More Gyroball

More discussion surrounding the Gyroball in the last few days in the wake of the mention in October's Esquire magazine. More information including a video of a high school pitcher supposedly throwing the pitch can be found on Wikipedia.

Dave Baldwin, former pitcher and PhD noted on SABR-L that the pitch sounds like the kind of arm motion that Mike Marshall has been touting for years and that he demonstrated at this year's SABR convention. However, Marshall advocates the pronation motion on the release in order to alleviate injuries and doesn't claim you can get a "three foot" break on the ball as is claimed in the Esquire piece and noted by Jeff Passan in an article written during spring training.

Speaking of pitching, I found this note on ChicagoSports.com to epitomize much of the Cubs season.

"The Cubs on Tuesday set a major-league record with their 522nd pitching change, surpassing the Giants' mark set in 2004."