Why compare Zito to Avery? There are several reasons. The two having the most
bearing on Zito:
1. The analysis of Avery back in 1997-1998 taught me a great deal about how the
body throws the baseball. That analysis produced such concepts as scapula
loading and unloading, the effects of arm action and how to use the body to
throw the baseball more effectively. It also introduced me to the concept of
chaos, the idea that small differences in how the body is used to throw the
ball can result in big consequences, good or bad .
2. I see an analogy between what happened to Avery and Zito—early success
followed by performance decline, most notably a loss of their fastball with no
real explanation.
But I keep encountering the horse before the cart problem: analysis before
credibility. I felt that there needed be a foundation laid (establishing
credibility) before taking on Zito's mechanics.
Thus my analogy to "A Bridge Too Far," and trying to take and hold the bridge
without taking all things into consideration and having an over-optimistic
belief in one's ability to assess the situation.
Trying to write about anything having to do with how the human body swings the
bat or throws the baseball is like a loose thread of yarn on bottom of a
sweater: You start pulling on it and in the end you have nothing but a ball of
yarn. Why? Because of the infinite complexity associated with how the body
produces movement.
Also, the existing culture and mystique that surround pitching (throwing) and
hitting (swing) mechanics at the professional level are a severe impediment.
Simply stated, professional baseball doesn't have to develop players' mechanics
from scratch because it gets the choice bodies that already know how to swing
and throw. Baseball's job is to make hitters and pitchers, not develop swings
and throws.
The analysis of Zito can be reduced to one paragraph or less. Zito pushes the
baseball. Zito doesn't know how to throw the baseball. Never really did and
probably never will. He's a fantastic pitcher who really doesn't know how to
throw efficiently.
And, based on what I know of Zito—where he came from in terms of how he thinks
he should pitch (throw) a baseball—I'm quite sure he has the wrong image in
his mind of what he has to do with his body to throw.
But unless you understand the basics of how the body throws, neither he nor you
, the reader, would find this very interesting or very earth shattering.
After deliberations with my editors, we agreed to mount a throwing mechanics
offensive supported by overwhelming force. We'll use information developed at
SETPRO these past 15 years in the form of biomechanical, physiological and
motor learning and control.
Just as the Allies, instead of achieving a quick tactical victory at Arnhem,
had to slog through another six months of fighting on a broad front before they
crossing the Rhine, I am prepared to do the same, rather than launching a Barry
Zito quick-strike tactic without laying down the groundwork.
Neither the Giants nor Zito himself understand what the problem is, never mind
how to fix it. Simply put it’s a battle, part of an ongoing war.
As with the movie and the real-life World War II European campaign, there is no
shortcut to understanding this mechanics stuff, even with significant
preparation.
So, please come along as we prepare. Next time: “In the beginning God created
Heaven and Earth… and the ability of man to throw left-handed”
为什么要拿Avery和Zito比较？这里有几个原因，比较重要的两点是：
1.之前对Avery的研究让我了解到身体投球的方式。这包括了scap load、挥臂、身体投球
的效率...这也让我了解到"蝴蝶效应"的观念，关于起因的小改变和结果的大不同。
2.Avery和Zito之间的相似性：很早的成功和接下来的衰退，最主要是球速不明原因的下降
。
但在开始分析之前，我觉得应该要先建立起各位的基础知识（建立信用）。
要说明关于身体是怎么投球或挥棒就像是在拉毛衣上的毛线：最后得到的是一坨毛线球。
为什么？因为这其中的复杂度相当的高。
还有，传统上对于职业投球和打击机制的文化也是个阻碍。简单的说，职棒并不会去改进
球员的动作，因为它们只需要去选择那些已经懂得挥棒和投球的人。职棒的工作是去制造
打者和投手，不是去训练挥棒和投球。
Zito的分析可以只用一句话来说明：Zito"推球"。Zito不知道要怎么投球。以前从来都不
知道，未来也可能永远不会知道。他是个不知道要怎么有效率的投球却能制造出亮眼数字
的投手。
还有，根据我对Zito的了解，我很确定他对投球有着错误的认知。
但至少你会了解(投球的原理)。你可能会觉得这很有意思或是觉得这些是很颠覆性的想法
。
我们会运用过去15年来SETPRO在生理、机械、生物力学上的研究来建立起各位关于投球机
制上的知识。
就像盟军最后的成功：经过六个月的攻击后才跨越莱茵河。我也决定使用相同的方法，先
建立起背景知识而不是做直接分析。
无论是Zito或是巨人队都不知道问题的原因，更不用说要怎么修正。就把它想成是个不间
断的战斗吧。
然后，就像是电影或是真实的欧战，要了解投球机制没有捷径，即使事前已经做了很多准
备。
所以，下回待续：“In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth… and the
ability of man to throw left-handed”