Brain of Bannister

[Guest OlerudOwned]

This interview has been kicking around the tubes for a few months now, but it's starting to garner more and more attention. He's certainly not the first baseball player to use his head, but I've never, never seen an interview with such self-awareness, depth, and knowledge of cutting edge analytical ideas. It's a really outstanding read.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/01/brian-bannister.html
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/01/brian-bannist-1.html
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/01/brian-bannist-2.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-springbannister030808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[metirish]

His answer to the first question probably shows the kind of person he is I would think .


Great read.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

3 starts, 3 wins, 0.86 ERA in 21 IP with a 0.714 WHIP.

Fear the brain of Brian.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Alas, my first adopted prospect was traded before he got a chance to truly show what he was capable of. Still, I'm quite happy that he has done so well with his opportunity in Kansas City.

[Guest AG/DC]

The Seo/Sanchez trade should henceforth be referred to as the Bad Precedent.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080414&content_id=2527162&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Dude's even hyper-analytical in those official team website mailbag deals.

]In your recent online chat, you stated that as a right-handed pitcher you changed from throwing on the first-base side of the pitching rubber to the third-base side of the rubber. This made you more effective against righties, but less effective against lefties. Can you continue to throw from the third-base side of the rubber against righties, but throw from the first-base side against lefties? Is that possible? -- RoyalArron In the past, I experimented with moving on the rubber depending on what type of hitter I was facing, but I wasn't able to create the kind of consistency with my pitch locations that is required at the Major League level. I was inspired to try it by watching Roger Clemens, who stands more in the middle of the rubber and is able to adjust more easily to one side or the other during his delivery. The reason I pitch from the third-base side now is because it creates more deception with my current pitch repertoire. I changed from throwing a cutter to a slider, and now I make the ball move by adjusting my finger pressure and thumb position on the ball. I used to be very successful in the Minor Leagues throwing a cutter from the first-base side of the rubber, but it was not as successful at the Major League level, so I changed.