Here's a post by Rydell from another board.....

quote:

Use the front knee for adjustments...

1) Stride in time, front foot should be down or nearly so with the ball still approx 25 ft to go to the plate.

2) If you recognize off-speed or ball heading to the outer 1/2 of the plate, keep the front knee "soft" until the ball get deep.

THIS IS THE PRIMARY PROBLEM w/ PURELY ROTATIONAL HITTING....IT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ADJUSTMENTS, BECAUSE THE FRONT SIDE FIRMS UP TOO QUICK.

While I don't completely agree with him, his words do allow for some things to consider............

There are clues in his post as to why the lower body should be slave to the upper body, IMO......

i like to analyze these cues by reconciling the authorities who emphasize a particular cue/movement with those who emphasize the same or other swing phases, given that both are desribing the same pattern.

this point relates to the lau sr/jr/peavy emphasis on adjusting in out by timing of front leg firmup.

this is a good observation, but not as good as realizing that this lower body adjustment happens slaved to how upper body is adjusting and resisting.

along with this is how/when the weight 'shifts'

Cues, cues, cues. As a hitter you are always in adjustment phase. A soft knee allows for the adjustments and it will firm up naturally on or after contact.

All of that plus landing softly/smoothly with the stride foot.

"Timing" involves being in rythym with the pitcher and the pitch. Remember, and 80 MPH fastball thrown down and away requires the same "timing" as a 70 MPH changeup that is up and in. So it is not all the pitch, location plays an equally important role.

Rythym is what separates baseball from golf. In golf they talk about tempo because the ball is not moving and you are in control. In baseball you have to get in sync (rythym) with the pitcher. This will allow you to have better timing with the pitch you are looking for, not every pitch/location.

Front knee locks out right around the point of contact, finishing off complete hip rotation. Too early, late results in bat drag and 6-3's or F9's.

Question gentlemen - do MLB hitters "sit" more i.e. lower there COG as part of a momentary delay mechanism upon recognition of off-speed pitch?

quote:

Originally posted by NYdad:
Question gentlemen - do MLB hitters "sit" more i.e. lower there COG as part of a momentary delay mechanism upon recognition of off-speed pitch?

They go into a "sit" to keep the weight on the back leg. This delays "explosion" of the back hip.

Also, since an off-speed pitch will most likely be low in the zone, the sit allows the hitter to go down and get to the ball.