Quote Originally Posted by RougeDawg View Post
What's deal with Hudson? Does he not have any other pitches he can consistently throw for strikes. If this is the case I can see why he's doesn't pitch much. Most hitters prefer a guy throwing hard over someone mid to upper 80's especially if his other pitches aren't consistent. You can take a no stride, throw hands approach and let the pitcher provide all the power. No stride prevents a disconnect from lower and upper body, maximizing strength and also prevents the eyes from dropping during stride. If you stride and don't get foot down early enough against any pitcher you lose a ton of power. Thus no stride against a higher speed ball can be hit for power with less movement in swing. One characteristics of the better 2 strike hitters is no stride.

Either way how many outs have we given away on bunts? From others' posts it sports Vick has given USA an entire inning himself.
I agree with shortened or no stride approach with 2 strikes but throwing your hands is only good for trying to be defensive and fouling off a pitch that you were probably fooled on. It causes casting and a downward swing that you will miss the ball or hit weak grounders at a too high of percentage. By throwing the hands at the ball the bat is in the hitting zone a much smaller amount of time and is not on the plane of the pitch. Your timing with this technique has to be spot on to even get a piece of the ball since you are coming from a downward angle. Not to mention you can't throw them far enough to reach low and away. Your hands have to stay above and inside the ball. If we go back to alum bats and AstroTurf (which is when this was taught mostly, 40-30 years ago) you could get away with this technique more but not today.