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” 為什麼要拿Avery和Zito比較？這裡有幾個原因，比較重要的兩點是： 1.之前對Avery的研究讓我了解到身體投球的方式。這包括了scap load、揮臂、身體投球 的效率...這也讓我了解到"蝴蝶效應"的觀念，關於起因的小改變和結果的大不同。 2.Avery和Zito之間的相似性：很早的成功和接下來的衰退，最主要是球速不明原因的下降 。 但在開始分析之前，我覺得應該要先建立起各位的基礎知識（建立信用）。 要說明關於身體是怎麼投球或揮棒就像是在拉毛衣上的毛線：最後得到的是一坨毛線球。 為什麼？因為這其中的複雜度相當的高。 還有，傳統上對於職業投球和打擊機制的文化也是個阻礙。簡單的說，職棒並不會去改進 球員的動作，因為它們只需要去選擇那些已經懂得揮棒和投球的人。職棒的工作是去製造 打者和投手，不是去訓練揮棒和投球。 Zito的分析可以只用一句話來說明：Zito"推球"。Zito不知道要怎麼投球。以前從來都不 知道，未來也可能永遠不會知道。他是個不知道要怎麼有效率的投球卻能製造出亮眼數字 的投手。 還有，根據我對Zito的了解，我很確定他對投球有著錯誤的認知。 但至少你會了解(投球的原理)。你可能會覺得這很有意思或是覺得這些是很顛覆性的想法 。 我們會運用過去15年來SETPRO在生理、機械、生物力學上的研究來建立起各位關於投球機 制上的知識。 就像盟軍最後的成功：經過六個月的攻擊後才跨越萊茵河。我也決定使用相同的方法，先 建立起背景知識而不是做直接分析。 無論是Zito或是巨人隊都不知道問題的原因，更不用說要怎麼修正。就把它想成是個不間 斷的戰鬥吧。 然後，就像是電影或是真實的歐戰，要了解投球機制沒有捷徑，即使事前已經做了很多準 備。 所以，下回待續：“In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth… and the ability of man to throw left-handed” --

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