I don't know whether Chris O'leary is a well-respected pitching mechanics authority or not (he's certainly not Tom House). But he has a few interesting things to say about A.J. Burnett:

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseba.../AJBurnett.html

And the inverted W style of arm-action:

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseba...eInvertedW.html

I'll have to look up what Tom House says on the topic.

I've never gotten that deep into the fine points of mechanics, so I can't tell if he's full of shit or not. What I can say is that if you follow the links to the BJ Ryan footage, the most glaring thing is not the "inverted W" or whatever. What stands out most is that Ryan, in this footage anyway, recoils at the end of his delivery instead of following through. That means he is not pitching with his whole body, and that is probably more damaging to his arm than his "loading" technique. O'Leary should know that. I've seen this same thing to some extent in Liz, Matsuzaka, and Blanton's deliveries from time to time.

I'm also a little suspicious that he provides a whole lot more examples of how not to do things. With still photos taken out of the context of the full delivery, it's hard to see if he has a point or not. To me, the Johnson footage is inconclusive, and Johnson is a freak of nature to begin with. He gives no actual footage of Maddux, so it's hard to tell how Maddux's delivery really compares to Burnett or Ryan. O'Leary might be one of these guys who's trying to make a name for himself over a non-issue. Steve Ellis's "Complete Pitcher" site has a lot of footage on it. We should go there and see if we actually see any of the differences (except that feature of the site appears to be down right now).

He throws strikes. They should analyze that.

Good points, Sluggo. Tom House doesn't seem to care if the forearms are up, level, or down so long as they symmetrical in the glove and pitching arms.

Milt, he throws strikes when he's not hurt. :wink:

He threw 221 innings last season with 231 K's.
That is healthy enough for me.

And I know. How healthy one thinks he will be over say...the next 3 seasons, can he toss 550+ innings, how often he might frequent the DL, would all have to be taken in the most serious consideration in making a decision to acquire him.
His last 3 he has accrued 135,165, 221 IP. But what does that really mean? As good as he is when healthy, I would have doctors check him out and if he is healthy now, I would take that chance.
If by chance he remains healthy for the most part of the next 3 seasons, he could easily become one of the few elite pitchers in baseball, and possibly the best.

That' s why he's going to get paid somewhere, more than likely in Baltimore.

My wife and I posed a form of this question to Jim Duquette and Dave Johnson on different call in shows yesterday: Given that the Orioles appear to have a unique opportunity to sign top-quality free agents this offseason, is it in their long-term interest to incorporate signing these free agents into their rebuilding plan?

Duquette's answer was similar at points to things you've said, Milt.
1) You've got to start somewhere.
2) The Orioles have some nice young prospects (he mentioned Tillman) but not enough to rebuild completely around them within the next couple years.

Dave Johnson mentioned that the free agents might not sign here. Tom Davis added that
3) Signing these free agents might make Baltimore more attractive to additional top quality free agents in the future.

As you and Dan mentioned in another thread, focusing on either one route to rebuilding through the farm system and free agency need not be mutually exclusive. Since rebuilding entirely through the farm system would require more prospects than we yet have and for all these prospects to mature simultaneously it appears this route is not best for Baltimore. So the summary of Duquette and Davis' thoughtful responses (and Johnson's non-response) is that we should take Dan and Milto's advice and seize this unique opportunity to overpay for Teixeira and Burnett as part of our rebuilding program.

They will also make the team more fun to watch in 2009.

I like the following quote from Kevin Van Valkenburg's Sun article about A.J. Burnett :

"Burnett is the kind of pitcher who has an electric arm that is made out of balsa wood and held together with chewing gum."

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/lif...g_is_awful.html

Palmer doesn't show the "inverted W" here. He may be just a fraction of a second before touch-down with his landing foot, but his pitching arm side is clearly vertical.

This degree of hyperextension of the shoulder seems unhealthy, though:


It's a slightly different angle, but this image from early in his career doesn't show the same tendency:

So, is Sarfate the next Jim Palmer? :P

I thought something similar when I saw that Sarfate photo.

No, his pitching arm side forearm is not vertical as it should be when his leading foot touches down. We can't see the foot in the photo but it seems likely it has planted. Maybe this has something to do with why he can't throw a strike?!