[soonerfan]

I had an umpire from the CWS explain to me his defining a "stop" in the stretch. Most pitchers will bring their hands together around the chin and settle around the stomach or below, but to throw the ball they bring the hands back up to raise the throwing arm. A lot of pitchers do this "in one motion." I put that in quotation since that is the best way to describe it. His judgement on a "stop" in the motion is that he "stops" his hands from moving down and "starts" his hands up to deliver the pitch, hence a "dicernable stop." Good enough for me given his umpire resume far exceeded mine. Not totally applicable to the thread, but adds a point of view. JT