Does this make anyone else nervous?

[oxpatchreb]

This is from the Q&A session at the beginning of the season, sorry if it's already been discussed. I just read it for the first time, but it seems eerily poignant with our recent troubles at the dish.

Q: I am a high school baseball coach, and our guys have confidence issues when we are not successful early in the game at the plate. Do you have any suggestions?

A: One of the things that we talk about, especially at the beginning of the year, is to be aggressive. Evaluate the offense and your success differently, so kids can be rewarded. In our game, if you get a base hit, you’re successful, and if you don’t get a base hit, you’re not. Now we are judging them on quality at-bats. A kid made be out but saw more than seven pitches. That is going to help your team. You have to explain it to them as to why that will help them the more pitches they see. Even though you may not be hitting that pitcher, each hitter saw seven pitches, and at 21 pitches per inning, the pitcher is at 100 by the fifth. He will be out of the game. The point is quality at-bats are not necessarily based how many hits or runs you score.

I think (and I'm no expert) that he needs to hold the guys accountable for not getting the hit!!! He needs to put a little more pressure on the guys for working the count full and not walking or slapping a single somewhere. Men LOB not withstanding, we need more hits in close games, not higher pitch counts for opposing pitchers who are "in the zone".

Discussion?

[oxfordrebel]

This is from the Q&A session at the beginning of the season, sorry if it's already been discussed. I just read it for the first time, but it seems eerily poignant with our recent troubles at the dish.

Q: I am a high school baseball coach, and our guys have confidence issues when we are not successful early in the game at the plate. Do you have any suggestions?

A: One of the things that we talk about, especially at the beginning of the year, is to be aggressive. Evaluate the offense and your success differently, so kids can be rewarded. In our game, if you get a base hit, you’re successful, and if you don’t get a base hit, you’re not. Now we are judging them on quality at-bats. A kid made be out but saw more than seven pitches. That is going to help your team. You have to explain it to them as to why that will help them the more pitches they see. Even though you may not be hitting that pitcher, each hitter saw seven pitches, and at 21 pitches per inning, the pitcher is at 100 by the fifth. He will be out of the game. The point is quality at-bats are not necessarily based how many hits or runs you score.

I think (and I'm no expert) that he needs to hold the guys accountable for not getting the hit!!! He needs to put a little more pressure on the guys for working the count full and not walking or slapping a single somewhere. Men LOB not withstanding, we need more hits in close games, not higher pitch counts for opposing pitchers who are "in the zone".

Discussion?

Hits haven't been the problem. Timely hits are where we're having an issue. We're getting plenty of hit most games but we aren't getting the ones that drive in the runs.

Quality at-bats do matter. Some guys just are NOT going to hit above .250 at the best no matter what. Most catchers in fact fall in this category for some reason. But if they can work the pitcher deep then they help those behind them who are hitting .315, .350, .365, etc.

We need more timely hits, but not necessarily hits as a whole. Perhaps we need to practice more small ball to get a runner at 2nd with only 1 out. Plus our team is so quick we have 4 or 5 guys who can beat out a base bunt single. Heck, Fuller Smith got a sac bunt to go for an RBI double Tuesday night! We did a GREAT job of playing small ball against UCA on Tuesday night, but we just couldn't deliver the hit when we had runners in scoring position.

[oxpatchreb]

You are definitely right about the fact that it's TIMELY hits that are causing most of our problems. But don't you think that if we are focused more on getting hits in general at the plate, and less focused on "good at bats" at the plate, that we will, as a matter of statistical fact (ex. more focus on more hits = more hits, in ALL situations, men on or not) get more hits overall. Some of which will come when most needed, others will be "throw away hits" when we're up by 10 runs.

I'm just suggesting that focusing on hits is better than focusing on being a tough out.

Now, I completely agree with teaching the "hitting challenged" players to work up the pitch count and make the pitcher throw as much as possible, but we only have 1 or 2 guys that I'd want to focus on that. Seems like most of our hitters are focused on being a tough out 1st, and getting the hit/RBI/homer/game winner second. Maybe it's just perspective. I don't know.

[Heath]

It seems to me, and I haven't examined each AB by each hitter, that they are going deeper into the counts. I remember thinking at the first few games of the season that we had a lot of guys swinging at and/or hitting the first pitch. The opposing pitchers were throwing 8 pitches in an inning. However, now they seem to be working deeper into counts, which I guess helps the team. But, they aren't scoring nearly as many runs. So, hopefully they will get something figured out.

[jimbo_raley]

I've coached and played more baseball than I care to admit. My thoughts may not be palatable all, but in my experience it works more times than not.

There are more valid questions that solutions when it comes to hitting stratgy.

Conventional wisdom dictates that the starters and closers are your best pitchers. Middle relief is usually the weakest link in the defensive chain. The sooner you get into the bullpen the better.

If you listen to Bianco, his philosophy is "see the ball hit the ball" and don't get cheated. I agree with that early in the season. Midway through the season as pitchers start getting knicked up and are expected to produce higher pitch counts. If I were teaching these kids, I would teach them to try and work deeper counts. Good hitters can tell pitch, location and velocity for the deck or the bench. Make the pitcher show his entire bag early. Make the pitcher pitch your game not his.

What drives me crazy is letting pitchers off the hook by swing at first pitches, especially late in the game. Pitchers make more mistakes later rather than earlier, take advantage off it. If hitters do not make pitcher throw more pitches early, then you'll never get to him late. Make the pitcher show you more than one pitch, this is a huge benefit to your teammates by showing them same thing.

I am a believer in working counts, seeing as many different pitches as possible and swing from the heals when the hurler makes a mistake. A well placed bunt will baffle the defense and create holes in the infield.

[mmoore313]

we have to learn how to bunt... before we can have a well placed bunt.

[Heath]

I remember Tony Gwynn saying, "The first key to being a good hitter is getting a good pitch to hit." I think to do this you have to make the pitcher pitch to you, not just throw pitches up there knowing the batter will swing at anyghing close. Justin Henry was GREAT at this. I rarely saw him swing at a bad pitch.

[rebelliousb]

personally, every time one of our batters fouls off 4 or 5 pitches, I smile. I'm thinking like this guy.

[oxfordrebel]

Tonight was a perfect example of what happens when you don't work the count. Almost EVERYONE was going after Florida's starter's first pitch and that's why he was still cruising for the most part in the 8th inning. When we backed off and took a couple the rally started in the 9th.