Posted by: THG () on Tue Jul 22 19:05:21 2008

> > This guy supposedly could hit for a high average. He has power, but why hasn't he been able to hit for average at the major leagues? I know it's tough, but with his talent he should be hitting at least .280 in my opinion. His swing is so short and compact; however it seems he uses his hands and arms more than his hips to generate bat speed and I think this might be part of the problem. What has Rickie Weeks become?
>
> Seems like he might become 2nd in line on the depth chart with Ray Durham arriving if he continues to play like he is.


Tino. Regarding Rickie Weeks, I think one of his problems is that he strikes out too much (like many major league hitters). Many of those strikeouts come from not knowing the strikezone well enough. And anytime a hitter expands the strikezone he is effectively getting himself out.

If a hitter swings and misses because he is overmatched, that's one thing. Or if he is being called out on pitches off the black that the umpire rules are strikes that is another thing. The top hitters are good judges of the strikezone and what pitches they hit well. And for the most part they do not miss good hittable pitches.

A good team to watch is the Boston Redsox who are probably the best at covering the strikezone. They have a good lineup but are not necessarilly a Hall of Fame lineup. But they can hit good pitching. And their hitters have the fewest holes in their swing. That is one key reason why they are ahead of the Yankees. And I am a Yankee fan.

The Yankees team that won the recent number of World Series had smarter (tough minded) hitters than the Yankees today who have overall more strength and ability.