Narron is going to ruin Adam Dunn

[OnBaseMachine]

While listening to the game on the radio on my way to work last night, Marty mentioned something that Narron told him. He said that he likes the patience that the team has showed this year, but he wants Adam Dunn to start chasing more pitches out of the strikezone in an attempt to drive in more runs. Unbelievable. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. EVER! Stupid, stupid, stupid. It's amazing how many people in this organizaton have attempted to ruin Dunn. They screwed up his second half of 2002 and all of 2003, and now it appears 2006 could be added to the list.

I have noticed that Dunn has been chasing more pitches this year than he typically does, now I know why. Unreal. Narron would have found a way to screw up Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Jim Thome, and Harmon Killebrew, too, had he coached them. Afterall, they all struckout a lot.

Narron has got to go, NOW! No one should tell Dunn what to do except Chambliss.

Adam Dunn is not a bad ball hitter. Leave him alone and watch him put up huge numbers.

[RollyInRaleigh]

I'm sure that Jerry Narron said that he wants Adam Dunn to start chasing pitches out of the strikezone. Amazing.

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm sure that Jerry Narron said that he wants Adam Dunn to start chasing pitches out of the strikezone. Amazing.

Well, I guess Marty lied on radio then because that's exactly what he said.

[RollyInRaleigh]

I don't think that any major league manager is going to tell his players to chase pitches out of the strikezone. With Narron, it goes directly against what his hitting coach is telling his hitters to do. If I am wrong, I'll gladly apologize. He may want Dunn to be more agressive on balls in the strikezone, but I highly doubt that he is telling him to chase balls out of the strikezone. The statement is totally ridiculous.

[kyle1976]

I'm guessing Marty curbed the truth a bit about what Narron said because he's sick and tired of watching Dunn blaze his trail towards 200 k's.

[Hoosier Red]

Actually it was in the pre game show. The question which was a follow up to EE's great at bat ending in a walk was:
MARTY: Your team seems to be a lot more patient this year.
NARRON: Yes, it comes from having guys who are such patient hitters, Hatteberg, Dunn both take a lot of pitches and that's good. He did say that they'd like for Dunn to swing at some pitches out of the zone. Also said he'd like for Felipe to be more aggressive in certain situations.

I know this is the first time it's happened on Redszone, but I think people are missing the forest for the trees.
Narron mentioned all the good things that come with being patient, getting on base, running up starters pitch counts etc. but implied where there are certain situations where it can pay off to be more aggressive.

I'll agree Adam Dunn isn't a "bad ball" hitter but are there certain pitches, even technically out of the strike zone that Dunn can or should be able to drive?

Certainly there is some middle ground to be found correct?

[reds44]

I'm sure that Jerry Narron said that he wants Adam Dunn to start chasing pitches out of the strikezone. Amazing.

Yeah I doubt that. He probably said swing at more pitches in the strike zone.

[smith288]

If I was Dunn, I would shake my head but then turn around and just continue to do what I do.

[joshnky]

With the way the umps have been calling balls and strikes lately he may need to swing at a few pitches on the edge of his strikezone that the ump will call strikes. I don't have any problems with Dunn but he may have to adjust to expanding strike zones.

[Cedric]

While listening to the game on the radio on my way to work last night, Marty mentioned something that Narron told him. He said that he likes the patience that the team has showed this year, but he wants Adam Dunn to start chasing more pitches out of the strikezone in an attempt to drive in more runs. Unbelievable. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. EVER! Stupid, stupid, stupid. It's amazing how many people in this organizaton have attempted to ruin Dunn. They screwed up his second half of 2002 and all of 2003, and now it appears 2006 could be added to the list.

I have noticed that Dunn has been chasing more pitches this year than he typically does, now I know why. Unreal. Narron would have found a way to screw up Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Jim Thome, and Harmon Killebrew, too, had he coached them. Afterall, they all struckout a lot.

Narron has got to go, NOW! No one should tell Dunn what to do except Chambliss.

Adam Dunn is not a bad ball hitter. Leave him alone and watch him put up huge numbers.

Are you serious or being sarcastic? What in the world can Adam Dunn do wrong? He rises as a hall of famer on his own accord and anytime he fails it's someone else's fault. What a perfect setup.

[cincinnati chili]

Marty keeps saying he should "expand his zone." Whether that means expand it WITHIN the strike zone or BEYOND the strike zone is a matter of debate.

[KYRedsFan]

Easy on the messenger. Marty certainly relayed it as Narron stating that Dunn could benefit from chasing pitches out of the zone. Whether he said that and whether you agree with it is a different matter, but spare other posters the roll eyes fun.

[redsmetz]

Actually it was in the pre game show. The question which was a follow up to EE's great at bat ending in a walk was:
MARTY: Your team seems to be a lot more patient this year.
NARRON: Yes, it comes from having guys who are such patient hitters, Hatteberg, Dunn both take a lot of pitches and that's good. He did say that they'd like for Dunn to swing at some pitches out of the zone. Also said he'd like for Felipe to be more aggressive in certain situations.

I know this is the first time it's happened on Redszone, but I think people are missing the forest for the trees.
Narron mentioned all the good things that come with being patient, getting on base, running up starters pitch counts etc. but implied where there are certain situations where it can pay off to be more aggressive.

I'll agree Adam Dunn isn't a "bad ball" hitter but are there certain pitches, even technically out of the strike zone that Dunn can or should be able to drive?

Certainly there is some middle ground to be found correct?

Precisely. While Adam has certainly had good home run years and the last two years have been great RBI wise, I think Dunn could move into the upper echolons of RBI hitters, even just for the Reds. He's top 100 the last two years, but the Top 10 for the Reds all are at 125+ and I think that's what Narron's talking about - not flailing away, but taking a pitch that's borderline and doing something with it. Note Dunn's lack of sac flies in previous years. That sort of thing.

Here's the Reds Top 10 RBI leaders - some pretty good hitters (and I remember Deron Johnson's year, I was 10 years old that summer - he led the league that season, as I recall).

Rank Player RBI Year
1. George Foster 149 1977
2. Johnny Bench 148 1970
3. Ted Kluszewski 141 1954
4. Frank Robinson 136 1962
5. Deron Johnson 130 1965
6. Johnny Bench 129 1974
Tony Perez 129 1970
8. Frank McCormick 128 1939
9. Frank McCormick 127 1940
10. Johnny Bench 125 1972
Dave Parker 125 1985
Frank Robinson 125 1959

[Crash Davis]

Chicken Little? Is the sky falling again?

What's being overlooked is the fact that Jerry Narron is right. There ARE circumstances where Adam Dunn should be more aggressive.

Contrary to some belief, there IS room for improvement in Adam Dunn's game. I love the guy. He's our franchise player. But that doesn't mean there aren't holes in his game.

Narron doesn't want Dunn up there hacking if he's leading off an inning...or with two outs and nobody on. What he's saying is that Dunn, who has been less of a hitter in his career with runners in scoring position than he should be, could stand to swing the bat with authority earlier in the count rather than waiting for two strikes and being forced to swing at the pitcher's pitch...which is just common baseball sense in that situation, n'est pas?

One thing I've noticed the past two seasons is that Dunn has come out of the gate to start the season more aggressively...only a week or two later to drop into the funk of letting good pitches go by earlier in the count. The last two years, he's opened April by swinging early in the count, and the results were fantastic. By late April, he's letting some pretty tasty strikes go by -- pitches he was swinging at when he was rolling a couple of weeks ago. It could be because he gets in the habit of waiting "solely" for his perfect pitch since he's hitting HRs at a frequent rate. I don't know, just an observation.

[westofyou]

One thing I've noticed the past two seasons is that Dunn has come out of the gate to start the season more aggressively...only a week or two later to drop into the funk of letting good pitches go by earlier in the count. The last two years, he's opened April by swinging early in the count, and the results were fantastic. By late April, he's letting some pretty tasty strikes go by -- pitches he was swinging at when he was rolling a couple of weeks ago. It could be because he gets in the habit of waiting "solely" for his perfect pitch since he's hitting HRs at a frequent rate. I don't know, just an observation.

May has been a Dunn beat down for quite some time.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35912