Article: Twins Daily Roundtable: Fixing the Offense

[alarp33]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:22 AM, KGB said:

Dozier scored 100 runs a year, so it was working. He just needs to start hitting again.

 

You are really correlating his fit for lead off because of his runs total? 

 

Dozier's MLB Ranks by Year 

 

2017 - Plate Appearances: 6th Runs: T-8

2016 - PA: 17th Runs: 16th

2015 - PA: 3rd Runs: 11th

2014 - PA: T-7th Runs: 2nd 

 

It also helps that he hits a lot of home runs... which would happen in any spot in the lineup.. 

Edited June 21, 2018 by alarp33

[USAFChief]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:05 PM, Craig Arko said:

Rod Carew, Carl Yazstremski, and Wade Boggs all did okay, if I recall.

All three could, and would, pull the ball regularly. None of them were exclusively opposite field hitters.

 

The post I responded to recommended Buxton be "an opposite field hitter." He should "look for pitches he can hit the other way." I hope that never happens.

[KGB]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:18 PM, alarp33 said:

You are really correlating his fit for lead off because of his runs total? 

 

Dozier's MLB Ranks by Year 

 

2017 - Plate Appearances: 6th Runs: T-8

2016 - PA: 17th Runs: 16th

2015 - PA: 3rd Runs: 11th

2014 - PA: T-7th Runs: 2nd 

 

It also helps that he hits a lot of home runs... which would happen in any spot in the lineup.. 

No, just not agreeing that batting him down in the order and Mauer at the top of the order makes sense.  Slugging percentage has a closer relationship to runs scored than OBP, so batting someone with a high OBP doesn't correlate with scoring more runs.

 

Also Dozier is horrible at hitting with runners on base and in scoring position and Mauer is very good at it.  So to switch them around doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[alarp33]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 3:22 PM, KGB said:

No, just not agreeing that batting him down in the order and Mauer at the top of the order makes sense.  Slugging percentage has a closer relationship to runs scored than OBP, so batting someone with a high OBP doesn't correlate with scoring more runs.

 

Also Dozier is horrible at hitting with runners on base and in scoring position and Mauer is very good at it.  So to switch them around doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

Who leads off between Mauer and Dozier in the long run wouldn't make a huge difference. But you are incorrect in thinking SLG > OBP

Edited June 21, 2018 by alarp33

[Jham]

The Twins have a lot of guys with unorthodox swings. Mauer and his inside-out metronome, Dozier's step in the bucket tomahawk, Rosie's wrist snaps, Sano's abrupt 2 handed upper cut, and Buxton's chest forward bent front leg just try to make contact looking thing.

 

I think much of the struggle comes from poorly developed mechanics and/or approach.

[KGB]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 3:28 PM, alarp33 said:

Who leads off between Mauer and Dozier in the long run wouldn't make a huge difference. But you are incorrect in thinking SLG > OBP

Not if you actually looks at the numbers.

[Kelly Vance]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 1:59 PM, USAFChief said:

Nobody should be an opposite field hitter. Pulling the ball is how you hit for power, and hitters should always look to hit with power.

 

There is nothing wrong with pulling the ball. You just can't be married to it. Once the pitcher has control of the count, you have to be willing to hit the other way. But that should never be the goal.

 

Locking yourself into only the inside half of the plate and a third of the field is going to limit your options.  You need to keep pitchers honest. Ted was a stubborn old cuss, but he admitted it.And he was so special that he succeeded despite his stubbornness, not because of it. I've read his book so often it is falling apart. And I have taught hitting for five decades using his book.

 

Pull hitters can hit the ball deep, sure. But you don't need to be big to homer to the opposite field, as long as you hit it on the sweet spot. A pull hitter needs to hit a pitch that is on the inside half of the plate, in order to hit it on the sweet spot. That eliminates a lot of pitches. If you are getting pitched outside, as many power hitters are, you will have a hard time pulling it. You will hit it off the end of the bat. That spells warning track power for many of us.  

 

[jimbo92107]

Hitters need to read trends the way a card player does. Guys like Buxton and Sano should content themselves to hit outside pitches oppo, until they start seeing the pendulum swing back inside. That's when you pounce for a couple dingers, and then the pendulum swings back outside. For Sano, he should still be able to hit dingers oppo. 

 

Dozier probably is the likeliest to get hot soon, followed maybe by Kepler, who seems gradually to get better and better at everything. We'll be lucky to see Polanco get hot right away, but he is a very hard worker.... Adrianza has been showing signs of life at the plate, maybe he's more than a defensive sub. Grossman looks like he has topped out at mediocre hitting and so-so outfield. 

 

Other than that, you could still try calling up Gordon, Rooker, Wade and a catcher, maybe Willans Astudillo. They can't be much worse than the rake waving bunch we see today.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think it's a bit of folly to think that just b/c  Dozier has always been streaky means that he can do it again. One, he's older. And two, when he's hot, he's hitting at an HOF caliber. It's just unreasonble to think/hope he can go on that kind of a hot streak.

 

This season is looking like a lost season. I think the bigger thing is working with the young guys to take steps forward that are sustainable. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 1:59 PM, USAFChief said:

Nobody should be an opposite field hitter. Pulling the ball is how you hit for power, and hitters should always look to hit with power.

 

There is nothing wrong with pulling the ball. You just can't be married to it. Once the pitcher has control of the count, you have to be willing to hit the other way. But that should never be the goal.

 

The shifts we see today were invented to counter Ted Williams, an extreme pull hitter. He was pretty good as I recall.

Location of the pitch has a lot to do with it too... it's a lot harder to pull an outside pitch. I dont' care if the pitcher has the count or not, if you're getting a steady diet of pitches on the outer half, you have to stop trying to pull...

 

And in Sano's case, he's strong enough to hit opposite field HRs. 

[Kelly Vance]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:37 PM, USAFChief said:

All three could, and would, pull the ball regularly. None of them were exclusively opposite field hitters.

 

The post I responded to recommended Buxton be "an opposite field hitter." He should "look for pitches he can hit the other way." I hope that never happens.

If he did what I suggested, he would set a new record for triples, even if he  hit only 275.

Edited June 22, 2018 by Kelly Vance

[Kelly Vance]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:37 PM, USAFChief said:

All three could, and would, pull the ball regularly. None of them were exclusively opposite field hitters.

 

The post I responded to recommended Buxton be "an opposite field hitter." He should "look for pitches he can hit the other way." I hope that never happens.

Carew and Boggs used the whole field. They hit it where it is pitched. And they are HOFers.

[Kelly Vance]

 

  On 6/21/2018 at 2:37 PM, USAFChief said:

All three could, and would, pull the ball regularly. None of them were exclusively opposite field hitters.

 

The post I responded to recommended Buxton be "an opposite field hitter." He should "look for pitches he can hit the other way." I hope that never happens.

sorry pal, you cannot prove the exception from the rule. All of those guys hit it  where it was pitched because they knew the strike zone. 

Edited June 22, 2018 by Kelly Vance