Grotewold wrote:

Soren wrote:

Grotewold wrote:he preaches jumping on the first good pitch you see,

well that's surprising

I don't have a problem with that approach for discerning hitters like Brown, and have always wanted Utley to be a bit more aggressive early. But it's a recipe for disaster for undisciplined guys

doesn't this also imply that you should swing at a good 3-0 pitch if it's hittable? that's really stupid

Barry Jive wrote:

Grotewold wrote:

Soren wrote:

Grotewold wrote:he preaches jumping on the first good pitch you see,

well that's surprising

I don't have a problem with that approach for discerning hitters like Brown, and have always wanted Utley to be a bit more aggressive early. But it's a recipe for disaster for undisciplined guys

doesn't this also imply that you should swing at a good 3-0 pitch if it's hittable? that's really stupid

He may say that in that case, you're really really close to getting on base, so no, unless it's something you think you can crush for XBH. Whereas at 0-0, your odds for doing something good drop if you fall behind. And to be fair he specifically mentioned "hitting the fastball so you don't have to hit the splitter," not an absolute adherence to early swings

Not defending it, just found it interesting, especially at it pertains to Brown recently

Grotewold wrote:

Soren wrote:

Grotewold wrote:he preaches jumping on the first good pitch you see,

well that's surprising

I don't have a problem with that approach for discerning hitters like Brown, and have always wanted Utley to be a bit more aggressive early. But it's a recipe for disaster for undisciplined guys

while googling for a good image of delmon to use in a reply to this, instead came up with this gem:

Bsg: stats, Jews, rotoworld

Like many elite institutions in America, Jewish folks comprise a larger percentage of the population at BSG than demographic percentages would suggest

<---- Not Jewish

Funnily enough, even as a big advocate of walks, I support Wally's approach in general. After all, the simplest key to good hitting is getting your pitch and mashing it. I think, though, that the approach has to be tempered by at least two factors: First, the situation. There's nothing wrong with taking a good pitch early in the count in certain situations. And, second, IMO it's important not only to get a "good" pitch, but "your" pitch. I've always thought the best hitters are those who don't swing until they see their pitch or until they get two strikes.

Doll Is Mine wrote:<---- Not Jewish

We know. We read the tale of the tape thread.

I wonder what my pitch is.

JFLNYC wrote:Funnily enough, even as a big advocate of walks, I support Wally's approach in general. After all, the simplest key to good hitting is getting your pitch and mashing it. I think, though, that the approach has to be tempered by at least two factors: First, the situation. There's nothing wrong with taking a good pitch early in the count in certain situations. And, second, IMO it's important not only to get a "good" pitch, but "your" pitch. I've always thought the best hitters are those who don't swing until they see their pitch or until they get two strikes.

I think you and he are on the same page -- he mentioned "your" pitch and avoiding ones on the corners, etc. Problem is there's a pretty big gap between what he's espousing and what most of our hitters are doing

Barry Jive wrote:

Grotewold wrote:

Soren wrote:

Grotewold wrote:he preaches jumping on the first good pitch you see,

well that's surprising

I don't have a problem with that approach for discerning hitters like Brown, and have always wanted Utley to be a bit more aggressive early. But it's a recipe for disaster for undisciplined guys

doesn't this also imply that you should swing at a good 3-0 pitch if it's hittable? that's really stupid

Ryan Howard has hit the ball fair 32 times on a 3-0 count.. Has a batting average of .438 and a slugging average of .813. That seems kinda decent.

Utley has put the ball in play 16 times on 3-0 and has 4 homers, 11 RBI and a 1.063 slugging ave.

Rollins has done so nine times and has five hits including three home runs and 10 RBI.

Might not be such a bad strategery once in a while.

Doll Is Mine wrote:I wonder what my pitch is.

Passed ball.

Wally also mentioned "bad habits" Howard has accrued over the years and the unhittable inside pitch in particular. So at least they recognize that. Move his ass closer to the dish

Grotewold wrote:Wally also mentioned "bad habits" Howard has accrued over the years and the unhittable inside pitch in particular. So at least they recognize that. Move his ass closer to the dish

Closer or further away? Remember how Schmidt moved way off the plate in the middle of his career so he no longer would get tied up by the inside heat. He became a different hitter, from one who was a leader in strikeouts to one who struck out less than 100 times, hit for a higher average and really started driving balls to RF.

Grotewold wrote:Wally also mentioned "bad habits" Howard has accrued over the years and the unhittable inside pitch in particular. So at least they recognize that. Move his ass closer to the dish

would like to see him try to hit every single neutral or hitters count pitch to lf for like a solid week of games. I know easier said than done but you know he'll somehow randomly start driving the ball to lf here one of these games and consequently get hot, leaving us to wonder why he didn't try to adjust his approach weeks ago

JFLNYC wrote:

Grotewold wrote:Wally also mentioned "bad habits" Howard has accrued over the years and the unhittable inside pitch in particular. So at least they recognize that. Move his ass closer to the dish

Closer or further away? Remember how Schmidt moved way off the plate in the middle of his career so he no longer would get tied up by the inside heat. He became a different hitter, from one who was a leader in strikeouts to one who struck out less than 100 times, hit for a higher average and really started driving balls to RF.

I personally would like him closer. It would immediately stop the swings on currently way-inside balls, and put him in a better position to go the other way with outside strikes and slightly outside balls

As far as Howard goes, I think that he has been told that he is THE RBI guy in the line up and that he is to mash at all times. Forget about the Ks; just swing for the fences. As a result he Ks a lot and looks bad at the plate too often.

smitty wrote:Ryan Howard has hit the ball fair 32 times on a 3-0 count.. Has a batting average of .438 and a slugging average of .813. That seems kinda decent.

hitting .438 on a 3-0 count seems really bad to me. if you're putting the ball in play, you better be smoking it.

joe table wrote:

Grotewold wrote:Wally also mentioned "bad habits" Howard has accrued over the years and the unhittable inside pitch in particular. So at least they recognize that. Move his ass closer to the dish

would like to see him try to hit every single neutral or hitters count pitch to lf for like a solid week of games. I know easier said than done but you know he'll somehow randomly start driving the ball to lf here one of these games and consequently get hot, leaving us to wonder why he didn't try to adjust his approach weeks ago

I like that, which would also give him a little extra time to discern the pitch

Barry Jive wrote:

smitty wrote:Ryan Howard has hit the ball fair 32 times on a 3-0 count.. Has a batting average of .438 and a slugging average of .813. That seems kinda decent.

hitting .438 on a 3-0 count seems really bad to me. if you're putting the ball in play, you better be smoking it.

.813 SLG though. And don't you have to consider the particular player? Him trying to barrel "his" pitch rather than take a walk is different that Revere doing that

Although the walks would have been nice in front of DOM this month