The Jarrod Saltalamacchia Situation
by Adam J. Morris on May 12, 2010 3:33 PM CDT
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So, the presumed solution to the catching problem is down in AAA.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .359/.417/.578 for Oklahoma. He is apparently healthy.
So why isn't he up here, already? Bob Hersom has an article about the situation, that leads off explaining the problem pretty well:
RedHawks catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be back in the major leagues if he didn't have a problem throwing the ball - not to an infielder, but back to his pitcher.In Salty's last game, Tuesday night at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, 12 of his throws back to the pitcher landed either short of the mound or in center field. He had five errant throws in the first inning alone.
The Rangers clearly aren't going to want to call him back up to the majors until they are convinced this problem is gone for good. And the longer that Salty has problems throwing the ball back to the mound, the longer he will have to go without a problem throwing the ball back to the mound before the organization will be convinced that he's put the problem behind him.
The last thing the Rangers are going to want to be dealing with in a pennant race is a question of whether or not their starting catcher is going to have a recurrence of the yips. And while the Rangers are probably willing to roll with Matt Treanor for the time being, the longer this goes on, the more likely it is that the team is going to have to start looking for other options for 2010 besides Saltalamacchia.
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Damn
it would be nice to have him back.
I seem to remember some trouble on here last year with people not believe he had the yips at all. Did I dream that?
this
is weird to me… like a golfer having trouble with 1 ft putts.
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 3:40 PM CDT reply actions
I know it was real wierd to me
when Steve Blass’s career crumbled. I’ve seen it so much since then that I just kind of accept it now.
"No, I'm not a pessimist. At some point the world shits on everybody. Pretending it ain't shit makes you an idiot, not an optimist."-https://twitter.com/shitmydadsays
I played with a dude who ended up on the Yanks, played with Knoblauch...said he was the biggest coke-head on the planet.
That probably didn’t help matters either.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions
No shit?
I had never heard that…
Makes you wonder how many stories we never get to hear.
by lost in space on May 12, 2010 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions
what do you tell a woman w/ 2 black eyes
i had heard that, not the nose cola thing though
it’s always us short guys . . .
keep on rockin' in the free world !
Nothing she hasn't already
heard twice.
"No, I'm not a pessimist. At some point the world shits on everybody. Pretending it ain't shit makes you an idiot, not an optimist."-https://twitter.com/shitmydadsays
That was about the weirdest baseball thing I've ever seen.
How do you just suddenly lose the ability to throw the ball the same way?
Rick Ankiel was weird, too, but he was young.
Saltys still young
How old was Ankiel when he got the yips
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Not old
I’d say 24
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
21
At least I get to see the Rangers when they play the Twins now.
by TargetField on May 13, 2010 10:43 AM CDT up reply actions
the ball
has its own lifeforce. its natural environment is in the hole. its bags are packed; its got its airplane ticket. now send him home.
Make your own Josh Howard jokes....
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
I repressed it all day...
but can’t resist now:
“You can’t control what the ball do.”
Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.
check out this link
describing some of the other guys that have had it
Wow, good article. Thanks for the link.
FuckFace is the new official nickname of Michael Young. - lonestarJon
You actually think it's that simple.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on May 12, 2010 7:58 PM CDT up reply actions
No
but then again I don’t understand how Shaq and other professional basketball players can absolutely suck at free throws when they can practice for hours getting paid thousands of dollars
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on May 13, 2010 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't understand this at all
So apparently he doesn’t have problem throwing to second base, right? Then why can’t they just tell him to soft toss everything back to the pitcher instead of trying to throw it (like some of the umpires)? What about an underhanded lob? Is he going to have problem with that too?
teams
would take advantage of that and try to steal while the ball is being thrown back to the pitcher no?
I've noticed the majority of his bad tosses are when he lollipops one back to the pitcher....
…usually ends up short hopping the pitcher.
This AM I said that he should just get up and rifle the SOB back to the pitcher so he doesn’t think about it.
But upon further review, it sounds like he does try that and the shit ends up in CF.
Dude’s Effd.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions
This.
He needs to quit lobbing it, plant and throw. Even if that means standing up to throw it back to the pitcher.
Pitching coach Mike Maddux on Darren Oliver’s 0.00 ERA this spring:
"Economical work. He ain’t getting paid by the hour."
Oops, didn't read the whole post.
He’s fucked then.
Pitching coach Mike Maddux on Darren Oliver’s 0.00 ERA this spring:
"Economical work. He ain’t getting paid by the hour."
He's our own version of Charles Barkley?
I’m pulling for him to comeback strong, but damn, I’m sure he’s more frustrated than anybody at this point.
Just crazy...
that sounds like something you’d only see in a movie.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Trean him well
yes, I think Treanor will have to take / give one for the team and let Salty work one on one w/ Misty May
keep on rockin' in the free world !
I know the solution...
Jake Taylor: Rube, you look at Playboy all the time, don’t you?
Rube Baker: I don’t just look at it. I read the articles.
Jake Taylor: Sure you do.
Rube Baker : I do. I especially like it when they mention the girls’ interests, like Betsy loves surfing.
Jake Taylor: You even memorize them?
Rube Baker: Yep. I guess I do.
Jake Taylor: Bingo.
by RyanBlueThunder on May 12, 2010 3:45 PM CDT reply actions
But won't the pitcher get tired?
"…although it does kinda show how little faith they have in Cruz, whether that be the org as a whole or just our beloved, bespectacled, kool-lovin’ skipper."
by Ryin A on Jan 11, 2010 5:48 PM EST
You beat me to it.
When Playboy stops working, get him the Fredrick’s of Hollywood catalog.
Greetings from the Humungus, the Ruler of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-A. I laugh at your puny plans.
by Lord Humungus on May 12, 2010 5:57 PM CDT up reply actions
seriously
any amateur baseball player… even kids around 13 can throw a 65 mph fastball back to the pitcher? jesus christ… somethings wrong between his ears…
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 3:45 PM CDT reply actions
well, yeah...that's exactly the problem....
….this is 100% mental.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions
yet nobody wants to say it out loud
all the discussed solutions are arm angles and technique and injury side-effects, etc
I've been saying for weeks
he needs a sports psychologist. Maybe a hypnotist.
Ceterum censeo, Ron Washington esse delendam
I imagine most all do...
…or it’s y’know covered by ML health insurance.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on May 12, 2010 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah..
I am sure the rangers have sports shrinks working with him. like the pitchers do long toss to warm up and get stretched out have salty stand 60 feet from another person and just fire 250 balls a day until he gets it right
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions
guess
its simply not that simple at this point though
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Didn't Knoblauch have shrinks
For a couple of years? And it didn’t work?
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on May 12, 2010 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions
I just find it incredible hard to believe
that someone who has working arms would have a problem tossing a solid object 60 feet to within a few feet of a target. If he was trying to fire a 90 mph fastball in there like Ankiel, then I can understand… but all he has to do is a soft toss. 9 out of 10 hobos down by the river can do shit like that.
I'm not sure what's funnier
imagining 9 hobos lining up to throw baseballs from home to the mound or imagining the one hobo who can’t make the throw. Either way, I’m laughing and not getting any work done. Gracias!
"Does this effectively hide my thunder?"
The yips are real
I had a bout with them when I was in college. It is mentally draining and terribly embarrassing.
reply to self
Its the inability to deal with the embarrassment that feeds the mental side of it. You can’t get your head straight so you try to make physical adjustments that don’t work.
I've yet to hear anyone say whether
this is a mental thing or a physical thing. My understanding of yips is that it’s physical, but the description of what’s happening sound like a mental block.
I had problems coming back from injury
I broke both bones in my throwing forearm and couldn’t throw for over a year because of the recovery and rehab time.
Once I did come back to throwing, I had no confidence in my control. I had been a pitcher prior to the injury and could barely warm-up as my throws would sail on me, dive into the ground, and just be all over the place.
I ended up not playing for the rest of highschool because I just never got comfortable throwing again after trying to throw softer and harder with no good results.
I started playing softball recently, and so long as I am relaxed and not thinking I can throw just fine, but warming up with my wife or bro-in-law (both new to softball and not the greatest with their gloves) or people that I don’t know, and I suddenly start throwing wild again because (I think) I’m so focused on hitting their chest that I either hit them in the chest or it sails like 3 feet over their heads.
It’s a combination of mental doubt, over-thinking during execution, and not simply having it be a natural thing anymore — for Salty it could have been brought on by the injuries making him wary and more aware of how he is throwing, which just messes with his natural timing.
I think about it now like breathing, if you start thinking about it and focusing on it, it’s hard to keep a stable and even breathing pattern. But once you start thinking about it, it’s difficult to stop.
When I was like 11 or 12
For some reason I started focusing on my breathing and it would screw me up. Felt like I was short of breath the whole time. I’d have to try to stop thinking about it and do anything to focus my mind on something else. Lasted for a few months. Freaked me out at the time.
When I start thinking about my throwing now
I start thinking about breathing in and out instead — which is why I linked the two.
It certainly gets my mind off of my throwing!
Having dealt with the "yips" in other areas of my life...
I think the only solution is time off. He’s not going to fix it by repeatedly failing under pressure. He needs to get the fuck away from baseball for at least a week.
Little blue pill take care of things for you?
"When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty."- General George S. Patton
by Aquaman, Esq. on May 12, 2010 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions
I had the same issue with my golf swing
I had an injury, took 2 months off. Then came back and I couldn’t do anything but completely shank the ball. I mean it was awful — your life was threatened if you stood 90 degrees to my right. I quit the golf team, took 3 months off without picking up a club and then I was fine again. It’s really weird stuff.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on May 12, 2010 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions
I wonder if they've tried a psychiatrist?
Also, I found this on Mackey Sasser, Mike Stanley and others that have had the same problem.
"There's really no way of knowing... Sometimes when I see their big eyes looking up from my lap I think, that's definitely a homeless guy in a fur coat." Betty White on SNL
Nope, Murphy was a catcher who had to movfe to the OF..
all this happened before he became “all that”
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
this is more like when a decent NBA player
just starts airballing FTs or bricking them horribly.
The more you think about it, the worse it becomes.
Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball
Why not just have Salty hand the ball to the ump after every pitch?
The ump can swap the ball out if its scuffed, and throw it back to the pitcher for him.
That would be awesome if Cowboy Joe were umpiring, his head would explode.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions
Nice
Just drop the ball intentionally so that the umpire HAS to change it out.
"…although it does kinda show how little faith they have in Cruz, whether that be the org as a whole or just our beloved, bespectacled, kool-lovin’ skipper."
by Ryin A on Jan 11, 2010 5:48 PM EST
remember when Chuck Knoblauch kept
sailing balls into the dugout from 2nd base? That was nuts.
Greatest Inventions Ever? 1. TiVO, 2. Boobs, 3. Baseball
Well, there WAS this bonus...
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
Hah.
So he can’t throw the ball from home to the mound, but he could throw the same distance in the opposite direction? I like it.
They need to be looking for other options anyway.
Salty can’t stay off the DL, he has problems throwing the ball, etc… They need to look in another direction, I think it’s safe to say we overestimated our catching depth. None of these guys are worth a shit.
Pitching coach Mike Maddux on Darren Oliver’s 0.00 ERA this spring:
"Economical work. He ain’t getting paid by the hour."
I can't remember who the catcher was..
but the Rangers played against him either last year or the year before but he would walk towards the pitcher and would throw the ball in front of home plate every time. Maybe he can do something similar to that for a while.
maybe he needs to break
his right shoulder and he will come back new and improved a la henry rowengartner
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 4:02 PM CDT reply actions
yeah
movie is awful…. gary busey as the rocket is semi-funny in a gary busey sort of way
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 12, 2010 4:07 PM CDT up reply actions
GARDENHOSER!
"When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty."- General George S. Patton
by Aquaman, Esq. on May 12, 2010 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Thanks, Adam!
You couldn’t save this one for tomorrow, could you? What a fucking beatdown of a post-loss day.
Here's some fun quotes from the story...
“Jarrod’s the first one here (at The Brick) every day,” Jones said. “You can count on it.”
Maybe they need to rethink what they’re doing, stop making a federal case out of it, and de-emphasize some of this so he can take his mind of things and decompress some, mentally…
“I feel comfortable,” Salty said. “I feel comfortable at the plate and I feel comfortable behind the plate. So it’s just whenever they want me back up there.”
… either decompress, or stop living in denial. “Everything’s fine, just waiting on a call… la-dee-dah…”
Though to be fair...
I don’t think he’s in denial. I think that sound he hears? It’s just pride fucking with him. Fuck Pride.
Happened to me in HS
Had to move from SS to OF, it really sucks. It’s one of those things where everything is physically fine, but when I saw someone trucking up the line my throwing motion got short then I would sail it 10 ft over 1B. Moved me to 2nd, had same problem. It was really embarrassing. That being said, Salty is not a 16 year old high school reject, he is supposedly a ML catcher. He needs to take it easy, throw a 78 mph strike to his pitcher, then get back into position.
"Support the Dutch Oven"
the problem is a catcher
would get worn out if he had to stand up and throw the ball back every time, it would put way to much wear and tear on his knees
by blueballlefty on May 12, 2010 4:23 PM CDT up reply actions
OKC
Would be more wear and tear than standing up.
"Support the Dutch Oven"
by RangerFloppy on May 12, 2010 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions
ok, next time if you don't mind make sense when you reply to me
by blueballlefty on May 12, 2010 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions
You're a towel
"Support the Dutch Oven"
by RangerFloppy on May 12, 2010 6:49 PM CDT up reply actions
12 throws!
this has gotten 10 times worse. I saw this coming last year, but not this bad. throws into CF? The dude is a good to, which makes this really suck.
Jack Daddy
thinly veiled hint at the fiasco over Winter Ball this year
“It has nothing to do the other injury,” Saltalamacchia said. “That was on the other side. But the doctors did think that it had a lot to do with the surgery (on the right shoulder). They thought that with my recovery I kind of rushed back from it, and so that might have a lot to do with it.”
Sounds to me like he’s laying the ground-work to shift the blame somewhere…
Jack Daddy
Wow, Jayson Werth just mishandled a ball sitting still on the ground TWICE.
He let it get past him after it bounced off the wall, then when he turned around to pick it up, he slipped and fell. Then when he got back to it, when the ball wasn’t even moving, he went for it and then started to throw without even picking it up first.
Anyone faster than Brad Hawpe would have just had an ItPHR.
Good thing he has awesome hair.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Didn't this happen in Major League II?
Maybe he should just read playboy.
Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.
So
Salty can hit now? Thats awesome…The yips will end when his homelife settles down and his wife accepts her menopause
Correction
Salty can hit AAA pitching still…..he can’t hit.
AL West
Oakland 90-72
LAAA 88-74
Texas 83-79
Seattle 77-85
By: Josey Wales
lineup
1, Elvis Andrus, SS; 2, Michael Young, 3B; 3, Josh Hamilton, LF; 4, Vladimir Guerrero, RF; 5, Ian Kinsler, 2B; 6, Justin Smoak, 1B; 7, Ryan Garko, DH; 8, Max Ramirez, C; 9, Craig Gentry, CF.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
On the subject...
When Nelson comes back, the lineup would have him in there instead of Garko (with order juggled, of course). This sounds like a pretty formidable lineup vs LHP. Hell, even as constructed tonight, it should be pretty decent. Why do I have no confidence?
they're facing a lefty.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah
He has 2 of them. A right one and a left one.
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
I just said they're facing a lefty....Crumbs!
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 5:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Who was it this morning that was so sure that Max wouldn't get the start tonight?
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
the ex-Ranger purge continues in KC
Rupe has been DFA’d
Thank you Houston for drafting Jason Castro.
Ugh Salty...
…I proclaimed that this was going to be your breakout year and you do this? 12 errant throws in one game? Really?
Olberman Article
Kind of weird… Holland’s coach at Wallace State CC was Mackey Sasser. Wonder if he might be able to get a call in from Sasser to Salty?
I have a weird suspicion that Salty would be “too good” to take that call though. I have a feeling he’s a pompous ass in person.
"…although it does kinda show how little faith they have in Cruz, whether that be the org as a whole or just our beloved, bespectacled, kool-lovin’ skipper."
by Ryin A on Jan 11, 2010 5:48 PM EST
Who...Saltywood?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 5:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Apparently
He’s a pretty good guy dealing with a tough situation. He shows up to park everyday to work on it.
I think the Hardline spent some time with him and had nothing but great things to say about him.
by Whiskey in my Whiskey on May 12, 2010 5:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Sasser
had the same problem when he was trying to throw BP while coaching. Apparently he found a therapist that cured him and he has had no problem since. We need to get that doc in touch with Salty.
by Whiskey in my Whiskey on May 12, 2010 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions
doesnt please me
I had him on the bench today :(
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
Oakland's DH
Has a worse BA than ours does. I didn’t think that was possible.
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
I meant for today
not the entire season
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
OT Offensive Tidbit
The entire Astros offense has been below replacement-level. By a lot. THE WHOLE LINE UP!
The Mariners are close.
Even Michael Bourn?
I thought he’d been playing pretty well.
Gentry sick
Hamilton to CF, Murphy vs. Gio.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
he get food poisioning?
or however you spell it
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
Durrett says upset stomach
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on May 12, 2010 5:50 PM CDT up reply actions
Murph going to the 6 hole and everybody dropping down 1?
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
Murph 8 Max 9
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on May 12, 2010 5:56 PM CDT up reply actions
SS Elvis Andrus
3B Michael Young
CF Josh Hamilton
RF Vladimir Guerrero
2B Ian Kinsler
1B Justin Smoak
DH Ryan Garko
LF David Murphy
C Max Ramirez
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on May 12, 2010 5:56 PM CDT up reply actions
I can dig this, atleast Murf isn't hitting in the 3-hole or sump.
Still wish Gentry was playing so Hamilton wasn’t in CF.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 5:58 PM CDT up reply actions
he's going off tonight, heard it here first.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on May 12, 2010 6:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Against Gio?
No way. Unless by “going off” you mean a HBP and a walk…..come to think of it, that would be going off by his standards.
AL West
Oakland 90-72
LAAA 88-74
Texas 83-79
Seattle 77-85
By: Josey Wales
Around these parts
We call it the Shits
AL West
Oakland 90-72
LAAA 88-74
Texas 83-79
Seattle 77-85
By: Josey Wales
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