Snyder tinkering with his swing

[Frobby]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/02/brandon-snyder-looks-to-get-the-magic-back-in-his-bat-this-year.html

"I did a bunch of swing critiques and sat down with my dad, who runs a (baseball) academy. We broke down some things in my swing that I felt was holding me back on some things with pulling the ball and really having a strong core when I am hitting to have more power," Snyder said at FanFest on Saturday. "It's just about being comfortable and being able to put less effort into a swing with more output. I hope that will correlate into more power and boost my numbers."

I think it's dangerous for a hitter to try to be something he's not. I hope this doesn't backfire.

[Enjoy Terror]

Snyder is running out of opportunities to make his mark on the MLB. Whatever he was doing last year wasn't working, so it makes sense to try something else. Best of luck to him this year.

[rhall]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/02/brandon-snyder-looks-to-get-the-magic-back-in-his-bat-this-year.html

I think it's dangerous for a hitter to try to be something he's not. I hope this doesn't backfire.

I think it's a good thing if he's tinkering with things and trying to improve. If he firms some things up and starts turning on inside pitches a little more/better, that's great. If he gets pull conscious and starts trying to lift everything... well, that's not going to help him get to Baltimore.

[wildcard]

I have been saying for two years that a big part of Brandon Snyder hitting problems is Harbor Park. All I get back from this board is negative comments. Well if I am full of it so is Snyder because he believes the same thing.

"It's going to be tough. That park and that place is a tough place for my game. " Snyder said.

[Tony-OH]

I have been saying for two years that a big part of Brandon Snyder hitting problems is Harbor Park. All I get back from this board is negative comments. Well if I am full of it so is Snyder because he believes the same thing.

Maybe because it's just wrong.

In 2010 Snyder put up a .780 OPS at Harbor Park and a .694 OPS away. I don't have the numbers anymore but I believe his 2009 splits showed he hit pretty bad on the road in AAA as well.

It's good that Snyder is working on his swing, but his lack of patience and pitch recognition is what's holding back more than anything. Let's hope he finds something soon because his lack of defensive versatility combined with a lack of power is going to relegate him to AAA status real soon if he doesn't figure something out.

[RVAbird]

I have been saying for two years that a big part of Brandon Snyder hitting problems is Harbor Park. All I get back from this board is negative comments. Well if I am full of it so is Snyder because he believes the same thing.

Yes, because this would be the first time in history that a professional athlete might be a little deluded about the prospect of failure.

[wildcard]

Pretty hard to deny that Snyder believes that Harbor Park is a problem for him after the comments he just made. The very fact that he thinks it is problem means it is a problem. That is clear. He is the one that has to hit there, not any of us.

If Snyder changed his hitting approach not once but several times to try to do better in Harbor Park there could be a carry over effect in other parks. I can't say that is true because I do not know but it is possible.

What is clear is the Snyder believes that Harbor Park is a problem for him and that in itself is a problem for him.

[Stotle]

Pretty hard to deny that Snyder believes that Harbor Park is a problem for him after the comments he just made. The very fact that he thinks it is problem means it is a problem. That is clear. He is the one that has to hit there, not any of us.

If Snyder changed his hitting approach not once but several times to try to do better in Harbor Park there could be a carry over effect in other parks. I can't say that is true because I do not know but it is possible.

What is clear is the Snyder believes that Harbor Park is a problem for him and that in itself is a problem for him.

Moises Alou believed that showering without peeing on his hands was a problem for him. I'd contend his belief was not in and of itself indicitive of anything.

[wildcard]

Did you miss this or just ignore it?

Did you miss that I said that Snyder thinking that Harbor Park is a problem for him is part on the the problem? I did not say it was all for his problem.

[wildcard]

Moises Alou believed that showering without peeing on his hands was a problem for him. I'd contend his belief was not in and of itself indicitive of anything.

If it got in his head that was part of this problem, then it was part of his problem. He thought it toughen his hands. If he believed that help him hit, it was in his head that it was true.

It does matter if the act of peeing on his hand helped, hurt or did nothing to his hitting. What matters is the he thought is did and it is a self fullfilling thought.

[SrMeowMeow]

Did you miss that I said that Snyder thinking that Harbor Park is a problem for him is part on the the problem? I did not say it was all for his problem.

So wait, you're trying to say that a pitcher's park is such a terrifying prospect that it can make hitters worse on the road?

Why is there no evidence of this happening to any other player ever?

I know the spring is an inspiring time but you can either watch baseball for the narratives (i.e. Harbor Park being Snyder's kryptonite) or pursue objective analysis. I have no objections to either approach as long as they don't get confused with each other. Every year, there are dozens of reports of a player losing weight/changing their stance/tweaking their mechanics/getting in shape/being ready to win/etc/etc/etc, and every year, there is absolutely no correlation between these stories and actually doing better on the field.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Around this time last year, Snyder was quoted saying that he had screwed around with his swing in an attempt to adjust to Harbor Park. When a hitter changes his swing and approach, it goes with him wherever he plays. So the idea that the effect carried over onto his away games seems reasonable to me.

Snyder may well have deficiencies that will prevent him from ever being a solid MLB hitter. But I believe that Harbor Park has done him no favors. When you have a pretty solid hitter talking about messing with his stroke for a second time in 12 months, then clearly the place has gotten into his head. And unless we believe that Snyder carries around a separate set of swing mechanics for road games, then it's not at all far-fetched to believe that the effect carried over wherever he happened to be playing.

[wildcard]

So in other words, you're unwilling to concede that you're wrong so you're backpedaling and trying to make a biiiiiiiiiig stretch. Got it.

There is no backpedaling. I said that from the beginning.

[wildcard]

Snyder hit well at AA. He brought that swing and hitting approach to Harbor Park and it did not work. Then he started to adjust his hitting approach and swing to try to be successful at Harbor Park. The adjustments have not worked either. I think Harbor Park has got into his head as an obstacle to overcome. That is part of his problem.

Tony has pointed out that Snyder hits better at Harbor Park than on the road. This shows that there are problems there also because his averages home and/or away are not good enough to say he should be promoted to the majors.

To what degree is his problem with Harbor Park the cause of his poor hitting and what degree is it something else, I don't know. However, his comment verifies that he thinks the Habor Park is part of his problem with his hitting at AAA.

[Frobby]

I tend to believe that Harbor Park has been part of Snyder's problem, despite the fact that he has hit worse on the road. It does not play to his strengths (gap power), and it's plausible to me that trying to adjust to Harbor Park then affects how he does on the road. The fact that he hit so well in the AFL twice, even better than his teammates like Wieters and Reimold, leads me to think that Harbor Park bothers him, and that it's not just the level of competition.

That said, it isn't Snyder's only problem. If the guy is going to have any success in the majors, he's got to be able to perform solidly in AAA no matter what the conditions are. And the weaknesses Tony identified are a problem. I'd say 2011 is really Snyder's last shot to position himself to play in the major leagues.