gould- feels what he wants to do, does it. all pitcher's are the same

seperate, hands throw first, stay on ball.

key is to keep head still, body still, to get best sight of ball. a little weight shift back and over back leg is good.

take away the outside half- great approach, stay on and through the ball.

Basically I need to spend more time deliberately practicing baseball.

tennis ball machine- need to take 200 tennis balls daily.

also need to deliberately practice seeing release points and the different stages of acute vision of release points:

1) see the hand as it is coming through

see the arm angle

see the grip on the ball

2) see the pitcher release the ball

grip

spin

trajectory

3) track the flight of the pitch

trajectory

spin

movement

4 pillars:

tennis balls x200

practice bunting- 50 bunts a day

practice hitting fastballs x50

practice hitting sliders x50

release point drills: 2 seam vs. 4 seam, curveballs, change-ups, see different stages of vision

routine- do swing slow in mirror

front toss routine: head position (eye patch), right arm, heel timing

practice different counts, situational hitting

read stuff that makes you say: "I better get busy"

after every game:

visualize the game. replay it in your head. note everything and visualize it how you would have wanted it to go.

keep a journal in order to get something out of every at-bat you have.

the ultimate test of your ability to hit is how you do when your swing is not on and you know it. today my swing was not on and i knew it and i went 4 for 4 with four hard hit balls and 4 quality at-bats.

have an idea in bp

stay away, one the ball- head on it, feet on it, shoulders on it- stay on the ground

work on seeing the ball

keep head still, body still, see ball hit bat.

now that you are seeing the ball really well, theres no need to try and pull the ball. stay on it and all over it.

swing without the shoulders

three things hold me back: 1) seeing the ball 2) fear of the pitcher 3) my takes sometimes show that swing isn't right where it needs to be. By the way, I am CRUSHING the ball in batting practice- my swing feels incredible. I'm just working on heel timing and throwing the bathead- making sure my weight is over the plate so i can stay through the ball, and trying to stay back- not jump out at the ball. Those are the two things- staying back and staying through the ball- because often when i get into trouble its because i am pulling the lead shoulder out or diving at the ball. as far as my hands, as long as i get them going back and up and have some tilt or cock to the bat- MINIMAL- but some so i can keep my weight over my feet. also- my legs are very athletic- cocked on my back leg, ready to drive, toes pointed in. head still, see the ball, see the top half, backspin it.

keep visualizing what you should have done when you don't get exactly the results you want.

stay intense focused- hard, and aggressive.

work the heel timing in front toss. take dry hacks working on it, off the tee, and then swing w/ a ball.

consistent mental training- consistency in thoughts, objectives

the basis of my swing is the back knee starting before the front heel is down, and the hands keeping the upper body back. The key to my stance and set-up is comfort- my hands are somewhat low but completely natural- i can completely focus on seeing the ball. in the swing, i'm just staying on the ball, through it, with my head, hands, shoulders and feet. I'm focusing on picking the ball up early and getting the bat head out, but within the framework of staying all over the pitch and seeing the ball really well.

I'm also working on my demeanor in the box- going up to the plate like i expect to do damage- which i do. i walk up confidently with the barrel of the bat in my palm, and swipe the dirt with my feet, and tap the plate.

i still need to work on boxing up the pitch- although i am seeing the ball better now even though i haven't established the consistent eye patterns i'd like to.

another key is that when i'm comfortable, i can be completely ready to swing when i lock in on the ball coming out of the pitchers hand.

being over the balls of your feet is also important. also- getting up on the plate in practice and hitting the inside pitch is a good tool.

back to basics:

seperation

heel timing

swing w/ right arm

do things everyday that will make you better even if everything else goes wrong:

tennis balls

eye patch drills

mirror- mechanics

work on the right things day in and day out so that even if everything else goes wrong in a day you will have established some good muscle memory that can move you forward.

visualize yourself getting 4 hits in a game.

"its very routine"

i expect to hit well so it doesn't excite me. I'm just trying to do anything to help my team win. team first.

stay through the ball and get your lower body working right- specifically, dead front side

aslo, get very closed w/ lower body

what i'm doing well: staying on the ball, staying on top

also, work on loading w/ the right arm

envision yourself walking into the cage: confident, focused like a laser beam

feel yourself tap the bat w/ confidence and prepare for the pitch like a warrior

practice hititng missiles

set goals, plan, evaluate

i would like to drive pitches batter to my pull-side . there are two components to that- seeing the ball and your swing. I can work on both in practice and concentrate on seeing the ball in the game.

to start with i need a mental image of what i want, and also a feel. There are alot of clips of players pulling homers so thats not a hard thing, and as for feel i can rely on past memories and cues.

past memories:

homers to left

feel: bathead out

bathead early

when visualizing what you want to do, be as detailed as possible.

what I want to feel. What i am thinking: bathead out, top half of the ball

go through your usual routine: tap the plate, box it up

"time the pitch with your rotation"

plan, evaluate

baserunning, quality abs, make the routine play

9/7

physical relaxation

stay through the ball

9/6

physical relaxation

slow load

direct hand path to ball

front toss routine:

eye patch, angled l screen 2x8

split grip 2x8 focus on a tight bat path

regular- right center- focus on keeping head down, shoulder in, feet square

also every day 4:

bunts, tennis balls, fastballs off machine, offspeed off machine

9/3

hit well today off live pitching. have to stay square and on the ball w/ feet, shoulders, and head. also, the first forward movement after you feel seperation w/ the top hand. also, whatever you do, quiet will be better than the best load done fast. also, keep it simple and basic. if you're weight isn't over your toes, than forget about any more advanced move. keep it simple. work off this idea.

9/2

gould talked today about keeping the barrel in the zone and the hands inside the ball. hit a little more athletically like evan longoria and pay more attention to relazation and recovery.

1 day is not going to make or break your performance in may, and you have to stay consistently positive and relaxed over the long run.

try to make things more simple. the simpler things are, the better they will work.

9/1

keep the right on on the ball the whole time. i say the ball 10x better when i practiced this. also, gould talked today about how hitting is adjustments, from pitch to pitch, as in what you are trying to do w/ the ball. one adjustment that i liked was- do less.

if you keep the right eye on the ball, it should feel like playing pepper

start the swing correctly with the upper body and lower body. I am still diving on my front side a bit and pulling out.