Phillips leading off, how does it help

[Krawhitham]

Does this help the team at all? The beat writers have been to be making a big deal of the fact Phillips told Dusty he would leadoff to help the team.

Phillips OBP .329
Stubbs OBP .323

a .006 difference but Stubbs has 29 SB (with an 81% success rate) while Phillip as 7 SB with a (with an 47% success rate)

[nux fan]

typical non mathematical move by the brain dead manager

[texasdave]

This season is shot. This is the time to try different things. Does it make the team any better? We have to wait and see. I find it refreshing that a player offers to take on a different role to try to help the team.

[brm7675]

who is a better contact hitter? I think Brandon puts the ball in play and strike outs less then Stubbs does, which means he has a better chance of getting on base.

[Jefferson24]

who is a better contact hitter? I think Brandon puts the ball in play and strike outs less then Stubbs does, which means he has a better chance of getting on base.

If that were true how come Phillip's OBP is not significantly higher that Stubbs? I agree in theory, if a player strikes out less and therefore puts the ball in play more than another player, then his OBP should be higher. In this case it isn't, is Phillips just unlucky to some extent? He sure was last night, he hit the ball hard twice with nothing to show for either at bat.

[Vottomatic]

This team needs a true leadoff hitter and a true cleanup hitter. They knew that going into the 2011 season and did nothing about it.

Janish will volunteer next to help the team and offer to bat cleanup. :D

[Krawhitham]

who is a better contact hitter? I think Brandon puts the ball in play and strike outs less then Stubbs does, which means he has a better chance of getting on base.

Yes he had a .6% better chance to get on base. Phillips will get on base 3.6 more times than Stubbs over the course of a season. But Stubbs is more likely to get in scoring position because of stolen bases he is on pace for 38 while Phillips get caught for times than not when stealing.


And would you rather have a better contact hitter batting leadoff or down in the order when others are more likely to be on base where a ground out or fly out can more a runner over

[Tadasimha]

If that were true how come Phillip's OBP is not significantly higher that Stubbs? I agree in theory, if a player strikes out less and therefore puts the ball in play more than another player, then his OBP should be higher. In this case it isn't, is Phillips just unlucky to some extent? He sure was last night, he hit the ball hard twice with nothing to show for either at bat.

I wonder how much Stubbs' speed has helped here - beating out ground balls that would have been outs with a slower runner - perhaps the OBP numbers are reflecting this?

Does anyone know if that kind of stat is counted somewhere? I did some online searching but didn't come up with anything.

[Red Rover]

The Reds don't have a good lead off candidate on the team the way it is constructed, but to answer your question


And would you rather have a better contact hitter batting leadoff or down in the order when others are more likely to be on base where a ground out or fly out can more a runner over

I'm not going to go look up each games stats, but I have watched many games in which the #8 hitter would get on second and the pitcher moved him to 3rd base and Stubbs would K and Janish/Renteria would then end the inning without scoring.

Maybe with Phillips' contact that run scores.

[Tuff Nut]

How does it not help.....is more the question? This shoulda been done 2 months ago, and maybe the Reds would still be in some sorta race, with the Brewers.

[Stray]

This season is shot. This is the time to try different things. Does it make the team any better? We have to wait and see. I find it refreshing that a player offers to take on a different role to try to help the team.

That is how I see it too. At least he's willing to try something to see if it helps. If it doesn't oh well, not like we've been playing great baseball anyway.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

[brm7675]

This team needs a true leadoff hitter and a true cleanup hitter. They knew that going into the 2011 season and did nothing about it.

Janish will volunteer next to help the team and offer to bat cleanup. :D

Why couldn't Votto be the cleanup hitter?

[brm7675]

Yes he had a .6% better chance to get on base. Phillips will get on base 3.6 more times than Stubbs over the course of a season. But Stubbs is more likely to get in scoring position because of stolen bases he is on pace for 38 while Phillips get caught for times than not when stealing.


And would you rather have a better contact hitter batting leadoff or down in the order when others are more likely to be on base where a ground out or fly out can more a runner over

How many times in a game does the No. 1 hitter leadoff?

[texasdave]

Why couldn't Votto be the cleanup hitter?

It just shifts the problem; it doesn't solve it. The problem is Votto gets pitched around if there isn't a strong hitter behind him.

[brm7675]

It just shifts the problem; it doesn't solve it. The problem is Votto gets pitched around if there isn't a strong hitter behind him.

At some point that should be Bruce.

[texasdave]

At some point that should be Bruce.

It would be nice. Hopefully that happens in 2012.

[dthomas24]

I see Philliips taking a way different approach in the leadoff spot. When he's in the 4 hole he swings wildly, on his heels, trying to jerk the ball out. That's not his game. In the leadoff spot he's going to go the other way a lot more, looking to put the ball in play. Like others have said, we need a true leadoff guy but I like Brandon better at leadoff than in the 4 hole.

[Stray]

At some point that should be Bruce.

I don't think we can count on that until Bruce gives us a reason to. All he's shown is that he's as streaky of a hitter as there is in all of baseball. I will be pretty upset if we go into 2012 counting on Bruce to protect Votto.

[texasdave]

Early returns are favorable on Brandon leading off.

[Stray]

Yeah it seems to be working out so far. He's making things happen.

[DannyB]

It just shifts the problem; it doesn't solve it. The problem is Votto gets pitched around if there isn't a strong hitter behind him.

So can Stubbs with the .200 hitter behind him. I think Brandon should hit 2nd.

[redcat]

So can Stubbs with the .200 hitter behind him. I think Brandon should hit 2nd.

Nobody is pitching around Stubbs with all of his strikeouts.

Having a hitter in the leadoff spot that puts the ball in play is certainly a plus over having one there that leads MLB in strikeouts.

[Dew4192]

Keep Brandon up there!!