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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 12:40:57 GMT -5
In case anybody doesn't know, JD Martinez is kind of good. And lucky when he's hitting 324 foot HRs.
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atzar
Veteran
Posts: 1,818
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Post by atzar on May 20, 2018 12:48:06 GMT -5
JBJ, try closing your eyes before you swing. At worst, you'll get the same result.
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Post by kevfc89 on May 20, 2018 12:52:55 GMT -5
I feel really bad for JBJ...he's been putting in extra work before games, but now he looks further away from figuring things out then ever before.
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Post by 75tillnow on May 20, 2018 12:54:56 GMT -5
I'm actually beginning to wince seeing JBJ bat. He looks so lost, even humiliated. I do wonder if he can figure it out at the MLB level. Regardless, it will come to a head soon, as this cannot go on much longer.
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Post by wildsox on May 20, 2018 12:56:10 GMT -5
There’s no way JBJ even wants to bat at this point
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Post by terriblehondo on May 20, 2018 12:58:49 GMT -5
Watching JBJ is like watching Willie Mays with the Mets. Just having Fastballs pumped past him.
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Post by danredhawk on May 20, 2018 13:04:52 GMT -5
I would feel worse for JBJ if I saw even the slightest bit of effort to correct his approach. Instead what I see is a lot of stubbornness and baseball machismo from both JBJ and the manager. They keep talking about a mechanical adjustment that needs to be made and say nothing about his flat out awful approach - simply trying to pull everything into the bleachers as if he is one HR away from breaking out...
Until he starts to try to hit balls the other way, shortens his swing, keeps his head on the ball and stops trying to muscle everything he's going to be a disaster. It's not a hitch in his hands thing it's a horrendous approach thing. And running him out there to do the same thing every day is in no ones best interest...
Not to mention being essentially an auto strike out at this point and going to the plate yesterday - after a Nunez lead off double, in a one run game - with essentially zero interest in moving a runner (a SAC is a good play when a K is a 99% likely outcome otherwise) in lieu of hoping to homer his way out of frustration. He was bailed ot by Betts and Beni going B2B...
Do something different or try to do something/anything productive and maybe things will start to get better, FFS...
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:05:10 GMT -5
389 foot double for Mookie. Awww.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:10:07 GMT -5
I would feel worse for JBJ if I saw even the slightest bit of effort to correct his approach. Instead what I see is a lot of stubbornness and baseball machismo from both JBJ and the manager. They keep talking about a mechanical adjustment that needs to be made and say nothing about his flat out awful approach - simply trying to pull everything into the bleachers as if he is one HR away from breaking out... Until he starts to try to hit balls the other way, shortens his swing, keeps his head on the ball and stops trying to muscle everything he's going to be a disaster. It's not a hitch in his hands thing it's a horrendous approach thing. And running him out there to do the same thing every day is in no ones best interest... Not to mention being essentially an auto strike out at this point and going to the plate yesterday - after a Nunez lead off double, in a one run game - with essentially zero interest in moving a runner (even bunting him over) in lieu of hoping to homer his way out of frustration. He was bailed ot by Betts and Brno going B2B... Do something different or try to do something/anything productive and maybe things will start to get better, FFS... C'mon. We have absolutely no idea what he's doing behind the scenes. I would bet a few paychecks that he's not doing nothing. Pitchers are challenging him on the inside and right down the middle so there's no reason to go the other way the way he's getting pitched right now. He has a hitch in his swing where he's moving his hands backwards when he begins the swing and that's making it impossible to catch up to anything. This is what happened to him as a rookie so it can be fixed. It's not his approach, it's a mechanical flaw which will take a bit to get rid of. He'll probably have to do it in AAA at some point. But just saying he's being stubborn and doesn't care about moving a runner over isn't being productive. It's just being frustrated.
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Post by Guidas on May 20, 2018 13:12:31 GMT -5
Come on, now - let’s not waste a lead-off double in a one-run game.
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Post by danredhawk on May 20, 2018 13:28:36 GMT -5
I would feel worse for JBJ if I saw even the slightest bit of effort to correct his approach. Instead what I see is a lot of stubbornness and baseball machismo from both JBJ and the manager. They keep talking about a mechanical adjustment that needs to be made and say nothing about his flat out awful approach - simply trying to pull everything into the bleachers as if he is one HR away from breaking out... Until he starts to try to hit balls the other way, shortens his swing, keeps his head on the ball and stops trying to muscle everything he's going to be a disaster. It's not a hitch in his hands thing it's a horrendous approach thing. And running him out there to do the same thing every day is in no ones best interest... Not to mention being essentially an auto strike out at this point and going to the plate yesterday - after a Nunez lead off double, in a one run game - with essentially zero interest in moving a runner (even bunting him over) in lieu of hoping to homer his way out of frustration. He was bailed ot by Betts and Brno going B2B... Do something different or try to do something/anything productive and maybe things will start to get better, FFS... C'mon. We have absolutely no idea what he's doing behind the scenes. I would bet a few paychecks that he's not doing nothing. Pitchers are challenging him on the inside and right down the middle so there's no reason to go the other way the way he's getting pitched right now. He has a hitch in his swing where he's moving his hands backwards when he begins the swing and that's making it impossible to catch up to anything. This is what happened to him as a rookie so it can be fixed. It's not his approach, it's a mechanical flaw which will take a bit to get rid of. He'll probably have to do it in AAA at some point. But just saying he's being stubborn and doesn't care about moving a runner over isn't being productive. It's just being frustrated. I ever said anything about what he's doing behind the scenes. I don't doubt he's working hard - but I don't need to know what he's doing behind the scenes to know he hasn't taken ANY of it into the game. And that's what matters. He's seen plenty of pitches out over the plate and away and he's trying to turn on everything. It's not mechanical - it's his approach which is putting his bat on plane for as short a period as is possible - which means on top of slumping in a number of ways his timing has to be perfect to even make contact at this point... Additionally, despite his struggles, he has not tried to bunt for a hit or sacrifice even one time (to my knowledge). He is certainly not efforting to use the opposite field - in spite of consistently facing massive over shifts. The next swing he takes this season that planes towards the big part of the field will be his first. His approach indicates he is going to the plate with one goal - to hit his way out of his slump. And his consistent approach indicates that he thinks it's a product of bad luck, as if he is right there and he is 'due' more than anything else. Otherwise he would be exhibiting even some effort to do something different... If they are blaming and discussing mechanics with him then they're doing nothing to help him, perhaps cluttering his mind unnecessarily and excusing him from examining the real issues at hand... --- I'll watch his next at bat - but I think you and the Sox are reaching for hope when you tell yourself it's mechanical or a hand hitch. Moving your hands back as you being your swinging motion is called a 'load' for most MLB hitters... His approach should be an easier fix anyway, if only there was tangible evidence that was even being addressed...
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Post by Guidas on May 20, 2018 13:29:35 GMT -5
Just swing, swing, swing everybody.
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Post by Smittyw on May 20, 2018 13:29:49 GMT -5
The bottom of the order is pretty dismal to watch right now.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:32:09 GMT -5
C'mon. We have absolutely no idea what he's doing behind the scenes. I would bet a few paychecks that he's not doing nothing. Pitchers are challenging him on the inside and right down the middle so there's no reason to go the other way the way he's getting pitched right now. He has a hitch in his swing where he's moving his hands backwards when he begins the swing and that's making it impossible to catch up to anything. This is what happened to him as a rookie so it can be fixed. It's not his approach, it's a mechanical flaw which will take a bit to get rid of. He'll probably have to do it in AAA at some point. But just saying he's being stubborn and doesn't care about moving a runner over isn't being productive. It's just being frustrated. I ever said anything about what he's doing behind the scenes. I don't doubt he's working hard - but I don't need to know what he's doing behind the scenes to know he hasn't taken ANY of it into the game. And that's what matters. He's seen plenty of pitches out over the plate and away and he's trying to turn on everything. It's not mechanical - it's his approach which is putting his bat on plane for as short a period as is possible - which means on top of slumping in a number of ways his timing has to be perfect to even make contact at this point... Additionally, despite his struggles, he has not tried to bunt for a hit or sacrifice even one time (to my knowledge). He is certainly not efforting to use the opposite field - in spite of consistently facing massive over shifts. The next swing he takes this season that planes towards the big part of the field will be his first. His approach indicates he is going to the plate with one goal - to hit his way out of his slump. And his consistent approach indicates that he thinks it's a product of bad luck, as if he is right there and he is 'due' more than anything else. Otherwise he would be exhibiting even some effort to do something different... If they are blaming and discussing mechanics with him then they're doing nothing to help him, perhaps cluttering his mind unnecessarily and excusing him from examining the real issues at hand... But it is absolutely mechanical. There is zero reason why he cannot catch up to a 92 mph fastball right down the middle. That has nothing to do with his approach. He's moving his hands backwards when he decides to swing. He then has to change the direction of his hands to stop them and then move them forward, which takes so much longer than starting with his hands still or moving forward when he starts his swing. This is exactly the problem he had as a rookie and I saw it then also. He fixed it for years and now he's back to the same place.
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Post by danredhawk on May 20, 2018 13:34:21 GMT -5
I ever said anything about what he's doing behind the scenes. I don't doubt he's working hard - but I don't need to know what he's doing behind the scenes to know he hasn't taken ANY of it into the game. And that's what matters. He's seen plenty of pitches out over the plate and away and he's trying to turn on everything. It's not mechanical - it's his approach which is putting his bat on plane for as short a period as is possible - which means on top of slumping in a number of ways his timing has to be perfect to even make contact at this point... Additionally, despite his struggles, he has not tried to bunt for a hit or sacrifice even one time (to my knowledge). He is certainly not efforting to use the opposite field - in spite of consistently facing massive over shifts. The next swing he takes this season that planes towards the big part of the field will be his first. His approach indicates he is going to the plate with one goal - to hit his way out of his slump. And his consistent approach indicates that he thinks it's a product of bad luck, as if he is right there and he is 'due' more than anything else. Otherwise he would be exhibiting even some effort to do something different... If they are blaming and discussing mechanics with him then they're doing nothing to help him, perhaps cluttering his mind unnecessarily and excusing him from examining the real issues at hand... But it is absolutely mechanical. There is zero reason why he cannot catch up to a 92 mph fastball right down the middle. That has nothing to do with his approach. He's moving his hands backwards when he decides to swing. He then has to change the direction of his hands to stop them and then move them forward, which takes so much longer than starting with his hands still or moving forward when he starts his swing. This is exactly the problem he had as a rookie and I saw it then also. He fixed it for years and now he's back to the same place. There may be mechanical issues at play - like I said I'll watch his next AB. But I've also seen everyone this season just about and don't agree with you currently. He fixed himself in the past when he used the whole field. That is what has resulted in his hot streaks. His slumps are pull happy stretches...
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Post by wildsox on May 20, 2018 13:35:41 GMT -5
Cmon Nunez... another grounder that could’ve been an out. His fielding puts unnecessary pressure on the pitchers and runs up the pitch count
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:35:42 GMT -5
Pedroia would have had that ground ball Nunez just missed on the ground ball by Jones.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:36:49 GMT -5
But it is absolutely mechanical. There is zero reason why he cannot catch up to a 92 mph fastball right down the middle. That has nothing to do with his approach. He's moving his hands backwards when he decides to swing. He then has to change the direction of his hands to stop them and then move them forward, which takes so much longer than starting with his hands still or moving forward when he starts his swing. This is exactly the problem he had as a rookie and I saw it then also. He fixed it for years and now he's back to the same place. There may be mechanical issues at play - like I said I'll watch his next AB. But I've also seen everyone this season just about and don't agree with you currently. He fixed himself in the past when he used the whole field. That is what has resulted in his hot streaks. His slumps are pull happy stretches... I agree that trying to pull everything is a problem with him, but this is not that problem right now. If he can't hit a fastball right down the middle, it doesn't matter where he's trying to hit it.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:38:37 GMT -5
ERod is so close to becoming an elite starter.
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Post by braziliansox on May 20, 2018 13:39:57 GMT -5
Its such a joy to watch a game with Eck in the booth.
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Post by Smittyw on May 20, 2018 13:42:01 GMT -5
Attaboy, Jackie.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:42:21 GMT -5
Phew JBJ. Give him a double on that.
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Post by terriblehondo on May 20, 2018 13:43:07 GMT -5
There may be mechanical issues at play - like I said I'll watch his next AB. But I've also seen everyone this season just about and don't agree with you currently. He fixed himself in the past when he used the whole field. That is what has resulted in his hot streaks. His slumps are pull happy stretches... I agree that trying to pull everything is a problem with him, but this is not that problem right now. If he can't hit a fastball right down the middle, it doesn't matter where he's trying to hit it. I have to disagree with that. Keeping your hands inside the ball and going to left forces you to keep your head in and gives you more time because you don't have to get the bat head out.
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Post by jimed14 on May 20, 2018 13:45:05 GMT -5
I agree that trying to pull everything is a problem with him, but this is not that problem right now. If he can't hit a fastball right down the middle, it doesn't matter where he's trying to hit it. I have to disagree with that. Keeping your hands inside the ball and going to left forces you to keep your head in and gives you more time because you don't have to get the bat head out. That's fine, but it's not going to fix the problem and probably would introduce more problems. It's just masking the problem. I don't see why you'd want to try to figure out how to change your swing to hit with a flaw in your swing instead of fixing the flaw.
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Post by danredhawk on May 20, 2018 13:46:45 GMT -5
There may be mechanical issues at play - like I said I'll watch his next AB. But I've also seen everyone this season just about and don't agree with you currently. He fixed himself in the past when he used the whole field. That is what has resulted in his hot streaks. His slumps are pull happy stretches... I agree that trying to pull everything is a problem with him, but this is not that problem right now. If he can't hit a fastball right down the middle, it doesn't matter where he's trying to hit it. It does matter when your bat is barely, if ever, on plane with the pitch. His current pull swing is not even a good approach for pulling the ball. It's an all or nothing mash the hell out of it cause I'm frustrated approach. If he tries to hit the ball back up the middle then his bat is on lobe longer and gives him more margin for error. It's why JD is so hot right now, he lets the ball travel and is on plane all the way through the zone. You can call it mechanical or you can call it approach. This is JBJs problem and it's easy to change - requires nothing more than attitude and effort... If he makes the change and still looks bad, then I'll feel for him. Until then - yeah - I'm frustrated... I missed his AB - seems he ran into one which probably means a commitment to the oppo field is even further away...
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