We all know that Derek Jeter no longer has that great range that has led to him being considered one of the better fielding short stops in baseball. Over the years, Jeter has lost a step or two.

Yes, this is a typical NY Yankees and Derek Jeter fluff piece. However, it does discuss some drills used by Jeter and his trainer to improve his lateral speed.

Cincinnati Reds hitting coach Brook Jacoby demonstrates the basics of hitting.

Brent Mayne talks about catchers framing pitches. On one hand, framing a pitch may give the pitcher a couple of inches off each side of the plate. The downfall, Mayne explains, is that if the umpire realizes your doing it the pitcher may actually become victim of a shrunken strike zone.

“See the ball, hit the ball,” is about as simple as it gets. Once you stat to dig into the brain activity of the hitter, it’s hardly that simple. Dave Baldwin over at The Baseball Analyst takes a scientific look at what occurs in the mind of his hitter as he attempts to hit a pitch.

Just a quick reminder that anyone near a batted ball should always wear a helmet.

From the material to the construction to the simple shape, a baseball glove has many elements that can elevate it from good to great. Here are just some of the things that make a glove great.

I was watching the Red Sox – Yankees game last night when I witnessed one of the most exciting and unexpected plays in baseball, Jacoby Ellsbury steal of home. I’ve had some success of this play at the high school level. I’ve never had a player thrown out but you have to be very careful in how you set it up. I think the most important thing is that the hitter has to know the situation. It could get ugly if he stays in and swings the bat. I found a nice analysis of this over at the Baseball Analyst.

The South Dakota High School Baseball Association is making the switch from limits on innings pitched to pitch counts for pitcher.

I have no problem stressing to my players that as their coach, I always make the assumption that how they practice demonstrates how they will play the game. Practice is a direct representation of a players game and if they are lazy in practice – my assumption as they coach is that they will be lazy in the games. Here are a few simple rules for players to get the best out of themselves at practice.