February 5, 200422 yr sea bass is slow as balls, doods if you look at our lineup, #3-#8 are all slow. i don't think it'll be a huge deal, but we definitely don't have pressure on the opposing pitcher all throughout the batting order like we did last year. who knows? that might affect hitting...
February 5, 200422 yr sea bass is slow as balls, doods if you look at our lineup, #3-#8 are all slow. i don't think it'll be a huge deal, but we definitely don't have pressure on the opposing pitcher all throughout the batting order like we did last year. who knows? that might affect hitting... well, considering that #4-8 are essentially the same as last year (DLee is the one exception) I don't think it'll be that big a deal. Under McKeon we didn't run a whole lot. Lee's speed was a lot more like Sheffield's when he was here though, you know the whole "I'll take a base if you're not looking" thing, but he doesn't get more fastballs thrown like guys like Pierre and Castillo do. As far as speed goes, that's the only way it really helps the team, getting the pitcher to throw more fastballs and less offspeed stuff when you're on the basepaths...
February 5, 200422 yr hmmm... last year: 1 pierre FAST 2 castillo FAST 3 pudge medium/slow 4 lowell/9er SLOW 5 enc FAST 6 dlee FAST 7 cabs/9er SLOW 8 sea bass SLOW 9 pitcher SLOW this year: 1 pierre FAST 2 castillo FAST 3 cabs SLOW 4 lowell SLOW 5 9er SLOW 6 choi SLOW 7 castro/redmond SLOW 8 sea bass SLOW 9 pitcher SLOW if you think of it in terms of total SB, i think our number should be average relative to the rest of the league. but if you're looking for a balanced batting order that consistently puts the pressure on the pitcher and can bring in runs and extra bases, we have definitely lost that. we have two guys who are phenoms on the basepaths at the very top, but everyone else is extremely slow. #3-9 doesn't even present a marginal base stealing threat. they are all well below major league average in baserunning speed and base-stealing ability. the intangibles involved with speed--consistently putting pressure on a pitcher and being able to move a guy from 1st to 3rd, from 2nd to home, or being able to score before the pitcher/seabass comes up, or being able to successfully execute a sac bunt/fly--are all pretty significant factors in being able to score runs. it didn't even strike me until i saw this topic that we'd have any kind of offensive holes next year. our lineup isn't balanced at all, and i really do think it will have a tangible effect on the mid-to-bottom. :confused
February 5, 200422 yr the issue isn't base stealing as much as it is base running and putting pressure on pitchers. the net effect of losing 35 stolen bases isn't much at all. but not being able to bring runners home, not being able to pick up extra bases, and not being able to effectively use the sacrifice will probably hurt the bottom half of our lineup. i still think we'll be fine, but this overall loss of speed didn't even occur to me until dtrizzle pointed it out.
February 5, 200422 yr i knew i was right. thx alkasiod. also we won teh world series and did good cuz wee built a team good for our ballpark with SPEED , defense and pitching... not much speed left and enc and dlee were good defense to. not very good doods.
February 5, 200422 yr i knew i was right. thx alkasiod. also we won teh world series and did good cuz wee built a team good for our ballpark with SPEED , defense and pitching... not much speed left and enc and dlee were good defense to. not very good doods. well i don't think it'll be a HUGE effect. our hitting this year will still be better than our hitting from last year. but yes, you guys made some good points.
February 5, 200422 yr we'll be fine the voice of reason has finally spoken... how long did it take to think that up dood?
February 5, 200422 yr i knew i was right. thx alkasiod. also we won teh world series and did good cuz wee built a team good for our ballpark with SPEED , defense and pitching... not much speed left and enc and dlee were good defense to. not very good doods. well i don't think it'll be a HUGE effect. our hitting this year will still be better than our hitting from last year. but yes, you guys made some good points. There's going to be a change in strategy for sure. Probably a bit less small ball, and more hitting for average and power. That was going to be the case with McKeon anyway. I'd like to see Jack move Gonzalez up a few spots in the line-up. I'd bet his average would come up 20 pts, and might see another 15-20 RBIs from him as well.
February 5, 200422 yr we'll be fine the voice of reason has finally spoken... how long did it take to think that up dood? well, for as many beers as I have pounded tonight.... Id say about 20 minutes sir
February 5, 200422 yr 3 cabs SLOW 8 sea bass SLOW Latin players, let alone shortstops, don't make it to the big leagues without speed. They don't make it past the first tryout without having speed. Cabs and Seabass are fast. It's just they've never been encouraged to run in the minors of majors because coaches think they lack good baserunning instincts.
February 5, 200422 yr If you notice, when McKeon took over, we stole a lot less bases and won more games. Now, I am not saying you cant steal and win - I actually love stealing bases - but that there is a certain amount of risk/reward that has to be weighed and that McKeon, perhaps, was more effecient in that estimation that McKeon. Also, it demonstrates that McKeon has this team more disciplined and in line with his thinking/managerial style than Torborg did. I dont think basestealing is as vital as good baserunning. We benefited from having speed, yes, but guys with little or slower speeds were in position to score when they needed to be - like Conine, Cabrera. Why? Smart baserunning. I am more concerned with the loss of Oz Guillen than the loss of speed in the lineup. Our 3B coach has to be as effective and aggressive as Oz was - not an easy thing to do. I think we will be fine though...
February 6, 200422 yr Charles Johnson is slower than Lowell. I can run backwards faster than CJ. :lol funny.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.