Situational Hitting Meeting

by Vacafan on Jun 14, 2007 10:31 AM PDT

So glad that Ty Van Burkleo called a meeting yesterday in order to go over the team's horrific performance with RISP. Not only are our beloved A's last in the majors in batting avg. with RISP, I'm assuming we've got to be one of the worst (if not the worst) teams when it comes to driving in runners from third with less than two outs.
Van Burkleo said, "We talked about situational hitting, the approach to it, the mentality you take to the plate."
Yes!! Contrary to what some AN'ers think, it's nice to hear a coach recognize that at-bats must be approached differently from time to time!!!!! It is a mistake to enter the batter's box with the same approach and philosophy each time ... different situations require different adjustments!

I've seen AN'ers claim that each at-bat ought to be approached the same way ... well,that's true I guess if you're talking about taking outside pitches to the opposite field and other such "fundamentals," but when a hitter comes up with a man on third and less than two outs, he needs to approach the at-bat with a different mind-set than, say, an at-bat with the bases empty and two outs.
For example, a hitter needs to look for a pitch "up" in order to drive it to the outfield -- if the infield is back, he simply needs to select a pitch he can make contact with ... he doesn't need to swing from his a** in other words -- if a man is on second and nobody out, the hitter needs to concentrate on simply hitting a groundball to the right side in order to advance the baserunner. All of these things need to take priority in a hitter's mind in certain situations -- he wouldn't necessarily need to focus on these things in other at-bats.
Glad to see the hitting coach recognize that different at-bats require different approaches. Glad to see the team responded as well. Sometimes the coach needs to make it very, very, very clear -- and I don't care how he does it ... yelling, whispering, whatever -- but he needs to make it clear that certain things won't be tolerated. Not bringing in a man from third with less than two outs is inexcusable. A professional baseball club ought to be able to do this 80% of the time, at least. Good job coach!

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Totally agree . . .

Nothing is more frustrating than a runner on third with less than two outs in the 7th inning or later, and our guys taking the first two fastballs to go down 0 - 2 [see 1st game of Astros series].

Patience and discipline is good in the early going against a starter. But 7th inning and beyond (starter or not), most of our hitters need to be more aggressive with runner at third less than 2 outs. Often, the pitcher almost always wants to get ahead by throwing fastballs at the corners. Thing is most pitchers won't hit the corners and our guys stand there admiring the first pitch down the middle, ignorant to the fact that the first pitch was the best pitch they would see the whole AB. Clearly pitchers will dictate the best strategy . . . i.e. if I was hitting against Kiko I'd probably look for a slider as opposed to a fastball, but in general I think the root of the A's problem with getting runners home from third is their lack of aggressiveness in the situation . . . that is why I think Kotsay is one of the better hitters in that situation while DJ and Chavez are not . . .

So stop acting like you want to run up the pitch count on a reliever late in the game and start hacking.

by oaktownmario on Jun 14, 2007 10:39 AM PDT reply actions

I think that a different approach is needed

with RISP, because of something obvious. Its something we all think about when the tables are turned.

What do we think about when our opponent has RISP?

"Throw sliders away! Keep the ball down and make him hit a groundball, or pop it up, or K him!"

Thats the same thing happening to our players, and we're struggling a ton with it.

by Zonis on Jun 14, 2007 10:50 AM PDT reply actions

overdue meeting

Such a meeting is long over due, but at least someone from the A's staff has finally acknowledged a problem that the fans have been aware of for quite a while. Will it help any?

by skeeter1 on Jun 14, 2007 5:28 PM PDT reply actions

Really

I don't know how many times I've seen games with two or three guys on base just to watch our 'savior' (whoever he is that particular evening) go down swinging or staring. It's so frustrating.

Jason Kendall is a stinky pile of pooh.

by mlleaimee on Jun 14, 2007 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions

We've Had That Meeting Again and Again

But one of the problems is that the guys at the heart of the order (especially Chavvy) just aren't very good in the cluth. It isn't approach, it's fear. That the A's had that meeting yesterday and then the A's did what they did with RISP today (what were they, 0 for their first 10?) tells you it isn't about the ability to think, it's about the ability to execute.

by solotar on Jun 14, 2007 5:41 PM PDT reply actions