Push is on to stop pull-hitting Dunn

[reds44]

Push is on to stop pull-hitting Dunn

Defensive shift dares slugger to hit ’em where they ain’t

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


JERRY S . MENDOZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Reds slugger Adam Dunn is finding frustration when opponents align their players on the right side of the field to curtail his power.




CINCINNATI — In the seconds Adam Dunn needed to walk from the on-deck circle to the batter’s box Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park, the Milwaukee Brewers infield already had completed a minimarch of its own.
Brewers shortstop Bill Hall trotted to the right side of the second base bag. Third baseman Corey Koskie moved into the shortstop hole and second baseman Rickie Weeks took a position in short right field about halfway between Hall and first baseman Prince Fielder.
Such is life against the shift, a defensive setup that is part flesh-and-blood picket fence and part dare to left-handed power hitters such as Dunn. In essence, the Brewers were telling the Reds left fielder that they thought he would pull the ball to the right side of the infield. So go ahead and do it, they sneered, and see if someone doesn’t catch it.
The strategy isn’t new. But the frequency of how often Dunn is seeing it is.
"I know last year that clubs did it some," manager Jerry Narron said. "But I don’t think we’ve played anybody here this year that has not done it."
Dunn is keenly aware of when he noticed the change.
"Actually in spring training, the Pirates started to do it and I felt that it was a little weird," he said. "I just guess teams are going to pitch me inside a lot more and that’s where I have a tendency to hit the ball."
It makes perfect sense. Dunn has hit 97 home runs in the past two-plus seasons and is considered a dead pull hitter.
"In the big leagues, there’s a game plan for how to pitch each hitter in the league," Reds hitting coach Chris Chambliss said. "(A shift) is more of an indication of how they’re going to pitch to you. It means they’re either going to throw you a lot of inside stuff or off-speed stuff.
"As a hitter, you don’t really want to change anything you do because it messes with your stroke. Your stroke is whatever it is."
Even so, a mental aspect to hitting exists and a trick defense adds more for Dunn to think about.
"It’s almost like they’re inviting you to bunt," he said. "In certain situations, I’ll lay one down. But I’m not going to change my swing because of how the shift is. That doesn’t really help us. I don’t want to inside-out a pitch that I can hit really good. That kind of defeats the purpose."
Yet it is difficult not to see the wide-open spaces in left field. Ken Griffey Jr. understands. He remembers first facing shifts in his third or fourth season with the Seattle Mariners.
"I had to go through the same thing, the growing pains of understanding the shift," he said. "After a while, you learn if you hit a ball hard enough that they’re not going to catch it."
Ultimately, he ignored the infielders.
"They can’t stop a fly ball," Griffey said. "They can’t stop a line drive. All they’re trying to do is stop ground balls. That’s all a shift is. It’s them trying to turn those hard-hit ground balls into outs."
And at times it works. Dunn has lost base hits this season to middle infielders playing 20 feet from where they normally do.
"That is frustrating when you hit it right where it’s pitched and you don’t get anything," Dunn said. "It’s right at the guy. Now, I’m kind of used to it. I just try to hit the ball over it or through it."
Dunn sees an irony in the situation. Before Cincinnati drafted him in 1998, he hit to all fields. The Reds saw a potential home run machine. Pull the ball, they said, and he changed his swing so that he could.
"When you’re 21 or 22 years old, I guess you don’t really have a lot of choice," Dunn said. "If I was just coming up now, I know what I would do. But growing up and not playing a lot of baseball and getting thrown into the big leagues so early, that’s just the way it was."
Griffey believes Dunn eventually will ignore the shift and simply hit.
"He just hasn’t clicked on hitting the line drives," he said. "You look at his home runs and they’ve been up high. It’s better to have elevated line drives because you get down on the ball and put more backspin on it. That’s what we’re all waiting on. He’ll come around, get hot and carry the team for a while."
jmassie@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatch.com/reds/reds.ph...28-F14-00.html

[GAC]

Everyone is pretty much discussing (and rehashing) this topic here...

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46294

[traderumor]

But I’m not going to change my swing because of how the shift is. That doesn’t really help us. I don’t want to inside-out a pitch that I can hit really good. That kind of defeats the purpose."

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. No breaking news of "Adam Dunn--slap hitter" forthcoming.

[KronoRed]

Maybe he should bunt?

[Mario-Rijo]

Maybe he should bunt?

Talk about OB%!

[OnBaseMachine]

I've noticed that Dunn has been going opposite field a lot lately, including his home run today.

I believe he had an opposite field double in Detroit, an opposite field double and single vs Brandon Webb on Friday night, a lineout to left yesterday, and a HR to left today. Hopefully he can continue that while maintaining his power numbers.

[George Foster]

Whats so wrong with hitting the ball were it is pitched? He has power to all fields. It keeps the pitchers honest. Keep it up Dunn!

[TeamBoone]

Looks to me like he's been working on this... I read somewhere that he's been coming to the park early to work with Chambliss.