Raising Aces

Raising Aces: Throwdown: Zack Greinke vs. Jeremy Hellickson

Earlier this week, Zack Greinke opposed Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson in his Angels debut. Doug reviews each player's approach to pitching.

Raising Aces: Violent Trends

by Doug Thorburn 7/27

Doug looks at what pitching experts mean when they call a delivery "violent," and why this violence can be inextricable from success.

Raising Aces: Back to the Futures Game, World Team

by Doug Thorburn 7/20

Doug wraps up his mechanical analysis of the Futures Game rosters with a look at the World Team.

Raising Aces: Back to The Futures Game, US Team

by Doug Thorburn 7/13

Evaluating the mechanics of the US pitchers in last Sunday's Futures Game.

Raising Aces: Dickey’s Fine Malt Knuckler

by Doug Thorburn 6/29

Doug examines R.A. Dickey's mechanics to see how Dickey does things most knuckleballers couldn't dream of.

Raising Aces: A Slide Step in the Wrong Direction

by Doug Thorburn 6/22

The slide step is intended to help pitchers, but would they be better off without it?

Raising Aces: Draft Day Deliveries, Part Two

by Doug Thorburn 6/15

Evaluating the mechanics of six pitchers chosen in the middle of the first round of this year's draft.

Raising Aces: Draft Day Deliveries, Part 1

by Doug Thorburn 6/08

Evaluating the mechanics of the first five pitchers chosen in this year's draft.

Raising Aces: Four of a Kind: Slot Machines

by Doug Thorburn 6/01

Doug issues Mechanics Report Cards for four pitchers who throw from high arm slots: Clay Buchholz, James McDonald, Johnny Cueto, and Joe Wieland.

Raising Aces: Stras Wars

by Doug Thorburn 5/25

Getting the most out of an arm as valuable as Stephen Strasburg's is a fraught task for the Nationals.

Raising Aces: All About Injuries

by Doug Thorburn 5/18

What are the real mechanical precursors of pitcher injury? And what is the real lesson of Mark Prior's injury history?

Raising Aces: Where’s Ubaldo?

by Doug Thorburn 5/11

Wondering what happened to the Ubaldo Jimenez the Indians thought they were acquiring? Look no further than his disintegrating mechanics.

Raising Aces: Six Degrees of Supination

by Doug Thorburn 5/03

A primer on how pitchers produce movement and vary velocity by gripping and releasing their pitches.

Raising Aces: A Tale of Two Timmys

by Doug Thorburn 4/26

Is something physically or mechanically wrong with Tim Lincecum, or are his struggles to start the season something we've seen before?

Raising Aces: Downhill from Here

by Doug Thorburn 4/19

How much does pitching on a downhill plane affect a pitcher's ability to get ground balls?

Raising Aces: Dissecting Darvish

by Doug Thorburn 4/12

Timing issues held Yu Darvish back in his first big-league start, but sound underlying mechanics suggest that he'll soon put those struggles behind him.