[kyleb]

Meh, I threw mid-upper 80's with terrible mechanics, and the small shoulder problem I had was probably a blessing in disguise. Getting my pro ball dreams crushed early on was probably for the best.

Against Boston, I give the Red Sox lineup the credit rather than blaming Sabathia too much. They were patient and took advantage of Sabathia just being bad. It happens; and though I was mad at the Indians for choking and blowing a 3-1 lead, in retrospect, Boston was just the better team.

I own the Dick Mills program, actually, and a lot of what he has to say has helped me regain velocity and throw with cleaner mechanics. He can get a bit over-zealous at times, but he's a decent enough instructor and I do believe in the concept of building momentum into footplant to increase velocity and reduce load on the shoulder. You might find Carlos Gomez's work (Google for "Bullpen Mechanics") interesting; he is more of a Nyman type of guy, but I agree with almost everything he says about pitching mechanics (short, elbowy arm action; building momentum into footplant; aggressive move towards the plate; anti-tall and fall).

Overuse is a serious problem and is something I see all too often at the youth level. In the absolute middle of the season when all my kids are in their best shape, I set a hard cap of 80 pitches per appearance and pay close attention to in-game mechanics. Kids who throw over 60 pitches get 3 days of rest; kids who throw close to 80 get 4. We focus on arm endurance and integrity in the preseason, but even still, injuries happen. My #2 starter last year was sidelined and relegated to first base with a shoulder injury despite mostly-clean mechanics and an innings cap; it just goes to show you that open growth plates are dangerous no matter how many precautions one takes.