RUDY AT THE BAT

I want to point out a major flaw in the New York City mayoralty campaign piece (“City on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” by Ronald Brownstein, Oct. 17).

The problem is with Rudy Giuliani’s baseball swing. To begin with, his front knee is buckling, resulting in an unwanted distribution of force, downward instead of forward and through the ball. Almost all good hitters hit off a stiff front leg, driving the momentum from the hips into the baseball. In Giuliani’s case, the point is almost moot, as he’s got virtually no hip action at all; see the way his rear leg sags forward lazily, just kind of along for the ride? It should be bent sharply underneath him, in right-angle fashion, so that his kneecap is facing dead ahead.

Finally, notice that Giuliani’s arms are near full extension, meaning that any power he hopes to generate will be spent well before the moment of impact. He needs to keep his hands much closer to his body until they cross home plate, then snap them violently forward to attack the ball “out in front,” as it’s said.

Any future photographs of public figures engaged in athletic activities should represent them as suitable role models for the readers. (And Giuliani is wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers shirt, no less. Sacrilege!)

Other than that, the piece was pretty good.

FRANK LAWRENCE JR., Poway