Q.  Throwing across his body is a good thing?

A.  Like throwing a knuckleball, it is a big help if you can actually do it.  Also like throwing a knuckleball, you can't actually do it.  Well, a few guys can.

The negatives to this are supposedly:

• It costs you accuracy, especially armside of the plate (agreed for many pitchers - Dr D)
• It can lead to injury (only agree if hips don't clear well - Dr D)
• It can cause the arm to drop, leaving the fingers below the ball, causing "sail" and lack of movement (sometimes - Dr D)

Erasmo comes crossfire but suffers none of the ill effects.  This leaves him with only the bountiful deception and spin.

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Q.  He has good mechanics?

A.  They rate like 9 out of 10, maybe 10 out of 10.  Erasmo is a living demonstration of the fact that you can have aesthetically beautiful mechanics despite an ugly-duckling crossfire motion.  It's wacky but wonderful.

In Lonnie's spring training video, behold the slo-mo at 0:24 seconds.  Study very carefully the quietness of the head -- no, not the quietness exactly; the surgical poise of his head.  In his windup, Erasmo truly echoes Greg Maddux.

 ................

Especially note how the eyes remain dart-thrower locked --- > as Ramirez goes into the violent 20-RPM-per-Second shoulder rotation.  Nice, nice, nice!  It's like a quarterback getting sacked, knocked sideways, and calmly peering downfield to unload the football while he's flying in midair.  Erasmo's "nose-to-leather finish" is completely unsurpassable.

You combine this with Navarro's remark that "he hits the glove every time" and you get the idea here.  You're talking about a Bankhead/Bosio/Maddux approach to pitching.

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Q.  This creates deception?

A.  MLB hitters will tell you that they only focus on the release area, anyway...

Still, they subconsciously process little things -- like the position of the pitcher's hand -- the moment that the pitcher starts coming forward.  They can't do this with Erasmo; the ball (to my eye) "materializes" suddenly at the release point because he's hiding it behind his shoulder and head.  That bit of time is all a pitcher needs to be invisible.

And in this grab from Lonnie's vid, you can see the pitcher's hand and wrist from Lonnie's angle, but can the hitter see them from his angle?  Hint:  no.

 ...............

 

Think Tim Lincecum, who is short, but who suffers no perceived velocity loss, precisely because of his delivery.

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Q.  How does Erasmo step to 3B but then clear his hips so smoothly?

A.  He bends his front knee a lot, and as he lands, he points his left toe way back over to 1B.  Golfers are familiar with the idea of angling their front toes to allow hip clearance -- "angle the toe for power, not for show."

 ...........

Niiiiiice!  This factor right here may be the key to Ramirez' whole delivery.