Jordan Bastian has a great piece on the technical changes Alex Rios has made to his swing.
"Toronto hitting coach Mickey Brantley began working with Rios on eliminating a foot tap in his stride. Having a slight tap works as a timing mechanism for hitters, but in Rios' case, it was actually throwing off his timing."
Rance Mulliniks has been talking a lot on the TV broadcasts about how Rios has his legs much wider this year, which makes him lower at the plate and has made his swing shorter and more compact. He is striding forward after a slight backward movement and doesn't lift his body during his swing any more.
The results, of course, speak for themselves.
Larry Parrish gave Frank Catalanotto the idea for the hitting diary he keeps, when Cat was in AA. Geoff Baker goes behind the scenes and looks at what's in them. Cat is 'viewed as an intelligence-gathering master', running into the clubhouse after every at-bat to review video and updating his 200 page hitting diary every day. "When you're not blessed with all the talent in the world, I think you've got to make it up in different areas. I think if I can prepare better than the opposition, then that gives me a little bit of an edge."
The phrase putting his body on the line is over-used in sports, but it really applies to Aaron Rowand. Warning: gruesome picture alert.
Boy Wonder Francisco Liriano has finally been given a place in the Twins rotation, with Carlos Silva taking his 8.80 ERA to the pullpen.
Coming Up:
The good guys are in Anaheim and Colorado this week, then they return to the RC for series against the Devil Rays, the World Champs and the previous World Champs.
Tue: Lilly vs Santana (10:05)
Wed: Janssen vs Escobar (10:05)
Thu: Halladay vs Lackey (10:05)
Fri: Towers vs Cook (9:05)
Sat: TBD vs Francis (8:05)
Sun: Lilly vs Fogg (3:05)