Knowing a Hitter’s Brain, Russell’s Return, Pitch Clock Frustration, and Other Bullets

Feb 25, 2019

The Wife was doing some appointments today, so that meant we were able to take a workout class together this morning. I’m not gonna pass up on that opportunity, so I apologize for the very tardy Bullets. Worth it, though.

Sahadev Sharma has a fantastic, interesting interview with the Cubs’ new hitting coach (and former minor league hitting coordinator) Anthony Iapoce. Among the eye-poppers from Iapoce that you’ll read in there, here’s how he responds when Sharma asks about the players see him as focusing more on the mental side than the mechanical side: “The thoughts control everything. They control how your body moves and how you swing. The problem is, you can’t measure the thoughts yet. We haven’t been able to study the brain while a human’s alive or predict what he’s thinking. But we’re getting close. So a lot of stuff, whether it’s technology or video from mechanics of the swing, people can measure it and see it. So we go right to that when maybe it could be something else. I think it’s just knowing players, knowing that they have all these sources around them that are valuable assets. But they’re just pieces. As Joe (Maddon) says, it’s just another tool in your toolbox. But if you consume yourself with everything, you’re going to forget about how good of a player you really are.”

So basically, Anthony Iapoce wants to open up Cubs’ players brains and study them. … I joke, but seriously, that’s a very smart approach to being a big league hitting coach, where the players all have personal swing coaches, aren’t necessarily going to make huge changes to their game in the way pitchers do, and so much of their success is predicated on their ability to be confident in every single plate appearance.

It’s a very good read:

I spoke to new Cubs hitting coach Anthony Iapoce last week and he had some interesting thoughts on hitting philosophies, Willson Contreras' 2018 season, Kris Bryant's mental toughness and more. https://t.co/Rsyzz2YNVI
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) February 24, 2019

Addison Russell played in his first game (spring variety) since his domestic violence suspension, and I find these comments less than encouraging:

“It’s going to happen. I’m just trying to prepare myself for when that happens,” Russell said of the boos he knows are coming. He called today’s crowd “supporting” and somehow surmised “the tough stuff is pretty much out of the way. But there’s still some room for growth. …”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) February 24, 2019

The @suntimes_sports cover, featuring #Cubs SS Addison Russell, who returned to field and is bracing for fan wrath over domestic-violence suspension, by @GDubCub – https://t.co/PpYrtQSRIZ pic.twitter.com/28WKDSkrr5
— Sun-Times Sports (@suntimes_sports) February 25, 2019

To be sure, we don’t exactly know the context of what he’s done behind the scenes – what he’s done to help the domestic violence conversation beyond just working on ensuring that he, himself, does not commit anything remotely like that again – but it’s hard to imagine (1) that the “tough stuff is pretty much out of the way,” or (2) that’s the right way to think about this issue. I have to remind myself that good can still come out of this situation, the organization can still making important strides in helping the overall sport improve on this issue, and Melisa Reidy indicated – according to Theo Epstein – that she supports this conditional chance for Russell.

I have never noticed this before, and it’s really awesome:

YO. I never noticed this flourish. Fantastic. pic.twitter.com/GWG7G9XiL1

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) February 25, 2019

This perspective gets me fired up. Care more about your sport than about your resistance to easy, simple changes:

This is a pro-player account, but man, the freaking histrionics about the pitch clock are ridiculous. Cutting dead time IMPROVES the game, leaving the holy, revered "fabric" unchanged. Minor leaguers have shown for *years* that this is an *easy* adjustment. Get over it. pic.twitter.com/qpvUbRzYvB
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) February 25, 2019

I will say, “Own It Now” is growing on me:

The “Own It Now” shirts have arrived to Cubs camp… pic.twitter.com/ZBmfXtygBJ

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) February 25, 2019

Robot vacuum, dehydrator, men’s razors, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon.

Important Oscars content … the Best Picture goes to:

View this post on Instagram

And Best Picture goes to … #Cubs #Oscars

A post shared by Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation) on Feb 24, 2019 at 6:18pm PST

Sign him up:

This Very Good Boy set a world record with an 83-yard catch.

Wonder if the Bears can get in on him when free agency opens up … pic.twitter.com/7yGaqbzazU

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 25, 2019

And this is extremely awesome:

Incredible: Young Player Has Only One Arm, but Huge Power https://t.co/j5KksFYqdS pic.twitter.com/6LQA7BlALY

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) February 25, 2019

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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