Maddux on with the Musers

by TheJeezus on Feb 16, 2009 8:15 AM CST Comment 12 comments

Mike Maddux was on the Ticket this morning. It wasn't too terribly interesting, but I'll give a quick rundown as best as I can remember for those who care.

- He talked about pitcher durability and pitch counts. It was basically the same things we've already heard about pitch counts not being the best gauge and "the hitters will let you know when you're done"

- Spoke very generally about the conditioning program. Light on details, heavy on cliche. Said that depth will be important , and that's a good thing because we have...wait for it....."the best minor league system in baseball".

- Talked about growing up with Greg and their development as pitchers and their childhood. Pretty interesting story. Growing up, they traveled around with their father, who was in the Air Force and then met up with a guy that Maddux called "an old baseball soul" who I assume is Ralph Medar.

Overall, nothing ground breaking. Blah.

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35 of 37 pitchers in camp

threw to live hitters, on their first day to throw. M2 said that BP sides were a waste of time.

However, by far the most interesting point to me was how he intends to do his job. He said something to the effect of “Pitchers at this level know their own mechanics. If a guy asks me for help, then I’ll work with him on his mechanics. But by far the most important aspect of pitching in the majors is the mental side, the confidence. That is what i intend to work with these guys on.”

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008

by Rodney on Feb 16, 2009 8:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I forgot about that…the whole “focusing on the pitchers from the shoulders up” thing.

Also, I remember he used the phrase “the almighty _” an inordinate amount. As in “the almighty dollar”, except less sensical.

Purgatory's kind of like the in-betweeny one. You weren't really shit, but you weren't all that great either. Like Tottenham.

by TheJeezus on Feb 16, 2009 9:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Very interesting.

Definitely a departure from the Connororian school of thought, which would seem to be that tweaking guys as they reach the majors is the way to go.

I’m excited to see if we get better results with Maddux, though of course we’ll never know if it’s him or the pitchers.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

I hate Michael Young.

"I don’t have any respect for anybody on here. Everyone on here is a fucking asshole who thinks they’re god compared to everyone else." -iorange555, throwing one of his patented sandy-vagina'd hissy fits.

by thedirkatron on Feb 16, 2009 9:06 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Kind of ironic,

I am reading a book along those same lines right now. This Dr. mainly helps athletes with their confidence, mindset, and focus.

He has worked with PGA, WTA and NASCAR winners, a World Series MVP, rock legends, ultra-successful businesspeople, and NFL, and MLB athletes, as well as Motocross and Formula 1 drivers. Spencer also had the distinction of being a staff member of the United States Postal Service and Discovery Channel Professional Cycling Teams winning an unprecedented eight Tours de France.

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008

by Rodney on Feb 16, 2009 9:20 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It will be mostly the pitchers, but

I think a guy like Connor more likely to tweak deliveries would screw up just as many guys as he helps. With this much talent coming up Maddux is a better guy to have if he just leaves them alone.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Feb 16, 2009 10:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Didn't we establish Connor had little to do with Hurley and McCarthy's injuries?

You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you Saxy boy?

by oc on Feb 16, 2009 12:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

whether or not

he does tinker with mechanics. Right now I’d prefer someone who lets guys go with the stuff that got them to Arlington.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Feb 16, 2009 3:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

+1MM

Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."

by boomer1 on Feb 16, 2009 10:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Cool, great stuff.

Thanks for the recap.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

I hate Michael Young.

by thedirkatron on Feb 16, 2009 9:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Physical mechanics and mental focus

while executing said mechanics don’t mix very well, in pitching or hitting or anything else.
Yogi Berra said “You can’t think and hit at the same time”. The same could be said for pitching.
IF guys were going out there focused on mechanical stuff, then they were not focused on pitching. I don’t know if Connor was too mechanics-oriented, resulting in pitchers taking the mound thinking about mechanics instead of pitching, but if that was the case it might explain quite a bit.

"Who died and made you King?"

by randyd on Feb 16, 2009 9:57 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

There is a time and place for everything...

If a pitcher is out there wanting to tweak his movement during the game, he is done. There are a few foundational things, then relax and pitch. I get the feeling that Connor was one of those pitching coaches that everytime he came around the pitcher was like “great, what is he going to mess with now?”.

by Michael Cave on Feb 16, 2009 3:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs