23 of 30

[Rog]

The Giants have now lost 23 of their past 30 games.  The only player who has played much and had a truly good season is Buster Posey.  Not too much question who the Giants' All-Star representative will be.  


If Buster were unable to play in the game, which player would we pick to represent the Giants?

[Rog]

Brandon Belt is finally beginning to hit a little again, but even when he is hitting, he's caught in a trap. Batters are changing their swings to hit more fly balls, thus increasing their home runs. If Brandon does the same thing, he faces the fact in the season's first month, a barreled ball hit by a left-handed batter -- both the home team and the visiting team -- was roughly twice as likely to leave Yankee Stadium or Dodgers Stadium.(The latter is a real surprise, although it could do something to help explain why Clayton Kershaw has already given up a career high in home runs.)

Regarding Kershaw, over his career he has yielded the exact same number of home runs at home as on the road. This season he's yielded nearly twice as many at home.

Regarding Belt, he's hit nearly twice as many home runs on the road as he's hit at home. If Belt is to become the type of hitter we originally expected him to be, he likely needs to be traded to another club. There are other issues he needs to deal with as well, but as long as he plays with AT&T Park as his home field, he will likely have a hard time exceeding 20 home runs by much -- if he even reaches that level, which in his first six seasons he failed to do.

It should be noted that Brandon is on pace this season to hit over 25 homers. That's because he has found a way to hit nearly as many balls out of AT&T as his road parks.

Remember the recipe for success for Brandon: More ground balls to left and more fly balls to right. Easier said than done, of course. But the guy SHOULD learn how to bunt.

Ridiculous by the way what Mike Krukow said tonight about Brandon and other power hitters. He said that when such a player bunts, he's doing the opposition a favor. And sometimes he's right. But there are times -- such as tonight in the ninth inning when Mike made his blanket statement -- that what is needed is base runners.

For all Mike knows about baseball, he doesn't seem to understand some of the subtleties. As he might say, there's a "b" in subtle?

I enjoy Mike's announcing and learn things from it. That's why it hurts when he says dumb things.

[klaiggeb]

Mike was talking from a pitcher's perspective, Rog.

As a pitcher he fears Belt's power the most.

I don't think it was a dumb thing to say. I didn't hear it, but it sounds like a comment made out of frustration on many levels.

1-The season

2-Belt's HUGE holes

3-Belt's approach to a 100K season

4-Belt's INability to go the other way more often.

I understand what he's trying to say, and based upon what you wrote, sounds like it could easily be misunderstood.

boly

[Rog]

Mike was talking from a pitcher's perspective, Rog.

As a pitcher he fears Belt's power the most.


Rog -- Of course. But when a team needs base runners, not necessarily power hits, the pitcher should fear allowing base runners the most. Mike's comment just didn't fit with the context.

If I were a pitcher, I would challenge the first hitter of the inning. If he gets on base, he has a high probability of scoring. With two outs, avoid the home run. A runner who reaches first with two outs has little chance of scoring.

It kind of goes back to the recommendation the Astros gave their pitchers when pitching to Barry Bonds in 2001. Pitch to him with one out. With two outs, walk him. With one out, let the game situation dictate.

Almost no hitter is Barry Bonds, of course, but the same general principle applies. Pitch to the SITUATION as well as to the hitter.

It's kind of like you don't want to walk Billy Hamilton. Make him hit to get on base. If he walks, there's a good chance he'll wind up on second or even third. On the other hand, there's little chance he'll hit a home run. Pretty much pitch to him as if there are no outs no matter how many outs there are.

There are exceptions of course, but when the Giants need base runners not power, don't worry nearly so much about Brandon's power. Pitch to the situation as well as the hitter.





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[Rog]

Belt's INability to go the other way more often.


Rog -- It's intriguing, Boly. This season Brandon ISN'T going to left field. He's gone there less than one out of five times. But a year ago he went to left three out of ten times.

What he needs to do it hit the ball on the ground and on a line to left field more often. Hitting fly balls there doesn't usually get much done. And to right field he needs to hit the ball in the air more. If he does those things, he'll hit for a much higher average.

Going to left field more will help significantly only if the balls are hit on the ground or on a line.





Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/3927/23-30?page=1#ixzz4kz6Rg2tT

[klaiggeb]

He's gotten better at going to LF it seems... but his K's are way up.

They've found his 'hole' and it seems that even me, with my 62 mph heater, could exploit it.

His average isn't an accident.

Until he adjusts, IF he can adjust, it's just going to get worse.

Going on 162 games here for him, really soon.

boly

[Rog]

He's gotten better at going to LF it seems.


Rog -- Last season he got better. This season he's been worse. Not only has his percentage of balls to left field dropped by more than 10%, he is hitting only .290 on balls to left field compared to .341 last season. He is hitting the ball with more power that way though, with a .580 SLG compared to .488 last season.

He needs to hit more line drives and ground balls to left -- and learn how to bunt.




Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/3927/23-30#ixzz4l2GzPRrD