country. The Athens Banner- Herald wrote that Ridge Runners are employed by the Appalachian Trail Conservatory or the Appalachian Mountain Club. The ridge runners work to educate, protect the experience of trail users and attempt to keep trail conditions pleasant for all those out there who enjoy it. One ridge runner stated notable perks of the job he or she loves. Those perks are as follows: nightly live music performed performed by owls and coyotes, breathing fresh mountain air, awaken to the sound of song birds, the remarkable colors of sunrises, sunsets and the pace of life in the backcountry is slow, Enjoyably different from a nine to five job way of life. Sounds like we should all schedule a trip the Appalachian Trail.

http://www.AppalachianTrailClarity.com

This series will features the first place Flyboys and Bluefield, who has had difficult times recently, losing nine of twelve games. Well, on paper this series should go to Greenville. As it has been said before, the game isn’t played on paper it is played on the field. The Flyboys drop game one in a clunker, 6-4. The score indicates a close game but believe me, it was not. Game two saw the Boys drop another game to the fourth place team, 6-1. It was a game that lacked intensity, good fundamentals and it was frustrating to watch from the coach’s perspective. I know we are better performers than the last two games would indicate.

An often overlooked concept of winning championships is consistency. Our favorite team doesn’t win the title unless they perform consistently. There have been many talented players who never reach a pinnacle of play because of roller coaster level of play. Think of the players ,that we may look up to, they perform consistently. It is hard to win with variables in team’s everyday lineup. My advice to young players is to strive for consistency not just a highlight reel playsor pitches every other week. Consistent performance begins with one’s preparation. A pitcher’s life is regimented. I have seen and been on the field with major league all stars, hall of famers, and players who only stuck around for a minute. Talent is part of the equation. However, those who prepared in a consistent matter, those who had regimented habits accomplished sustained success over the years. One consistent starting pitcher began tossing in the outfield before his start at twenty two minutes before game time – every game. He had the same sequence of pitches in the bullpen before each game that ended in pitch number thirty two. This pitcher always walked to the dugout for water and to sit for five minutes before being announced on the public address system to take the mound. He pitched until he was forty years old. During the week he had the same days in the weight room. The same day he threw his practice session in the bullpen, two days before he scheduled to pitch in the gane. His preparation was regimented. John Di Lemme wrote a poem titled “I am A Habit”. It is read for everyone in this great life we have the chance to live, live here is a used as a verb. In the poem he writes “ I am your greatest companion, I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who have failed I have made as well. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am a habit!

If you love playing sports at any level. Create daily a game day routine, a pre pitch routine and preparation (practice day) routine. Most routines come through trial and error. These things will increase your level of consistency. All athletes know that there will be ups and downs during a long season but if we have a solid routine to fall back on, the peaks will be higher and the valleys not as low. Tomorrow is a new day. I will make up, make the bed, make coffee, sit in silence to express gratitude as well as visualize the day in front of me. My morning routine!

Boys host the State Liners

The Greenville Flyboys host the Bristol State Liners for a two game set at Pioneer Park on the campus of Historic Tusculum University. Bristol is an hour Northeast of G’ville. The city is home of the Bristol Motor Speedway. This track is one of the most popular on the NASCAR schedule mostly due of it’s distinct features. The popular track includes extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads. The track is billed as “The world’s fastest half mile”. Thunder Valley, as it is sometimes called, highlights the city of Bristol, Tn. Not to be confused with Bristol, Va- a sister city across the state line. Oh, State Liners, now I get it.

We have good weather for the first time in a week. The Flyboys staff strikes out 15 but we drop this game to Bristol. We need to split the series Wednesday and we will send Greenville’s opening night starter, Bryce Mayer, to the hill. On this night Bryce dazzles through four innings. He strikes out a season high 9 batters. On the night the FlyBoyz pitching staff strikes out a season high 20 Bristol hitters in a one run nail biting victory . The art of pitching could be debated for days, especially in this age of social media pitching circles. But, the fact is, the pitcher needs to get ahead in the count, expand the strike zone and make the batter swing at his or her pitch. The act of getting ahead becomes more refined as the competition improves. Expand the zone doesn’t mean doing so in 0-1 and 1-1 counts but refers to when the pitcher is in favorable counts. The ability to measure ball spin and pitched ball movements has made it simpler for the pitcher to discover who he is as a pitcher. The pitchers and coaches here utilize Rapsodo and Trakman to enhance player development. These tools aid the catchers in calling the correct pitch in the correct location,as well.

Hitting philosophies have also changed in recent years. First pitch of the at bat swings have soared over the last view years. With that data also comes with chases of pitches out of the strike zone on the initial pitch. Remember how important getting ahead in the count is to the pitcher? First pitch of the at bat swings amd misses has also increased substantially. Hitters are trying to “do damage” but honestly the group is going about it the wrong way. This isn’t my opinion, look at the rising batter strikeouts and the descending batting averages.

Well, the Boys are off to begin a two game set at Elizabethton. Let’s see if they fixed the scoreboard. The team sits in first place currently but it is early in the season.

Bring on the Axemen

The first home stand of the season ends with a two game set with the Kingsport Axemen. Yes, the Flyboys vs. the Axemen, sounds like a potential Netflix pilot. Kingsport is in Tennessee. It is 43 miles North, North East of Greenville. The city of Kingsport derived it’s name from the simplification of “King’s Port” which was the name given to the area by the early pioneers. The Long Island of the Holston River has a vast and rich history. It is a National Historic Landmark. It was the home of the sacred Cherokee council and a treaty site as well.

The previous night saw the Flyboys play an extremely sloppy game. We made several errors in the field and a couple of mental mistakes as well. The opposition was sloppy as well but were much sloppier. Pitching truly makes the world go around. On this night the Greenville pitching was not it’s sharpest. The staff worked behind in the count too often. Our goal for first pitch strikes is 60%. We did not come close to that expectation tonight. Early in the count, the pitcher needs to be aggressive. One of the first two pitches needs to be a strike 80% of the time. Tonight’s pitchers had several two ball and no strike counts, which is a recipe for disastrous performance. 69% of strike outs begin with strike one. Over 70% of walks begin with ball one.

Another emphasis for the Flyboys hurlers is to win the one ball, one strike counts. This is the largest swing count in baseball when it comes to offensive production. When the count moves to 2 balls and 1 strike, the hitters historically hit over .400. This a very high average, if you did not know. When the counts moves to 1 ball and 2 strikes, the hiiter’s batting average falls to under .180. This is a low output for the hitter. Those numbers make the 1-1 the largest “swing”‘count in baseball.

On this night we executed pitch after pitch. Our starting pitcher,

Conner Harris, pitched five innings and only threw 49 pitches. He averaged less than 10 pitches inning. The average pitch count per inning at this level is 19 pitches. So,’he had an absurdly efficient outing. He set the tone. We had two relief pitchers finish the game. We attacked the opposing hitters early in the count, we dominated the 1-1 counts. For the night the Flyboy pitches only threw 95 pitches in 9’innimgs. A great night for this pitching coach. We won a tightly contested game, 1-0. Game two of this series was postponed due to heavy rain. So technically we won our first series. Off to play in Johnson City tomorrow.

The Comeback

I am 56 years old, close to 57. I am a former professional baseball player, a pitcher to be exact. My last competitive pitch was 32 or so years ago. I have been a minor league coach, a pitching coordinator and a major league pitching coach over the last 33 years. The reason for the background information lets the reader know where I have been, the Comeback, is where I am going. I am going to have everyone join me on this amazing comeback. The main obstacles, besides the obvious, is that I have had two hip replacements, I have had three knee operations, a shoulder repair, a torn elbow ligament and top of this aging process, arthritis is trying to crawl up my spine and into these long, thin fingers.

First attempt to throw my age in velocity.

Well, you see day one of the comeback, an embarrassing and miserable 53 miles per hour, measured by the amazing pocket radar smart coach app. Another bit of pertinent information is that I am leading an arm care and velocity training class, twice a week at Diamond Fit Performance in North Raleigh, NC. Yes, this former Major League coach of eight years is pouring it out twice a week for his students, aged 11 to 19. Since the 2019 season ended I have received hard earned certifications in Driveline Youth Baseball Training, Rapsodo Pitching, Functional Movement Screen and I have finished all but the the final step of Driveline Foundations of Pitching. Put that on top of 33 years in professional baseball experience and I think we have the makings of a well educated class. The students are posting personal records for velocity each week but the real test will come as I begin to put myself through the rigors of the arm care and velocity training. I have consulted with physical therapists, certified strength and conditioning coaches as well as my knowledge attained from the new certifications for class content. Oh yea, did I say I was a major league pitching coach as recently as 2018? I have some advantages in my class, I once pitched for Dr. Mike Marshall, the creator of weighted ball training. Hmm, the plot thickens doesn’t it? Did you know Mike Marshall pitched in 106 games in 1974, won the Cy Young Award that year. He was 15-12 with 21 saves. He logged 208 innings pitches. Crazy! We cant even get starting pitchers to 200 innings in recent seasons.

I will keep everyone updated as the comeback moves forward. Lets put all the new concepts to the test! Along with some ancient concepts as well. Very few coaches have been privy to work with the hardest thrower ever, Aroldis Chapman, as well as with Dr. Mike Marshall, a Hall of Famer closer and many other of the best pitchers, coaches, people and analysts in the game of baseball. Next time, lets see if I can improve my velocity and throw my age.