Question...when is the appropriate use of Owings going to be??...1st PH off bench, to avoid burning a position player??...late game power??...specialized use??
I ask for I was desperately hoping to get to the 1-hole in the 9th inning last night so Owings could PH against K-Rod...yet Hanigan was on deck when the game ended...
How would you assess Owings' bat relative to the rest of the Reds bench??
You cannot defeat an ignorant man in an argument!
-William Gibbs McAdoo
Though many of us here are sure trying
I love that the guy is such a great hitter and all, but if he's the best pinch-hitting threat the Reds have, it's not good enough.
Owings does seem to lack the patience you would want from a skilled PH. Some of his good hitting numbers are coming from him not having a ton of at-bats (because he's pitching), so opposing pitchers don't know how to work him very well.
Kind of confused by patience. I was always under the assumption that you want a pinch hitter up there and hitting the first good pitch. Owings goes up there looking to hit. He probably has the most pop coming off the bench as well.Originally Posted by Doc. Scott
How does patience preclude hitting the first good pitch?
Maybe I just look at it differently. I just don't want a pitch hitter going up there passing up good pitches to work the count. I want them up there trying to drive the first good pitch.
I say the two aren't mutually exclusive.
What Nate said but if his patience stinks he's not likely to wait for the best pitch. But the 1st pitch close to the zone which is kinda what he does.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Bingo
As much as I love Laynce Nix, and all the other dreck that comprises the Reds bench, the Reds bench is far from deep (or good, for that matter), and if Owings is being talked about as the best bat off the Reds bench, then yikes.
I think you use him in the first good PH situation available. It's a bit of double bonus/whammy. He's one of if not the best RH option anyway, and you don't burn a position player.
I wanna see the double switch where Owings PHs and then stays in the game to either pitch, or play LF (or any other position his little heart desires).
Owings is a legit hitter. A .900 OPS in the majors, .860 OPS in the minors, crushed the ball in college. There is nothing in his record to make me think it's a fluke. I have no problem with Owings as the top RHB pinch hitter.
I dunno about Owings. He sure _seems_ like a good hitter but will he continue to be the more you use him that way? I mean, there's something so wrong about your best pinch hitter being your #5 starter. It could be a "fried pickles" sort of wrong (which is a "good" wrong) or it could be a "bacon sashimi with jello" sort of wrong (not so "good"). But it seems wrong nevertheless.
Like SMcGavin said, the guy is no joke. He has hit at every level. While it may not *seem* right that he is the Red's best pinch hitter, he is probably better than most other teams best PH, and probably a better hitter than some of the starting 8, so I don't see where it makes a difference.
I do agree, however, that this years bench is offensive offensively.
Small sample size alert!
.900 OPS in Majors .... in 127 TPA
.873 OPS in Minors .... in 70 TPA (of which he walked exactly 0 times, impressive)
As for college.... OPS'd .943 for Georgia Tech in 292 TPA (not too shabby) and OPS'd 1.189 for Tulsa in 267 TPA (outstanding!)
So, we're looking at an OPS of 1.016 in 756 TPA combined from 2 years of NCAA ball, and his pro career.
While I wanna believe he's legit at the dish, I can't help but think that he's just a good hitting pitcher, rather than an actual good hitter.
Regardless, I think he'll be the better piece of the Dunn trade than Dallas Buck.
What do you have against jello sashimi? All this is missing is the bacon, which I'm sure would make it delicious.
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