Loading ...–I’m glad Wayne Krivsky didn’t fall for this garbage.
–The Reds’ future is doomed. Doomed!
–Note to Corey Patterson: I don’t have any problem with the way Patterson has played this year, but here’s a perfect example of how important walks can be. Patterson is ripping the cover off the ball, and he has a .323 batting average. That’s great. But Patterson’s OBP is only .353, which is marginally acceptable for a leadoff hitter. He’s only drawn 2 walks, so his OBP is all BA. So what happens when Patterson cools off, which is inevitable?
Adam Dunn, on the other hand, can’t buy a hit. His BA is .160. He’s slumping badly to start the season. Of course, Dunner’s OBP is .405! By drawing 11 walks, he’s still contributing to helping this team win, despite not hitting well. When he starts swinging the bat well, he’s going to go back to being the stud hitter that he is.
Or maybe Dunn’s just clogging the bases.
So the 2nd link you posted is blaming GABP for Arroyo’s performance last year? And not even directly, but indirectly by “crushing his spirit”? When I first started reading the article, I thought it was an attempt at satire.
Your comments about Dunn, Patterson and OBP are, well, I’ll just say I couldn’t disagree with more.
You’re really just taking a back-handed shot at Patterson and making Dunn look like some sort of martyr who’s falling on his sword for the team.
I much prefer Dunn SWINGING THE BAT like he did opening day, with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs, rolling over a grounder and getting the run in vs the Dunn who lets clearly hittable pitches go by, taking a cheap walk only to watch EE hit a weak pop up.
Dunn is probably my favorite player on the Reds since Eric Davis, but he would help the team MUCH more by being intelligently aggressive at the plate vs the passive approach he takes.
I whole-heartedly and enthusiastically agree with Dusty on this.
By the way Chad, it’s nice to know that you don’t “have any problem” with a guy that’s leading the team in HR’s, RBI’s, 2B’s, R’s and is clearly the best defender on the team.
Tampa, I think Dunn has been doing that a lot more this year and still taking a lot of walks. The sac fly last night. The Brewers haven’t given him much to swing at, and a lot of the good pitches they have given him have been hit hard.
Greg:
I agree with you. He’s hit plenty of balls hard, hasn’t struck out THAT much, and the luck every good hitter needs will start to turn his way soon enough.
Pitching Upgrade?
Interesting fact so far. The Reds have five victories. The winning pitchers have been: Affeldt, Cueto, Cordero, Volquez and Fogg. All new Reds in ‘08.
If Dusty’s actions start following what he says, he’s gonna win me over. On the pregame on WLW last night, Marty was talking about the team slump but specifically brought Dunn up in praise by talking about his walks, saying something to the effect of “his batting average is one-something but his on-base is over .400 so he’s still getting on base.” I about ran off the road when I heard it.
I think some of you guys are so focused on BB’s and OBP just so you can TALK about BB’s and OBP that you are missing the obvious about Dunn and Patterson.
I haven’t seen Patterson swing at a bad pitch yet. The point is, pitchers are challenging him. They don’t want him on base and don’t believe he can hit his way on. So far, they’ve been wrong.
When they start nibbling, soon I think, then I believe you’ll star seeing more walks out of Patterson. If I’m wrong, I’ll be the first to admit it, but so far he’s swinging at pitches he SHOULD BE swinging at.
With Dunn, they’re definitely not pitching to him, and won’t until someone behind him gets hot. So far, he’s shown a good, not great, approach at the plate. I think he’s still being slightly too selective with runners on and isn’t taking advantage of the shift, but for the most part, he’s being smart.
I look forward to seeing how both of these guys do when pitchers make their adjustments. And they will. That’s baseball.
Tampa,
While it’s possible Corey will mature in his approach at the plate (he’s 28) he’s shown no inclination towards that in his career (minors or majors). His walk rate hasn’t changed much. However, his K rate has dropped in recent years some so that does provide some hope.
But I think it’s unlikely his walk rate will ever increase much. But if he can continue to bring his K rate down, I think it’ll indicate a good chance at a power spike (being in this park doesn’t hurt).
Tampa makes the point I was going to: Patterson is simply getting the pitches to hit and Dunn is not. When you have Keppinger and Griffey following and you have the speed Patterson does, no one wants to walk him on purpose. Dunn on the other hand hasnt’ had a threat following him in the lineup and is not the threat on the base paths Corey is.
With that being said, if Adam can grab a couple of those pitches and jam them down third (he’s so strong and the field so wide open it wouldn’t require much) he would defeat that shift, perhaps advance the runners two bases instead of one, and it would open up his more natural hole on the right side of the infield. Once that happens pitchers will start grooving one for him from time to time and he can take full advantage. I am hopeful that when Gonzo returns he can be a credible threat behind our favorite donkey.
It does appear to me that Patterson has shortened up this season. I didn’t watch him last year, but I know that in previous years he was a lot more open with his shoulder and took a much more swooping swing than he does currently.
Eric:
I think Patterson did mature in his plate approach in the 2nd half of last year. I remember him being more of a middle of the order hitter with the Cubs and I’m not sure where he hit with the Orioles, but I think this is first extended work as a leadoff hitter.
Like I said, he’s been taking a lot of pitches and swinging at good pitches. It’s a small sample size, but to me, that indicates a more mature approach.
I readily admit that the real proof will come 200-300 AB’s into the season. But in the meantime, he’s a fun player to watch. I like him.
As a side benefit, I think the absolute very best thing for Jay Bruce is to get 400-500 AB’s at the AAA level this year. Patterson allows that to happen.
And when Griffey’s option isn’t picked up and/or Dunn doesn’t get a deal AND Patterson and the Reds are able to reach a multi-year deal, that puts Bruce at his best position, RF.
Patterson is a perfect fit for the Reds this year, and beyond. He obviously brings a lot to the table, and like you said, he’s a perfect fit for GABP. Let’s hope he can keep it up.
Well if Dunn won’t get pitches to hit until the players behind him heat up, then why the hell is he hitting 5th?
Move him to 2nd or 3rd. Put Kepp-Griff-BP after him.
He’s our best hitter. Treat him as such!
Why wouldn’t the sports writer compare Cueto and Voltron to Harang who seems from a scouting perspective to be a much more comparable player. Arroyo throws a much different game than either prospect.
I’m sick and tired of GABP being referred to as a small ball park. The dimensions are virtually identical to Riverfront. The balls fly out during warm weather due to physics not the distances to the fence.