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Ryan Howard also hits in a much better lineup than Adam Dunn and has more protection. Dunn realistically is the only feared hitter in the Reds lineup. The Phillies have Howard, Burrell, Utley, and last year even had some Abreu, and some Dellucci.
The other reason Ryan Howard also hits for higher average is that he hits well to all fields. Dunn is predominantly a pull hiter, and gets that vicious shift. Teams don't use that IF shift for Ryan Howard.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Ryan Howard struckout over 180 times last year. Jim Thome has too. Mike Schmidt also. Do you consider them great hitters? Now I know Dunn didn't have a great season last year (second half killed him) but he is still normally a great hitter. Guys who consistently hit 40+ homeruns and get on base at a .380 clip are great hitters in my mind, regardless how many times they strikeout.
Adam Dunn strikesout too much? Hmmmm.
Top 10 career MLB strikeout leaders
>> 4 are in the Hall of Fame (Reggie Jax, Stargell, Schmidt & Tony Perez).
>> 4 are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Sosa, Galarraga, McGriff & Thome).
>> 2 will probably never make it (Kingman & Canseco).
* The 4 that are in the Hall of Fame had OBPs of (Dunn .380 career):
>> Reggie = .356, Stargell = .360, Schmidt = .380, Perez = .341.
Top 20 career MLB strikeout leaders
>> 8 are in the Hall of Fame (Brock, Killebrew, Mantle, Winfield).
>> 5 are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Rickey Henderson)
>> 7 will probably never make it (Bo. Bonds, Dale Murphy, Chili Davis, Dwight Evans, Gaetti).
* Only 1 of the 8 H-of-F members has a higher OBP than Dunn (Mantle = .421).
Good since you and Marty have similiar views on this maybe you can help out. How does hustling to LF between innings impact Dunn as a player?
Wonder why Marty never points out that the lazy one has missed 5 games the past 3 seasons. 5 freaking games over 3 years. I'm going to pull my hair out if we have to keep going over this all the time.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
First things first, I don't think any player is expected to sprint to their position. It would be nice to see a player jog to his position. I don't know if Adam Dunn walks to his position or not, but I don't think your statement holds water. While there may not be an emergency anywhere, it falls under the old school rule of having "respect for the game". If a player actually walked from the dugout to left field on a regular basis, or even if a player jog to the pitcher's mound or infield and began walking the rest of the way, I would have a problem with that as a fan. These guys are making millions of dollars so a 300 ft. jog to your outfield position 9 times per day isn't asking a lot.
As far as using up energy that may be needed later in the game, I have to ask if you are serious. So, without further adeau, are you serious? If a player is so out of shape that jogging to his position wears him out then perhaps he should care enough to get extensive cardio training. I would think the rest he gets in the dugout when his team's at bat would be more than enough to regain strength.
Finally, if your coach didn't encourage you to "hustle out there", I would think he wasn't much of a coach. Winning is, indeed, an attitude.
Last edited by Redlegs; 02-18-2007 at 03:37 PM.
Actually, I think the whole notion of "hustling" to one's position really only dates back so far. Remember, when Pete Rose got the name "Charlie Hustle," I recall hearing that it was a derogatory comment from Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle.
I've seen a few minor league games in my time as a baseball fan and the minors are filled with "hustle," way more hustle than you see in the majors. Guys hustle to their positions and hustle back in. They hustle down to first base when they get a walk and hustle back in when they get thrown out at second. But that "hustle" doesn't necessarily win ballgames and for most of these guys, it doesn't get them to the big leagues. Scoring runs does that. Guys can hustle all they want, but they aren't going to score runs if they don't get on base, avoid making outs and get across home plate.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I really want Adam Dunn to do tour jetes out to left field on Opening Day. Seriously.
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect.
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