The Davis Release Poll

[DrungoHazewood]

Just now, Frobby said:

Jones: 39

Schoop: 35

There have almost always been good players who didn't walk much.  It's hard to be a great player when you do that.

Best players to walk in 6% of PA or less:  Andre Dawson, Vada Pinson, George Sisler, Willie Keeler, Jake Beckley

Best players to walk in less than 5% of PAs: Nap Lajoie, Pudge Rodriguez, Willie Davis.  Adam Jones is 13th in WAR on this list.  Frank Whte, Garry Maddox, Ozzie Guillen, Hal Chase make appearances.

Best players to walk in 3% of PA or less: Dave Orr, George Wright, Cal McVey, Lip Pike.  Mostly guys who played when it was eight or nine balls for a walk.

[DrungoHazewood]

2 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

As a 1B, I hope he hits alot better than those two. 

As a guy who's never walked 30 times in a professional season he's going to have to hit .300+ with power to do much better than Jones and Schoop.

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

There have almost always been good players who didn't walk much.  It's hard to be a great player when you do that.

I agree with this.   

[Three Run Homer]

The goal of patience isn't to draw walks.  The goal is to be more selective at the plate--to not swing at balls, and to not swing at "pitchers' strikes" when you are ahead in the count.  Being more selective means that you will be swinging at a higher fraction of pitches that you have a good chance to drive.  As a byproduct, being selective means you will also draw more walks, which is a good thing too.  But being selective doesn't mean abandoning aggression at the plate.  A selective hitter is very aggressive towards pitches in his wheelhouse.  

Selectivity is a skill and it can be taught and learned, although obviously having outstanding vision and hand-to-eye coordination help.  

[atomic]

50 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

There have almost always been good players who didn't walk much.  It's hard to be a great player when you do that.

Best players to walk in 6% of PA or less:  Andre Dawson, Vada Pinson, George Sisler, Willie Keeler, Jake Beckley

Best players to walk in less than 5% of PAs: Nap Lajoie, Pudge Rodriguez, Willie Davis.  Adam Jones is 13th in WAR on this list.  Frank Whte, Garry Maddox, Ozzie Guillen, Hal Chase make appearances.

Best players to walk in 3% of PA or less: Dave Orr, George Wright, Cal McVey, Lip Pike.  Mostly guys who played when it was eight or nine balls for a walk.

Roberto Clemente walked in 6 percent of his at bats.  

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

If we were a contending team, I’d be tempted to call up Mountcastle now.   I’m a big fan of giving players significant AAA experience before calling them up, absent special circumstances.    Well, he now has had 225 PA of AAA experience without a hiccup.    The only question would be whether he’s playing a decent 1B.

But, we’re not a contending team, and it’s fine to let Mountcastle continue working on stuff in AAA while we do what’s best for the long term success of the team.    

I would have thought it would be the opposite.

Contending teams dont bring up inexperienced people, do they?

I know Manny came up to a non contending team and a dire need at 3rd.

 

[Can_of_corn]

45 minutes ago, Three Run Homer said:

The goal of patience isn't to draw walks.  The goal is to be more selective at the plate--to not swing at balls, and to not swing at "pitchers' strikes" when you are ahead in the count.  Being more selective means that you will be swinging at a higher fraction of pitches that you have a good chance to drive.  As a byproduct, being selective means you will also draw more walks, which is a good thing too.  But being selective doesn't mean abandoning aggression at the plate.  A selective hitter is very aggressive towards pitches in his wheelhouse.  

Selectivity is a skill and it can be taught and learned, although obviously having outstanding vision and hand-to-eye coordination help.  

I don't remember a lot of guys who were free swingers in the high minors that were subsequently taught to be selective.  I think it is more something that is drafted and not developed.

[atomic]

The selecitivity and Chris Davis goes hand in hand. He is very selective. He only swings at pitches in the dirt. 

[kirchhausen]

Since 1871, there have been a total of 517 players who have accumulated a career offensive WAR of greater than 30% (per baseball reference).  Of those 517, only 16 players have ever logged a BB as % of PA of less than 5%.  Of those 16, only 3 have played since the 1920s:

Pudge Rodriguez (1991-2011) 5.0%

Mickey Rivers (1970-1984) 4.4%

Adam Jones (2006-current) 4.4%

 

[LA2]

5 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

A majority of the team's operating budget is coming from Cable TV money, not Joe Blow Fan in the seats, buying beers.

 

Wouldn't the same improvement that puts fans in the seats boost TV viewership?

[theocean]

49 minutes ago, atomic said:

Roberto Clemente walked in 6 percent of his at bats.  

Same with Ichiro.

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, LA2 said:

Wouldn't the same improvement that puts fans in the seats boost TV viewership?

If you DFA Dais and sign Trout (I know just pure bunk) to replace that spot, you still have a poor and last place team.

So DFA Davis and bringing up a AAA player, is not going to win games and boost anything.

Now, as Elias is able to find better players, that will probably change the situation quite a bit, and then they can cross that bridge.

 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

If you DFA Dais and sign Trout (I know just pure bunk) to replace that spot, you still have a poor and last place team.

So DFA Davis and bringing up a AAA player, is not going to win games and boost anything.

Now, as Elias is able to find better players, that will probably change the situation quite a bit, and then they can cross that bridge.

 

I don't know.

If you replace Davis with Trout I think you got a shot at overtaking the Jays for fourth.

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't know.

If you replace Davis with Trout I think you got a shot at overtaking the Jays for fourth.

true, but the end of the day, 4th sucks too.

[LA2]

13 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

If you DFA Dais and sign Trout (I know just pure bunk) to replace that spot, you still have a poor and last place team.

So DFA Davis and bringing up a AAA player, is not going to win games and boost anything.

Now, as Elias is able to find better players, that will probably change the situation quite a bit, and then they can cross that bridge.

 

I think it's hard to overestimate the negative drag Davis has on the team and its fans. The dead spot and cynicism the reason for keeping him in the lineup generates. Let's say it's not Trout, but just someone who performs very well, coordinated with comebacks from Bundy and Cobb, continued good performances from inherently enjoyable surprises like Cashner, Means, Alberto, Nunez, Mancini, Smith, Jr., and Severino, and sudden upticks from Ruiz and Wilkerson and prospects like Stewart and Sisco. HIGHLY UNLIKELY, I know, and NOT something that would take us out of the race for a high draft pick--but I think that makes the team one that is fun to watch, and fun tends to loosen money and viewing time from fans.