could certainly be a factor for some of these players as well. One quote from the Geoff Baker story stands out to me:
Elliott says it's all about helping them generate more explosive movement and being better able to cope with quick changes of direction. This is done by training the player's "rotational mechanics'' so they can use "lateral'' or "horizontal'' force rather than "vertical force" when doing things like swinging a bat.
So, as mentioned earlier, a lot of the new training has to do with the hips and lower body.
"When we have guys that show up who are these big, strapping monsters, and we find out they hit four home runs? Never do they use their lower half well. Almost always they create big vertical forces. They can't create these horizontal forces.''
The part that I put in bold would seem to relate directly to a few easily identified players; Ryan Langerhans (6'-3"/220lbs/Career High HR: 8), Jack Hannahan (6'-2"/210lbs/Career High HR: 9), and Casey Kotchman (6'-3"/215lbs/Career High HR: 14). All three players are still south of 30 (though Hannahan and Langerhans are just barely and won't be by the time the season starts), and are probably looking at their last chances for significant playing time. It could be that those 3 in particular, being left handed, relatively young, and playing in Safeco, could see some career resurgence with the training methods of Dr. Elliot. In fact, in Baker's story, it says the Mariners have been consulting with Elliot for over a month, so I wonder if their is some perceivable deficiency in his swing in particular that they think Elliot's workout regimen can correct.
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