absolutely! i was down in tampa over a weekend in early january to work with one of my catchers and we spent about 10 hours doing drills, discussion and video. lower half has to be slightly open in order for the hips to stay underneath yourself and allow arm to take straight path to target. when front foot is closed, the arm has to come around due to the front side pulling to the side. its very difficult for the ball to stay true when front foot is closed because the upper body is fighting the lower half. the upper body needs to be closed to create leverage and to allow the arm to take a straight path to the target. i dont think the lower half needs to be closed off, rather the weight just needs to stay on the back leg and shift to the front as you are about to release the ball.
for a drill to kind of feel what im getting at, try to do the footwork as a catcher (will probably assume the picture pose), then go through the mechanics of a throw from the outfield by using a crow hop. the crow hop is simply an overexaggerated way to load up and fire off the back leg. but, try to combine both. try to crow hop and land with your lower half closed up or even your front foot closed... feels very awkward.
the arm speed is shorter and quicker from a catchers throw because time is of the essence. a lot of throws to second will tail when the distance is 120 feet, yet a throw from the outfield has more carry and remains straight (for the most part) at a distance of 150-180 feet with higher velocities.
this leads into a past thread of mine, which do you want to happen first.. the transfer, the feet, or both at the same time?