White Sox: Pitch to Contact

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"He's trying for corners," Cooper said. "He's picking. He's thinking more physical, and there's some matador in him. There's some, 'I don't want you to hit it.' We've got to get him to grasp the first part of the plan — which is get strike one, get to 0-2, 1-2. Make them hit the first, second or third (pitch). Our point of emphasis has to be the first three pitches to get to that position. And that's what he's not getting to enough. And he's putting himself in a lot of danger."

Opponents are batting .181 when Liriano is ahead in the count, but the average jumps to .281 when the count is even and .278 when Liriano falls behind. Liriano has limited batters to a .199 batting average on 0-1 counts, .110 on 0-2 counts and .145 on 1-2 counts.

"We talked nothing mechanically," Cooper said of Liriano's bullpen session. "It's all about three-pitch sequences. And his sidelines have been great. But the difference is (in) the electricity of the game, the big moments of the game, he's thinking (throw) harder. That's not the answer."

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Nothing mechanically, its that matador. Let's get a priest over there then, to exorcise it out of him.

This has to be maddening for Liriano. If he is a spaz, and no one's provided no indication that he is, but I would understand why, if he was.

Can you believe that a guy whose best pitch is a slider, who throws 92-93 and tops out at 96, would go out there trying to strike people out? That's the correct goal to have anyway!

Here's an idea: work with Liriano to that end. Encourage the strikeouts, by fixing the mechanics, so that he can throw strikes.

Its that matador in him. Unreal.

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Originally Posted by Willihammer

Nothing mechanically, its that matador. Let's get a priest over there then, to exorcise it out of him.

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So you think every bullpen session is this? This is about one bullpen session, not the course of their entire work together. Jesus.

Again, they are working towards him with that goal. He can't strike people out if he can't throw strikes! That's step one! As the last poster said, it's ridiculous to suggest they have completely ignored mechanics and that the Twins did as well. What Cooper is saying here is that before they even focus on mechanics in this instance they want to address his mental approach which they believe is causing the issue. (Again....JUST LIKE THE TWINS)

Why is this so difficult for you?

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Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

What Cooper is saying here is that before they even focus on mechanics in this instance they want to address his mental approach which they believe is causing the issue. (Again....JUST LIKE THE TWINS)

Why is this so difficult for you?

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Right, Cooper said Liriano's aiming too much for the corners.

Which is where the catcher sits.

Does Cooper want him to aim at the mitt? If so, what is he talking to Liriano for, he should be telling A.J.

The truth seems to be, that Andy and now Cooper do want Liriano to aim for the corners, because they don't want his pitches to go down the middle of the plate and get nailed. And they don't want to burn the calories needed to fix Liriano mechanically, so he continues to display the same glaring flaws start after start going back two years now.

No, I don't believe the coaches are going over mechanical flaws in bullpen sessions, certainly not to the depth or specificity that we get from any of Parker's write ups. There's no evidence of that at all by their comments.

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Originally Posted by Willihammer

Right, Cooper said Liriano's aiming too much for the corners.Which is where the catcher sits.

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So you blame AJ? All this and here is where we are?

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No, I don't believe the coaches are going over mechanical flaws in bullpen sessions, certainly not to the depth or specificity that we get from any of Parker's write ups. There's no evidence of that at all by their comments.

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No offense to Parker, but it is ridiculous to believe a blogger is more thorough about pitching mechanics than a big league coach. Even more ridiculous when you're pulling such a claim out of your rear end with no evidence yourself.

I'm done, this is hopeless. Point - obfuscation. Well done.

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Liriano, 28, was demoted to the pen after going 0-5 with a 9.45 earned-run average in six starts."We're trying to get him going, to where his confidence, his command, his delivery, his mechanics, mindset are all to the point here, 'All right, it looks like it's time for us to get him back in that rotation,' " the GM said. "We hope it's not permanent."

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Can we end this now?

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...d-major-league

It's absolutely insane to think that the Twins had Liriano for a half dozen years and never bothered to check out if there was a difference in his delivery that changed his success rate against major league hitters. I don't even know how to debate that point. It's ludicrous.

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Liriano said the move to the bullpen helped him get his mechanics in order, and also helped him clear his head after the rough start to the season.

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More.

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20120526&content_id=32264006&noteboo k_id=32264120&vkey=notebook_min&c_id=min

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Another key aspect of Lirano’s game is to maintain proper mechanics. After the 2006 season, he underwent Tommy John’s surgery – something Cooper said was a result of his mechanics.

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More, this time from Cooper.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/08/01/cooper-goal-is-to-minimize-lirianos-inconsistencies/

Whaddya know, Don Cooper isn't some hillbilly who's oblivious to new-fangled things like "pitchin' dee-liveries".

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Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

Point - obfuscation. Well done.

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Who is obfuscating? I am placing the source of the problem in mechanics, you are mystifying it and making armchair psychological diagnoses.

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Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

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Liriano, 28, was demoted to the pen after going 0-5 with a 9.45 earned-run average in six starts."We're trying to get him going, to where his confidence, his command, his delivery, his mechanics, mindset are all to the point here, 'All right, it looks like it's time for us to get him back in that rotation,' " the GM said. "We hope it's not permanent."

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Can we end this now?

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...d-major-league

It's absolutely insane to think that the Twins had Liriano for a half dozen years and never bothered to check out if there was a difference in his delivery that changed his success rate against major league hitters. I don't even know how to debate that point. It's ludicrous.

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You may recall, since it was only a couple months ago, that Liriano returned to the rotation and was a new man for a good 6-8 weeks. Which would validate my point: that it all begins and ends with Liriano's mechanics.

If I forgot how to do my job every 6-8 weeks, I certainly wouldn't have the chutzpah to blame my boss for it. I'd expect to be fired for gross incompetence.