Reyes video breakdown on VEB

jim · Post by **jim** » March 24 07, 4:03 pm

Love looking at clips like this and breaking them down. If you remember the Mulder A's vs Mulder Cards comparisons, Reyes doesn't have anywhere near that kind of deviation.

Some interesting analysis, but I looked at the clips before I read it to make a judgement myself. My first reaction was he simply wasn't getting his arm through as quickly(which can only have bad explanations), but after reading the analysis about the hips staying closed a little longer in the right frame I would have to agree. I'm still not so sure that his arm speed just isn't what it was, but he definitely is not opening up the hips quite as quickly, or at least starting with his hips a little more closed.

Take a look at his right foot as he drives off the mound, it's not night and day but he looks to have a more 'together' drive off of the back foot in 05.

Anyway, have a look.

vinsanity · Post by **vinsanity** » March 24 07, 4:50 pm

Um Jim. Can we get a link...

haltz · Post by **haltz** » March 24 07, 4:52 pm

Here are the clips.

LINK

I don't know much about pitcher mechanics, but the point about rotation seems like a good one. Maybe I'm seeing things, but on the left his stride foot lands before it does on the right clip. Perhaps he actually pushing towards the plate on the left where on the right he is more falling towards the plate, maintaining more control maybe but sitting at a much lower velocity like was pointed out throughout last year. Reminds me of a time when someone told me, "point your ####### at the catcher."

Like I said, I really don't know what I'm talking about. I'm curious what UK and some others have to say about these clips.

clevername · Post by **clevername** » March 24 07, 5:23 pm

I'm having difficulty seeing much difference here.

Hungary Jack · Post by **Hungary Jack** » March 24 07, 5:25 pm

Hard to discern definitive differences, but my sense is that (as stated above) his hips are staying closed longer, which would account for the "lingering" on the back foot, a delay in planting the front foot, and perhaps more leg drive as a result of "powering up" the rear leg.

Problem is that his velocity is down a bit (based on some reports) from previous years. So if he is generating more leg drive, it does not necessarily translate to more velocity.

PujolJunkie · Post by **PujolJunkie** » March 24 07, 7:53 pm

EDIT: Or not. Here's an explanation.

About the 3rd clip:
"Looking at Reyes' hips here, it appears that rotation begins slightly earlier in 2005. I wouldn't call Reyes aggressive in either clip because he extends with the front leg instead of really trying to hold his hips together and explosively rotate into foot plant. With his past success and reputation as a power pitcher, however, it appears that Reyes had been able to use his hips in a way to maximize the use of his upper torso and arm action."

jim · Post by **jim** » March 24 07, 9:36 pm

Hungary Jack wrote:Hard to discern definitive differences, but my sense is that (as stated above) his hips are staying closed longer, which would account for the "lingering" on the back foot, a delay in planting the front foot, and perhaps more leg drive as a result of "powering up" the rear leg.

I agreed with everything up until the leg drive. It looks to me like the old Reyes had a more direct push off. Look at the back leg kind of "flip up" on the right side.

I'm having difficulty seeing much difference here.

Yep, not much at all. Definitely not the dramatic differences you see with A's Mulder and Cardinals Mulder.

Um Jim. Can we get a link...

Sorry, VEB is shorthand for vivaelbirdos. If you don't have http://www.vivaelbirdos.com bookmarked, do yourself a favor. Just a terrific blog, a site I check almost daily.

Cronos · Post by **Cronos** » March 24 07, 9:48 pm

Very difficult to discern a difference there; it's very slight. When dealing with such complicated mechanics as pitching, it can make a big difference. I guess that tells me I could never be a pitcher(besides the fact that my fastball recently topped out at 53 mph

); I'd agonize over the details of the mechanics too much and would be freaked out at every little change. I wonder just how much of the job of the pitching coach it is to examine video of every struggling pitcher and see if it's mechanics, tipping pitches, etc. Thinking about it makes my head spin.

I'd love to see a comparison of Mark Prior circa 2003 and Reyes in his 91-93 days; I want to see just how similar their mechanics are and if there are any noticeable differences. I've said it before, but everytime I hear how similar Reyes' mechanics are to Prior's, I get nauseous.

JohnnyJay · Post by **JohnnyJay** » March 24 07, 9:52 pm

My question would be when?

What inning were each clip taken from? There's a big difference in the 1st inning compared to say, the 7th inning. I don't see much difference in any of the comparisons, if they are thinking something may be wrong. He has a consistent, fluid motion to the plate. What pitch was he throwing in each clip? That has to have some type of bearing on this comparison.

jim · Post by **jim** » March 24 07, 9:54 pm

To me, the thing that jumped out right away is just how fast his arm is. Look at right where he has his arm ready to deliver - same spot in both places. But, the arm just comes through faster in the former. Watch where he releases ball.

My first reaction was that he just doesn't have the same arm, his arm speed has just dropped. But then I read the thing about the hips, and saw a small difference there.

But regardless, his arm speed is not the same. Whether that's wear and tear on his arm, keeping his hips more closed, not driving off the back leg. Well, that's what they pay Dunc for.

But when I see arm speed loss, I think injury/fatigue/wear and tear.