powerbelly said:
Jarrin' Jay said:
Texker said:
I despise the shift and loved Schloss' comments. Also that interview was great publicity for the program. Glad he is savvy enough to wait around and take advantage of an extended interview opportunity. Well done!
You despise the defense positioning their players? It is done in the outfield, it is done in football at every level of the defense, etc.
More coaches and especially players need to think and take the approach like Schloss instead of whining about it.
Guys like Joey Gallo should not even be in the majors, they need to learn how to actually hit if they want to be an MLB player, not be a random HR/strike out/easy ground ball guy who hits .200 and maybe gets to .250 OB%
Guys like Joey Gallo make millions because the advanced stats show that his HR are worth the rest. I don't really like it as a fan, but can't argue with the math.
I take issue with those analytics because they don't take into consideration the contra-positives of alternate outcomes.
Look at the best hitters in the league- they all spray the ball around and hit to the opposite field regularly.
I've yet to see any calculation which would take into account a guy like Gallo specifically trying to hit base hits away from the shift. I'm not saying to do it all the time or that it's easy at all but let's say Gallo altered his approach and instead of continuing to swing for the fences with 2 strikes he tries to shoot that outside pitch (which he frequently rolls over on into an easy ground ball) into left field and does so 25% of the time. First, with his speed those "dinks" frequently turn into doubles because the fielders are so far away from the ball. Second, let's say he's successful in doing so he not only increases his BA/OBP/OPS but he also sets the table for another hitter. And again, you drive up pitch counts, see more pitches, and more likelihood of the pitchers making a mistake which is where hitters make their living.
