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Post by ancientsoxfogey on Jul 15, 2014 5:35:52 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever seen the Sox preaching taking walks. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about exactly what being disciplined entails. If a batter thinks he can make solid contact with the first pitch of an AB, he should definitely be trying to do just that. On the other hand, just because the first pitch is a strike, doesn't mean he should be swinging either. One Theodore Samuel Williams is the best preacher on this topic I've ever heard, and he always preached that the #1 rule for a hitter was to get a good pitch to hit. Walks will follow if you select good pitches and consistently tattoo them. Walks will generally follow less often the less you tattoo them. So a one-of-a-kind hitter like Ted will still get walks in bunches because pitchers tried like hell to avoid giving him anything to hit. But 180 degree opposite thinking should work for pitchers. That is, worry about hitting more and patience less against lesser pitchers, because in general you should be happy to keep them in the game, odds being that you will do damage against them sooner or later. The transcendent pitchers like vintage Pedro are the ones against which you alter your approach and take more pitches for the sake of taking them, because you'd rather face someone else eventually. The truly great players are the ones that force you to alter your approach.
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Post by okin15 on Jul 15, 2014 11:55:05 GMT -5
I don't think the Sox really grind in an "altered approach" per se. I think they basically tell the hitters, "wait for your pitch. Don't swing at crap, and do swing when you see a good one. Also, protect the zone with 2 strikes, and there is no shame in walking." They're not trying to get guys too much out of their comfort zone, they're just trying to be heard over the little-league coaches who say, "get your swings in kid. You're up there to swing the bat." Which may well have been the best advice at the time -- we all need to learn how to swing -- but no longer applies in pro baseball.
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Post by quintanariffic on Jul 15, 2014 12:24:20 GMT -5
Rafael Devers says don't forget me, lest I treat you like a GCL pitcher. That would be oh so sweet, but I just don't see it, except in a wish. Greenville would be the team to watch next season and probably get me to use my MiLB subscription more. My guess, and I suspect it'd be supported by the Mods/experts here, is that Devers is almost a sure thing to start in Greenville next year. It's SSS and all, but he's killing the the GCL and the Sox have shown no hesitation in pushing advanced Latin youngsters up to full season ball after showing what they can do for a year in short-season ball (Bogaerts, Margot, Rijo). Rijo is playing in the SAL at age 18 this year and, by all accounts, Devers is a more promising prospect. Hard to imagine he starts anywhere else.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jul 15, 2014 14:00:08 GMT -5
I'll put it this way: I can't remember a player with a strong pedigree having great success in the GCL who then went to Lowell. There are plenty who went to Greenville.
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