Britton explains why Arrieta flourished in Chicago

[Sessh]

Did he?

Did he actually buy into what the O's were saying and try to implement the changes or did he go about it in a half-hearted manner that was doomed to fail?

To it it looked like the later. He never looked to me like he was at peace with the process.

How did he look to you?

He would look very comfortable and locked in at times for the first 3-4 innings, then inexplicably would fall apart. Based on Britton's comments, it makes sense to me. He was being micromanaged and told to do things the

way Adair wanted him to even when Jake's way was working. I can totally relate to being in a situation like that where something you're being told to do isn't working and yet no changes are made to the approach or

strategy; this is textbook bullheaded and stubbornness and Adair seems to have fit that bill perfectly. On one hand, Jake had a good idea what he was comfortable doing and on the other, he constantly had Rick Adair

over his shoulder trying to micromanage every aspect of his delivery and approach. I personally experienced something like this in little league and it frustrated me right out of playing baseball. I pitched good when I did it

my way, but I was trying to be forced to do it another way that didn't work for me. I can 100% relate to Jake's situation and I side with him.

[Sessh]

So does Britton throw a cutter or a two seam fastball?

Britton throws a sinker and a curve primarily. If Britton threw a cutter, it would break in on the hands of righties.

[Can_of_corn]

Britton throws a sinker and a curve primarily. If Britton threw a cutter, it would break in on the hands of righties.

So is it movement or hand grip that makes a pitch a cutter? You just said a few posts back "It was most definitely a cutter that Mo threw as evidenced

by the grip he used.".

I'm confused.

[Sessh]

So is it movement or hand grip that makes a pitch a cutter? You just said a few posts back "It was most definitely a cutter that Mo threw as evidenced

by the grip he used.".

I'm confused.

It's both, really. The movement of Mo's cutter makes it a cutter, but DD insists that it was just a moving fastball and not a cutter. It depends where your put your fingers, where on the laces you put them, how you

flick your wrist, what finger is applying the pressure to the ball and how much pressure is being applied. All these things determine how the ball spins and at what RPM it spins at. Based on the spin, it affects the air

pressure on one side of the ball which makes it move in a certain direction.

That's a cutter grip. The pressure is applied by the middle finger. The index finger is just for grip stability. It is very similar to a slider though sliders are slower and break way more.

Fastball grip.

[Can_of_corn]

That's Britton's sinker grip.

Does he throw a sinker or a cutter?

Sure looks to me like it's a cutter (by grip).

Peavy's cutter grip for comparison.

[Sessh]

That's Britton's sinker grip.

Does he throw a sinker or a cutter?

Sure looks to me like it's a cutter (by grip).

Brittons sinker breaks down and in to lefties. A cutter does not move like that. As I said above, there is a lot of factors that go into making pitches. You won't hear anyone say that Britton throws a cutter instead of a

sinker because it doesn't move like a cutter. The grip for a cutter and a slider are nearly identical as well. The differences are in how the pitch is released.

[Tony-OH]

Britton throws a sinker and a curve primarily. If Britton threw a cutter, it would break in on the hands of righties.

Britton is a sinker, slider pitcher.

[Sessh]

That's Britton's sinker grip.

Does he throw a sinker or a cutter?

Sure looks to me like it's a cutter (by grip).

Peavy's cutter grip for comparison.

[video=youtube;zH_wEUBWp9k]

Check that out.

[Can_of_corn]

Britton is a sinker, slider pitcher.

Right, but his sinker uses a cutter grip.

Which means you can't just classify a pitch by the grip used.

[InTheWinColumn!]

That's Britton's sinker grip.

Does he throw a sinker or a cutter?

Sure looks to me like it's a cutter (by grip).

Peavy's cutter grip for comparison.

Come on.. Does Britton's ball sink or cut? Sink, obviously. Sinker.

Peavy and Britton are also gripping completely different parts of the ball. Britto's grip is further down on the inside of the wider, circular part of the ball while Peavy is more up on the outside of the thinner, 2 seam area (for lack of a better description).

[Can_of_corn]

[video=youtube;zH_wEUBWp9k]

Check that out.

Nice.

I'm actually more interested in how Britton's sinker works.

[Sessh]

Britton is a sinker, slider pitcher.

Fair enough. I've seen it called both.

[Sessh]

Nice.

I'm actually more interested in how Britton's sinker works.

I'll see if I can find something similar about sinkers.

[Can_of_corn]

I'll see if I can find something similar about sinkers.

The best I have found is the fangraphs piece that I pulled the picture from.

Britton's sinker appears to be a unique beast.

[Sessh]

The best I have found is the fangraphs piece that I pulled the picture from.

Britton's sinker appears to be a unique beast.

It is indeed. It is a unique beast just as Mo's cutter was.

Masahiro Tanaka

I found a video of former minor league pitcher John Madden getting in depth about sinkers, sliders and forkballs. If you're really interested in this stuff, it's informative. Not flashy like the sport science videos, though.

[video=youtube;6iFwahr_3mo]