Re: "No matter what the stat boys say, you put the ball in play." - Dusty
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jojo
Then why are we talking about "productive outs"?
Because its an aspect of strikeouts vs. making contact. I hope you don't think I was ever arguing that productive outs are superior to hits. That's just nuts.
Re: "No matter what the stat boys say, you put the ball in play." - Dusty
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RedEye
No one is arguing that players do not change their approach when they hit. All of them most likely do at the ML level, to varied success. The problem is that once a hitter reaches his aptitude at the ML level, it is very difficult to change this without also losing something elsewhere, most often SLG.
What if the batter was still able to hit the ball solid enough to create hits rather than striking out going for power? Isn't a single better than a K? In some situations isn't it better to get a run in via productive out (while still attempting to get a hit but taking a more contact based approach), than it is to strikeout or occasionally hit a homer or XBH. I think it'd come down to the net runs produced and lost via the extra OBP gained vs. the power lost. If it is actually possible to take an approach that creates more contact, and that contact is accompanied by sufficient power to still create hits, and that extra obp creates more runs than the accompanying loss of power than it may be advantageous to shorten up and go for contact in the appropriate situation.
Re: "No matter what the stat boys say, you put the ball in play." - Dusty
No harm ever came from swinging wildly through a 1-0 fastball. Doing the same thing 1-2 comes with a whole different set of consequences and that should be taken into account IMO. If a guy like Stubbs is just hopelessly unable to shorten up and protect the plate, then maybe its not worth the loss of power. On the other hand, it's carved out Joey Votto a pretty good career. I don't think there's one answer for everyone, but getting back to the very very origin of this thread, I don't think Dusty's wrong in suggesting that cutting back on the whiffs might be means of improvement for a player or two on this team.
