6/2/07 Reds vs Rockies thread

[Falls City Beer]

Cincinnati Reds: 2007 Turd-Cutter Tour!

[WVRedsFan]

Is there a graph to show just how USELESS Jeff Conine is in the clean-up hole? The guy had only 2 extra base-hits in the month of May and just ONE homer in the last 6 weeks and he continues to bat 4th when he plays.

According to some he does fine, though Krono's stats proved otherwise. I still say the lineup Narron marches out night after night after night costs us runs.

[TeamBoone]

I still truly believe that Adam Dunn would get better pitches to hit if he had better protection in the batting order.

He swings at borderline pitches he normally wouldn't because they'll be called strikes if he doesn't. He rarely gets really decent pitches to hit. Definitely an advantage for the opposition.

One more thing: before his recent sac fly, he's only had one other opportunity this year... and he hit it out of the park so it didn't count.

[Patrick Bateman]

I still truly believe that Adam Dunn would get better pitches to hit if he had better protection in the batting order.

He swings at borderline pitches he normally wouldn't because they'll be called strikes if he doesn't. He rarely gets really decent pitches to hit. Definitely an advantage for the opposition.

One more thing: before his recent sac fly, he's only had one other opportunity this year... and he hit it out of the park so it didn't count.

IMO, Dunn needs to learn to take the bad pitches. I agree with you that he needs to hit in better parts of the line-up, but leatley he has been swinging at everything. Last night, Francis kept throwing pitches in the dirt, and Dunn was swinging at them all night. That's not a very good way to solve the problem. Like most hitters, Dunn would be best served waiting on pitches in his zone. If he was more selective, he would get more walks, and at the same time wouldn't limit his power production. In his essence, I'm asking him to turn more of his K's into walks. If he managed to do that, his production would be closer to pre 2006 levels.

[Falls City Beer]

IMO, Dunn needs to learn to take the bad pitches. I agree with you that he needs to hit in better parts of the line-up, but leatley he has been swinging at everything. Last night, Francis kept throwing pitches in the dirt, and Dunn was swinging at them all night. That's not a very good way to solve the problem. Like most hitters, Dunn would be best served waiting on pitches in his zone. If he was more selective, he would get more walks, and at the same time wouldn't limit his power production. In his essence, I'm asking him to turn more of his K's into walks. If he managed to do that, his production would be closer to pre 2006 levels.

While I agree that Dunn has been swinging at more junk than is necessary, Francis was filthy last night; I got to watch his last couple of innings at the bar last night, and good lord, I think I'd juggle fresh dog turds to make him a Reds' pitcher. Hitters just look a bit nauseated after facing him when he's on.

[Patrick Bateman]

While I agree that Dunn has been swinging at more junk than is necessary, Francis was filthy last night; I got to watch his last couple of innings at the bar last night, and good lord, I think I'd juggle fresh dog turds to make him a Reds' pitcher. Hitters just look a bit nauseated after facing him when he's on.

I wont disagree with that. Francis pitched very well last night, so I'm not giving Dunn full blame for last night's performance.

[TeamBoone]

That's all well and good, Austin, but... I may be wrong, but my relatively consistent observation is that most umpires shrink Dunn's strike zone dramatically. Thus, he swings at some bad/borderline pitches (especially when he's hitting in the bottom half of the order with no protection) because he KNOWS that the bad/borderline pitch is going to be called a strike (even though he feels it's a ball), hoping that he can at least make contact... especially when the pitch is low. I swear the guy gets more strikes called on low balls than any other player I've seen.

Regarding last night, yup, the pitcher was good... and Adam Dunn was under the weather.

[Patrick Bateman]

That's all well and good, Austin, but... I may be wrong, but my relatively consistent observation is that most umpires shrink Dunn's strike zone dramatically. Thus, he swings at some bad/borderline pitches (especially when he's hitting in the bottom half of the order with no protection) because he KNOWS that the bad/borderline pitch is going to be called a strike (even though he feels it's a ball), hoping that he can at least make contact... especially when the pitch is low. I swear the guy gets more strikes called on low balls than any other player I've seen.

Regarding last night, yup, the pitcher was good... and Adam Dunn was under the weather.

I don't disagree with you here TB, but those strikes have been called on him his entire life. I'm not to be mistaken as a Dunn basher, as I understand the value he brings to the team, but this season, his BB and K rates have been the worst of his entire major league career (and it isn't very close).

I find this very concerning for a 27 year old who is supposed to be improving rather than going backwards. If the current trends continue, Dunn may end of with the worst season of his career, and when combined with his overall fielding, not be worth the contract he has. The problem may just stem from the instruction he gets and the added pressure he gets as a strikeout hitter. If he regained his discipline, both his K and BB rates would improve, and that has nothing to do with the low strikes that have been called on him his entire career. Simply put, he needs to stop swinging at bad balls that he can't hit.