Comments on: Jered Weaver, the surprise strikeout king

By: BC

BC — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:37:28 +0000

I see a picture like this and I wonder how ANY pitcher stays healthy for any length of time.

By: Reflex

Reflex — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:45:17 +0000

That image is not an inverted W. The elbows have to be above the shoulders and they clearly are not here. I don’t know if Weaver uses an inverted W or not, he may, but this image is not proof of that.
Strasburg, however, does use the inverted W, and as such is never likely to be healthy for any length of time without a serious mechanical change.

By: JBerardi

JBerardi — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:15:57 +0000

His hand is in the right position, which is what counts (note that his arms make a NON-inverted W). The inverted W indicates a timing problem; the pitching arm is lagging behind the motion of the pitcher’s body. I don’t see that in Weaver (in this image at least).

By: RichardInBigD

RichardInBigD — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:00:04 +0000

I see what you’re saying, but the angle of this photo doesn’t really show the height of the elbows. It’s kind of looking up at him from belly button level. I believe that, when viewed straight on, from shoulder level, you would see that his elbows are above his shoulders. Not as much as some others, but more than I would be comfortable with as a scout/coach/parent/GM.

By: Church of the Perpetually Outraged

Church of the Perpetually Outraged — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:17:08 +0000

Correct me if i’m wrong, but isn’t the above picture what a pitcher is supposed to do? Isn’t the inverted W (technically a(n?) M), when the elbows are above the shoulders in the loaded position? The picture above shows a regular W doesn’t it?

By: RichardInBigD

RichardInBigD — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:04:16 +0000

My comment has something to do with the English language, as well. Much more basic, though. All the way back to the alphabet, in fact. If tou take a look at the picture of Weaver posted here, you will notice that he is a practitioner of the “inverted W”, which will likely cause his career to be shorter than average, rather than longer. That being said, I’m glad that he’s getting a title while he can.

By: D.J. Short

D.J. Short — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:44:36 +0000

Thanks for the advice. I must have skipped English class for that lesson. I’ll try to keep it in mind moving forward.

By: wrong em

wrong em — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:34:54 +0000

Hey DJ – your writing is totally solid in general; however, it seems like you use the word “however” constantly and never, ever punctuate around it correctly. (See what I did there?) You’re treating it as a conjunction when it’s an adverb. Sorry to be that pedantic guy, but I’ve seen the same mistake in practically everything you’ve ever posted on this (again) generally quite well-written site. Keep on keepin’ on.