The Homegrown Hitters are too young to be the “Smartest Guys in the Room”

[LookitsPuck]

5 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

Please show me the data, even anecdotal, showing team meetings have any effect on performance.

I’d rather see if Grimace throwing a pitch has an effect or not 

[Three Run Homer]

True:  Our clutch hitting has been poor this year, and we have lost games because of it.  It is painful to watch.

Also true:  once we control for overall hitting performance, clutch hitting is not persistent from year to year and is not systematically correlated with player age or anything else systematic.  

[MCO'sFan]

The one-liners in this thread are great. One of the funnest threads ever!!! 

[Moose Milligan]

I stopped reading at "When do they realize that they’re not in gym shorts in the batting cages"

[Goober Noodles]

8 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

Please show me the data, even anecdotal, showing team meetings have any effect on performance.

Not that I think team meetings are a huge thing or anything, but...  https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2751394/garcia-speech-fuels-rangers-game-4-win-hit-us-right-in-the-heart

[ledzepp8]

7 hours ago, BRobinsonfan said:

Yeah?  Well, that's just like your opinion, man.  

Yeah. Take your erroneous meaningless stats and pound sand. I know what my eyes see!!!!

[ledzepp8]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

I think the stat for “when hitting the first pitch” may be the most misleading stat in all of baseball.  You can’t strike out on the first pitch, so that eliminates every single at bat where the batter swings and misses or fouls off the first pitch.  So course the numbers are going to be extremely good.

Yeah but what if they lined out or popped up every first pitch put into play?

[BRobinsonfan]

6 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

August stats.  16th in OPS.  14th in ERA.  9 of our top 15 pitching arms are on the IL.  What's the hitters excuses?  We called up all the prospects.  Where they at?  There's no more Mateo to blame either.  Our problem is that the young homegrown guys are underperforming currently.  The hitters are all the high draft picks.  We've sunk all of our draft picks into the hitting.  

What's the hitter's excuse?  Depending on who you ask they're "too tight," "too arrogant," "trying to do too much," "not being patient enough," "being too aggressive at the plate," "not bunting enough," "not hitting behind the runner" and "not being motivated through inspirational/instructional team meetings." 

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, BRobinsonfan said:

What's the hitter's excuse?  Depending on who you ask they're "too tight," "too arrogant," "trying to do too much," "not being patient enough," "being too aggressive at the plate," "not bunting enough," "not hitting behind the runner" and "not being motivated through inspirational/instructional team meetings." 

Hitting is hard.

[EddeeEddee]

We're in the trough of an unfortunate August slump.

Holliday, Mounty and Santander are in mini slumps.  Eloy appears like he just went into one too -- though that's not unexpected.  Holliday is still figuring things out.

Adley I think has been in a bigger slump though sometimes feels like he's about to come out of it.

Cowser hits but just strikes out way too much.  

Gunnar, Urias and even Mullins have been the best hitters recently -- as have platoon guys like McCann and Slater.  

The lineup needs a shakeup perhaps.  I'd like to see Mullins back in leadoff for awhile for starters.  

 

[foxfield]

14 hours ago, Frobby said:

This is one of the most reactionary threads I’ve ever read.  

Well the board is the most reactionary it has ever been, so you will likely have a chance to award this high honor again, soon.

 

PS

Does that make your reaction to the reactionary thread reactionary?  My god my head hurts.

[sportsfan8703]

12 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I stopped reading at "When do they realize that they’re not in gym shorts in the batting cages"

How about those Astros scouts?  They sure do seem to have our number. 

The young guys need to figure it out fast. The whipping boy Mateo isn’t even playing. 

[sportsfan8703]

12 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Hitting is hard.

So is pitching. But we’re 14th in ERA in August with 9 guys on the IL. We’re 16th in OPS with Mateo gone. Where is the addition by subtraction that we’ve been promised?  

[gtman55]

Bottom line: The team is pressing, plain and simple. Hopefully we get our mojo back.

[sportsfan8703]

We can fire the hitting coach. Or demote them. Teams fire offensive coordinators all the time.