Bullpen Report: #1

Until today, I had not thrown a pitch at 60'6" off a mound since June of 2009. It has been a long and grueling process to get to this point, to say the least. However, that story is for another day. Over the course of the season, I will use this space to report the details of both my bullpen sessions and game appearances. Hopefully, the insight in these reports will help others as they continue work on their game.

Bullpen Report: #1

Date: February 9, 2010

Number of Pitches: 21

Pre-Pen Goals: Repeat a sound delivery, work down in the zone at 50-75% intensity, and work pain free.

Sequence: (All Fastballs)
Pitches 1-5: From the set; 2fb glove side, 2fb arm side, 1 fb glove side.
Pitches 6-10: Windup; 2 fb glove side, 2 fb arm side, 1 fb glove side
Pitches 11-15: Set; 2 fb arm side, 2 fb glove side, 1 fb arm side
Pitches 16-18: Windup; 2 fb arm side, 1 fb glove side
Pitches 19-21: Set; All simulated 3-2 counts; 1 fb arm side, 1 fb glove side, 1 fb armside

Evaluation:

Positive:
- Pain free shoulder
- Worked down well
- Good job repeating delivery/release point
- Good downward plane on fastballs
- Good arm stamina

Needs improvement:
- Slow delivery to 75% speed and keep arm speed at 75%
- Trust shoulder- a- after hands have broken from glove
b- after release and begin to decelerate; finish the pitch
- Intensity- resist the urge to throw harder; stay with the process
-Alignment- stay through the pitch and maintain direction to the mitt.

- Overall, I was pretty pleased with the work I got in today. It is important in this game to set realistic goals and to be honest without being overly critical. My first goal was to pitch pain free; that was the biggest goal and that was accomplished. Unless a pitcher can pitch healthy, nothing else matters. My intensity level (within the 50-75% range) was good about half of the time and needs to be better next time. As far as my delivery, slowing it down will allow my arm to work better at a lower intensity. Trying to go through a bullpen session with a game speed delivery and 50% arm speed can cause you to create irregular habits. By keeping everything the same intensity, my delivery will stay the same, and I will be able to work it up to game speed in sync.


Note: This diagram is for right-handed pitchers. Left-handed pitchers will be the opposite.