Posted by: John D (John@Dresslar.com) on Tue Jan 10 09:05:15 2006

> > For the most part, an out is an out. Offensive prodcution is about scoring runs, If a players develops an approach that makes him strike out 10% more, but he creates more runs that way, it is an effective approach.
> >

> Don't get me wrong A-rod is a great player. But around the league if a game was on the line and you needed a hitter to come up with a big hit his name would probably not be among the top five (perhaps not among the top 3 on the yankees.)
>
> With regard to my point about him changing his entire approach during a crucial moment, this was food for thought. And an eckstein slap might just be better than an A-rod wiff or pop up to right field. But I agree with Jack as well to stay with what got you there. The problem though is what do you do when what got you there is not working. Some type of adjustment has to be attempted.
>
> An out is not an out for the most part. Sometimes a player has to put the ball in play in order to advance runners. That is how the White Sox prospered. And for the record, the player mentioned are stiking out closer to 25% of the time as opposed to 10%.
>
> I appreciate the rotational theory and realize all players can benefit if done correctly. My major concern is what adjustments if any can be made if a player is looked upon as having a slider speed bat as A-Rod was referred to on ESPN's scouting report or if that player is getting over matched consistently under playoff pressure. But I will look further into your constructive opinions.

HittingGuru -- and that is a tremendously boastful moniker to adopt under the circumstances -- I think you missed the point. He's not saying that ARod only strikes out 10% of the time. He's saying, that, if he's choosing between two approaches and one causes him to strike out 10% MORE THAN HE OTHERWISE WOULD but gets more power out of that approach, he might want to go that route.

I wouldn't get so personal about this if you hadn't picked the dumb name for yourself, but it's silly to suggest that ARod change his whole hitting approach with two strikes or in pressure situations. Pitchers aren't pitching any differently in playoffs -- they too "gotta dance with what brung 'em" -- and no hitter is going to change his theory just because he knows he feels pressure. If it's a mental problem -- and the stats don't show that there is -- then it requires a mental fix. And, every hitter makes some adjustment with two strikes, but I don't think one of the best hitters in the majors is going to listen to thee and me about how he might do it.