Originally posted by bigbluefattycat:
The amount of players that come through the system with the spin to win batting approach is ridiculous. These kids come up on talent to hit a fastball but can't adjust to big league breaking pitches. I don't know if you blame the people who drafted or the people who developed but something has to change.
It puts coaches/managers at lower levels in a tough situation, that's for sure.
Let's look at Jay Bruce in Louisville:
(49 games) = .364 / .393 / .630 / 10 homers / 37 rbi
He was absolutely *crushing* the ball. What was his manager supposed to do? Have him bunt more often? Preach the sac fly? Or just let him keep MASHING? I don't know the answer.
*However* --> if you dig into the numbers a little further, there was "evidence" there that Jay Bruce wasn't ready to be a big-shot at the major league level.
45 strikeouts / 12 walks
I remember fans whining and crying that the Reds organization was holding Bruce back to save $$. I just "knew" (
) he'd be a stud, but also cautioned that he didn't know how to work the count. At one point that year, he had 25 ks and only 5 walks. Which is AWFUL. That is Russ Branyan material right there.
I think two things need to happen:
1> The organization from the very top to the very bottom needs to be run seamlessly. Preach on-base %. In
Moneyball, Michael Lewis wrote that Billy Beane basically told every single one of his minor league managers "lead the league in walks, or you're fired."
Why don't more GMs do this? If the NFL had a farm system, would the Patriots allow their AAA to play the run-and-shoot, their AA to run a triple-option, and their A to run a conventional offense? No.
2> Less scouting. More statistical analysis. There is no sport where statistics tell you more about a player than in baseball. The data is RIGHT THERE, and there's *tons* of it.
Ryan Hanigan played 558 games at the minor league level, and only struck out 3 more times than he walked. And carried a .383 on-base %. What dumbass "scout" made up their mind that he wasn't capable of hitting in the bigs???
Jay Bruce --> just overhyped. Everyone got caught up in his AAA hot streak and his power #s, and forget to look at the fact that he just isn't that great of a hitter. Sorry.