http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/201...r-in-triple-a/
Not exactly unexpected, but news nonetheless.
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/201...r-in-triple-a/
Not exactly unexpected, but news nonetheless.
Ugh, comment got deleted after showing as a doublepost.
What's this mean for the AAA OF? Is Lamarre in RF then or back to AA?
Last edited by mdccclxix; 01-24-2013 at 10:17 AM.
Can't wait to see the Bats in LOU and/or IND.
What are the possibilities that he can be effective bunting over the long haul while also keeping a mid .300's OBP? I think of Ichiro's ability to run out infield hits, but he's a generational talent with the bat. Can Hamilton really "steal first" for a long time against MLB competition? How does he compare with Campana in Chicago?“He’ll be playing center field and working on his offense and his overall game,” Jocketty said. “He’s going to probably end up bunting a lot, with his speed. Bunting and running are his two key tools.”
I don't think you need to be a generational talent to be effective bunting for base hits. The best I ever saw at that particular skill, better than Ichiro even, was Brett Butler, and I don't consider him anywhere near a generational talent. Billy just needs to judiciously pick his spots.
Anytime he catches the infield napping by not adjusting their depth when he comes to the plate, he can drop a bunt. Anytime he is facing a pitcher who is notorious for pounding the strikezone with fastballs to get ahead in the count, he can drop the bunt. Anytime he is a facing a team that has a lead glove or a suspect arm playing in the infield, he can drop the bunt. That is what Butler did and was a big part of why he was so successful with it.
Butler had a very nice career indeed. Out of 9545 PA's he had a 5% bunt rate and batted .462 on those attempts. This is a lofty goal for Hamilton, but he could reach it. Perhaps it would be the right path to have him bunt.
Ichiro isn't the bunter I thought. Nor is he the infield hitter. Bunts 1.7% of the time for a .621 average. Bats .151 on infield balls. I think Butler batted .212 when I looked on infield balls, I'm sure due to the larger volume of excellent bunting.
Last edited by mdccclxix; 01-24-2013 at 01:01 PM.
here's a neat break down on bunting with nobody on base:
http://uzrillusion2.blogspot.com/201...g-for-hit.html
There's even a Juan Pierre discussion. And Willie T shows up for his 3 for 22 performance bunting in 2009!
Last edited by mdccclxix; 01-24-2013 at 12:58 PM.
It's awesome seeing the Commerce Comet in the all-time top ten. I wish more of the speedy sluggers in the game today would do the same when they come up with the bases empty. If nothing else, it would force infields to play them farther in and open up more opportunities base hits when they don't bunt.
Billy Hamilton's success will hinge on learning the Jedi mind tricks that good runners use on pitchers and defenders.
On simple ground balls, if Billy runs them out, even the best defenders will want to rush throws to first base. That will lead to fielding and/or throwing errors, and perhaps a few infield hits. And once Billy gets on first base, he can learn to dance around and distract the pitcher into committing balks and making mistakes to the hitters. Defenses will tend to play in and fielders will cheat toward the second and third base bags, which will create holes in the infield.
I want to see Hamilton work on the mental part of the game, where just the threat of him running can disrupt the pitching and defense. That part of his game won't show up in box scores, but it ought to be sweet for the 2-3-4 hitters in the line-up.
“I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone. The ball just doesn't get there as fast.” — Eddie Bane
“We know we're better than this ... but we can't prove it.” — Tony Gwynn
Here's to hoping Hamilton actually is the player Dusty desperately (and stubbornly) wanted Stubbs to be.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
Hamilton's speed, if times can be believed, means an extra half-step over the course of 90 feet over fast runners and a quarter step over the fastest runners in mlb. (He's a quarter-step to a half-step faster than Mike Trout, for example, and a little more than that over Drew Stubbs, if you can dig it.) In short, he doesn't have to bunt remarkably well in order to be successful at it. He does, however, need to be better than anyone the Reds have had as a bunter since Norris Hopper.
Stubbs and Heisey are both technically abysmal bunters. Hamilton's already better than either of them.
He still needs to get better, though. And should. Guys that really focus on bunting tend to get better at it. (Butler's a prime example, as is Hopper, for that matter.) If Hamilton can learn the drag bunt to the 2B area and drop near-perfect bunts down both lines, he'll end up with a career batting average around .300. This ability should also affect his obp, as pitchers will nibble more often for fear of allowing that bunt. This could lead to more walks. (As his patience at the plate is already apparent.)
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