|
|
Post by jimed14 on Oct 20, 2014 13:58:16 GMT -5
Chili Davis's homer was the only hit off Pedro in that 17 K game at Yankee Stadium in September 1999. My girlfriend was at that game and never stops telling me about it. I'm so jealous. She says the Yankees fans were pretty cool for a change because they knew what they were watching was pretty special. |
|
|
|
Post by jimed14 on Oct 20, 2014 14:04:44 GMT -5
...I keep going back to golf and the myriad of instructors, articles and videos on the golf swing...how to hit it left or right, eliminating this or that fault. That is the type of guy I want coaching at the ML level. I get what you're trying to say: a hitting coach who understands mechanics, swing path, point of contact, uses a kinesiological training method, etc. But I don't think the golf analogy is appropriate. In golf, the ball is not working against you; it's only your swing, the club and the terrain that work against you. In baseball the pitcher is effecting the ball differently with every single pitch in an effort to make the hitter miss or hit poorly. In golf the ball is stationary whereas in baseball you need to match the velocity of your swing to the velocity of the ball in order to not lead or lag the ball too much. Feet are generally stationary in golf, etc. Like I said: I think I get what your saying, but I'm reading the analogy very literally and I find too many flaws with it for it to make sense. I was pretty coordinated as a kid and picking up a baseball bat and hitting the ball was natural for me. Golfing is not natural whatsoever, not for me. Or maybe it's because I played too much baseball before I played golf. I think coaching could help a whole lot more in golf than in baseball because there's just too much you can't teach in baseball. |
|
|
|
Post by raftsox on Oct 20, 2014 15:06:07 GMT -5
I was a pretty coordinated as a kid and picking up a baseball bat and hitting the ball was natural for me. Golfing is not natural whatsoever, not for me. Or maybe it's because I played too much baseball before I played golf. I think coaching could help a whole lot more in golf than in baseball because there's just too much you can't teach in baseball. Agreed. In golf your actions completely determine the outcome of the ball; the same is not true in baseball. I would think it's a lot more difficult to teach someone to swing in a certain path at a certain rate with their wrists rotating at a certain time when the pitch could be at any number of locations and at a wide variety of speeds. A lot of it goes back to that whole Effective Velocity thing for me, and I don't see how you can teach that type of swing variety. |
|
|
|
Post by moonstone2 on Oct 20, 2014 21:42:41 GMT -5
I think their wish list was a guy that they knew and a guy who had experience as an MLB hitting coach. Assuming Magadan wasn't availble, Davis is the only guy who fit both criteria
|
|
|
|
Post by grandsalami on Oct 23, 2014 12:37:41 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by soxfanatic on Oct 23, 2014 15:34:55 GMT -5
"@peteabe: #RedSox officially announce Chili Davis as hitting coach. Victor Rodriguez back as assistant.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chris Hatfield on Oct 23, 2014 17:34:00 GMT -5
"@peteabe: #RedSox officially announce Chili Davis as hitting coach. Victor Rodriguez back as assistant. This actually makes some sense. When Davis was the PawSox hitting coach in 2011, Vic was the ML hitting coordinator, so they would have interacted then. |
|
|
|
Post by grandsalami on Oct 23, 2014 18:28:46 GMT -5
“@buster_ESPN: In going from Oakland to the Red Sox as hitting coach, Chili Davis nearly tripled his salary, going from $155,000 to over $400,000.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Guidas on Oct 23, 2014 19:12:24 GMT -5
Meanwhile, most important question of all: Will we be able to buy one of those Red Sox t-shirts that say "Chilli" on the back?
|
|
|
|
Post by sarasoxer on Oct 23, 2014 20:25:23 GMT -5
I really believe we will see hitters, as early as next season, smarten up. The whole "shift" idea was genius, but as in football a new offensive concept can be impossible to stop well for a year or 2, but defenses eventually figure out how to attack it. Smart baseball people who insist the hitters they employ will start going "the other way". I would not be surprised if our kids in the minors are being pushed to use the opposite field even more than usual now. Everyone has heard the definition of insanity and continually hitting into a shift every time is just that. Now I see it, to some degree, with Ortiz. I don't see it with Xander, Bradley, or Middlebrooks. I don't see it with anyone that is not a potential 30+ homer bat. It will happen. Eventually hitters will get some brains. Because lets face it, free agents who hit .220 with 15 homers don't look that sexy in uniform. Free agents are already feeling the pinch in some ways. Teams are starting to steer away from longer term contracts. This hitters better start putting up better OBP and OPS if they want that long term security. Say no to players who hit below .250, have OBP of less than .320, and create few opportunities for their team to actually score because they are so hard-headed. Yes....Cespedes.....this was partially written for your benefit. We need players who put the ball in play, go the other way (once in a while), and can get on base at a reasonable clip. Oh......and by the way.....watching the Royals and Giants.....we need players who can play D. Now lets see, where can we shop Cespedes? Steve there will be some ebb and flow IMO along the lines you note I am sure....but it is far easier to design defensive shifts incorporating hitter tendencies than I think it will be for hitters to go against what, through years of success and inherent mindset has become part of their fabric. Oh sure, occasionally you will see a bunt or hit to the vacated side... but I think the shifts will continue to depress offense dramatically. There are too many Ted Williams' mindsets in baseball to defeat the defenses. That coupled with the proliferation of the power arms, particularly in the bullpens but now infiltrating starters too, will continue to drop averages. That is why the Sox, more than ever, will be looking for OBP guys IMO. If you are going to have teams hitting .235-.255 with fewer homers, you are going to have to get men on and score by other means. IMO to alter the slide toward pitching, something significant will have to be employed. Whether that is modifying the strike-zone, calling it more accurately, lowering the mound or pushing it back, who knows. Baseball fans favor offense. Attendances rose in the steroid era. Baseball will not and perhaps cannot allow pitching to continue to dominate while sacrificing fan appeal. |
|
