Posted by: Jimmy (jimrickon@adelphia.net) on Sun Dec 31 00:27:51 2006

> > > Cage,
> > > without seeing you, my guess would be your opening your lead shoulder early. If
you rotate early, it will cause you to pull away from the strike zone and you would have to
reach back to hit a ball on the outside of the plate. Another problem may be no one has
taught you and inside, outside swing. I would suggest you have a good instructor take
look at your swing, if one is not available you can have your parents take some film of our
swing and send it to a qualified instructor. Hope this helps. Coach Moore
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Coach Moore made a lot of good points and I agree with what he said. As a quick fix,
I would use a bat that is and inch longer but with preferably the same weight if possible.
This way your bat will stay in the hitting area slightly longer and may allow you to make
more contact due to greater extension.
>
> >I have been away for some time but do enjoy the outside pitch discussion.From my
studies and experiences,it is important to look for the away pitch if you plan to hit it.There
is a deeper load on the o.s. pitch that allows you to start from a stronger point since the
rotation amount is less,if you look for it and get it you just stay tucked a tad longer as you
load for the pitch.The 2 keys that I see for reaching the os pitch is that the rear elbow
does not slot as tight to ribcage as on inside pitches and lead arm is straighter [unhinged]
at lead elbow so more lead shoulder energy is applied,on inside pitches I see a tighter rear
elbow and more lead elbow flex as the hands are drawn into a tighter hand path on inside
pitches.The adjustment in the load and hinging or unhinging of elbows are what makes it
so tough to hit the whole plate coverage and thus brings in the mind game of looking for a
pitch in your strength til 2 strikes.I feel however it is easier to look away and abort the
long load when you read middle in and still pull the ball with authority than to look in
[shorter load ]and try to adjust out.Optimally I found that good plate coverage allows for
the os pitch to be hit perpendicular [bat ball collision point] but generally trying to have
hands slightly ahead of barrel on away and barrel slightly ahead of hands on middle in
creates best overall timing that comes from much training that gets put on autopilot
reflexes in the game.

Cage, Coach Moore is giving you great advise. You may want to concentrate on keeping
your head in the hitting zone longer as well. Head position during and after contact is
often overlooked. The pitches that you take that seem outside is a result of that front
shoulder pulling out, as Coach Moore pointed out, as well as your head and eyes pulling
away from the ball. Keeping your head down in the hitting zone during and after contact
doesn't only help you to see the ball better, but it is also directly related to the path that
your bat takes as well. Its an easy way to shorten that path even more to the ball.