Davis to Try Bunting vs. Shift

[BarclaySouthway]

He should absolutely be bunting on occasion and should be working on it now and in the spring.

[Beef Supreme]

Why does the shift exist then? Or why aren't you an MLB hitting coach? It can't be that easy. It isn't logical.

Good point. It's not that easy, especially for certain batters. With diligence, bunting can become easier than trying to hit to the opposite field. Considering that, I think that bunting occasionally is probably a better approach for Davis.

And it's not like we'll see him bunting frequently. He's got to keep the top hand on top of the ball better when he gets thrown inside. Too many uppercuts on inside pitches last year resulted in lots of swings-and-misses.

[olehippi]

I'd like to see Davis try some "swinging bunts" - slow grounders and soft lines drives - hit down the 3rd base line into LF for doubles. Then when the left fielders start playing the line, like they did with Markakis, Davis can hit the hard line shots into left and left-center....or into the stands.

And yeah, I know Davis doesn't handle a bat like Wee Willie Keeler. But maybe with a little practice.........

[webbrick2010]

Another reason I don't want to see him bunting is that it exposes his hands to injury. Just want we don't need is Davis leaning out over the plate attempting to bunt and getting a broken finger/hand. He stays back nicely and takes up and away pitches to LF for HR's. His weakness is trying to take full swings on down and away pitches, he needs to occasionally change his approach and look for a down and away pitch to slap to LF.

[Bradysburns]

If it was that easy to go opposite field then everyone would do it and the shift wouldn't exist. It isn't like players that are being shifted against are not aware of how the defense is playing them.

That's an interesting point. I wonder what would be more disruptive to Chris's natural swing dynamic: bunting occasionally, or trying to learn to hit opposite-field more. I almost feel like bunting would be less disruptive because it doesn't really impact your swing... It's not a swing at all.

I for one think the shift is interesting. It's a new part of the game. Hitters will adapt or die. They need to evolve, and it makes the game interesting.

Yeah, it sucks for a guy who's made his living off pulling fastballs over the right-field fence. But... I don't see the shift as somehow "cheating"...

[MurphDogg]

That's an interesting point. I wonder what would be more disruptive to Chris's natural swing dynamic: bunting occasionally, or trying to learn to hit opposite-field more. I almost feel like bunting would be less disruptive because it doesn't really impact your swing... It's not a swing at all.

I for one think the shift is interesting. It's a new part of the game. Hitters will adapt or die. They need to evolve, and it makes the game interesting.

Yeah, it sucks for a guy who's made his living off pulling fastballs over the right-field fence. But... I don't see the shift as somehow "cheating"...

The idea that you can still maintain your hitting approach that you have been honing for decades while also occasionally hitting weak grounders to where the third baseman typically stands, which you have never done before, seems really ambitious. I would be surprised if a planned check-swing could really be a viable weapon against Major League pitching.

[tntoriole]

That's an interesting point. I wonder what would be more disruptive to Chris's natural swing dynamic: bunting occasionally, or trying to learn to hit opposite-field more. I almost feel like bunting would be less disruptive because it doesn't really impact your swing... It's not a swing at all.

I for one think the shift is interesting. It's a new part of the game. Hitters will adapt or die. They need to evolve, and it makes the game interesting.

Yeah, it sucks for a guy who's made his living off pulling fastballs over the right-field fence. But... I don't see the shift as somehow "cheating"...

I hope that the hitters who this has affected most have been spending the offseason figuring out a different strategy specifically to combat the shift strategy and that the advantage which temporarily went to the unprecedented use of extreme shifts last year will be compensated for by some of these hitters developing a way to put a ball past the pitcher ANYWHERE on the third base side. It doesn't have to be on the ground, or a bunt even, or a well struck ball, it just has to be plopped, dribbled, slapped, popped up ANYWHERE past the pitcher and it will be a hit.

There is also the psychological piece that made the shift even more effective against some hitters. It gets used against these dead pull hitters like Davis and Ortiz (and Ted Williams) who were dead stubborn about beating it "their way" and not "giving in." Some hitters, like Williams, handle that mental pressure better than others. Davis did not handle it AT ALL last year. They were in his head the whole season. Even now, I am sure he can recall every single time that he rocketed what he thought was a hit into the shift only to see it caught. Chris should use spring training not only to get practice in developing his own technique to hit some balls past the pitcher on the third base side, but to also give a psychological message to other pitchers that, yes, he can and will take the single every time.

[tntoriole]

Chris has to do something different. The extreme shift was employed against him 31 percent in 2012, 51 percent in 2013 and over 83 percent of his at bats last year. His into the shift BABIP dropped from .302 in 2013 to .230 in 2014. He will keep getting this strategy employed until he proves that he can do something different.

[sportsfan8703]

At least play some mind games with teams. Do it a few times. Fake it a few times. Just do something to make the defense uncomfortable. He should do it every time he leads off an inning. Don't you score a run like 50% of the time the leadoff guy gets on base? I'd have Weiters hitting behind him. Then Weiters will come up more with a bigger whole on the second base side of the infield. The benefits just keep going. Add to the fact that Davis does run well so that means he could go first to third, or possibly score on a double.

[droper]

Just happy that he isn't going to do it in a one run games. Seriously though he needs to do it, not to actually get on base regularly but to try and keep the defense a little more honest. Let him get on with a bunt a few times and have someone knock him in and see if it doesn't at least soften the degree to which the shift is on if not reduce the number of times its employed at all.

[Woody Held]

Don't bunt. Choke down and punch the ball into left. The shift on him is so extreme that can be a double.

[weams]

He should absolutely be bunting on occasion and should be working on it now and in the spring.

The entire group of talking heads on MLB Network essential said. "This is a guy who has the very rare talent of being able to hit 50 home runs, giving him first base is a win for the pitcher."

[Beef Supreme]

The entire group of talking heads on MLB Network essential said. "This is a guy who has the very rare talent of being able to hit 50 home runs, giving him first base is a win for the pitcher."

Valid.

Or at least in seems like a "win for the pitcher' until that batter scores...

[tntoriole]

The entire group of talking heads on MLB Network essential said. "This is a guy who has the very rare talent of being able to hit 50 home runs, giving him first base is a win for the pitcher."

Yeah, except he didn't hit 50 last year, did he? I would have been happy to see a few more on base hits as he wasn't going to hit 50 the way he was doing it last year. Maybe it was not being healthy, or his focus, or whatever, but somewhere in there was also the marked increase in shift and the way they pitched him. If he gets back to swinging like 2013, then, fine. But, if not, he needs to take what he can give the team, not what he "might" have been able to do.

[Bradysburns]

The idea that you can still maintain your hitting approach that you have been honing for decades while also occasionally hitting weak grounders to where the third baseman typically stands, which you have never done before, seems really ambitious. I would be surprised if a planned check-swing could really be a viable weapon against Major League pitching.

Maybe that's the issue. These guys go up there with a plan at the plate. Some hitters get defensive and can go the opposite way. Other guys simply don't. I don't think CD changes his swing much, regardless of the count. But when he's really relaxed, he does hit a good number of balls the opposite way.

I bet that when he gets back into a groove he'll naturally start hitting more that way, too. I suspect when pull hitters struggle, they pull even harder. When they relax, they pull less viciously. No data on that, but it would seem to make sense.