I know it is on the batters mostly, then what is his job if he can't get through the batters? We can actually pay someone like the batboy to sit on the bench wear a uniform if that is the case.
I know it is on the batters mostly, then what is his job if he can't get through the batters? We can actually pay someone like the batboy to sit on the bench wear a uniform if that is the case.
No. Our hitters just need to be smarter. They know what it takes. Walker is a great hitting coach.
The Chosen One (07-24-2013)
Then what is he coaching? What is his job? I do not see any results.Originally Posted by Dunit24
I thought a job is to produce results. They aren't there. He is collecting a paycheck, that is all.
Not many assistant coaches in any sport have a "Mazzone Effect".
I'm sure Walker is telling them all the same things that we're typing here. Up to the hitters to do something about it. It's also not like Frank Wren is oblivious to what goes on. He probably sees what's going on day-in-day-out and he knows Walker is trying to do something but the hitters aren't producing.
Forever Fredi
I think the GM assembled these guys. They are who they are. Walker's job is to tweak, help come up with approaches, etc. What really needs to happen is the Braves have to figure out a way to sprinkle some different types of hitters in the line up. That and they need stars to be stars.
GovClintonTyree (07-26-2013), The Chosen One (07-24-2013)
Refuse to accept the status quo.
Forever Fredi
We have the third best hitting team in the NL, as measured by wOBA. Behind the Cards and Rockies.
J.C. Bradbury will be all over me, but I even think the "Mazzone Effect" was overstated.
This edition of Braves' offense is feast-or-famine. I'd be curious to see what the "in zone" swings-and-misses are and how many guys are going outside the zone. Looks to be an odd mix in that there really is no mix. There are different levels of talent, but every guy looks similar in approach. Just followed along for awhile on Gameday last night and saw the 2nd and 3rd and no outs come to naught, but part of that is where the line-up was and part of it wasn't hitting the ball.
Simmons is going to be Simmons. Doesn't have really good technique. Swing is pretty much all arms and his strike zone recognition looks to be on the iffy side. His glove will carry him of course.
The only people swinging and missing at strikes are BJ and Uggla.
Everyone else swings and misses on balls out the zone.
Forever Fredi
Well, there you have it then.
I'd consider it just for the sake of shaking things up, probably would send some shock through the clubhouse. Look what the Nats did with letting Eckstein go (so far it hasn't worked) but that was a decision that the manager and the players did not even agree on because they felt he was a great hitting coach.
There are some indications that Walker is making some progress. The strikeout rate for example.
Strikeouts per PA:
April 25.1
May 23.3
June 21.7
July 19.5
It seems we get a bunch of rants around here whenever the team goes through a bad patch. It seems to reflect the psyches of the posters much more than anything connected to the reality of how the team is performing.
Month-by-month OPS numbers:
April .752
May .724
June .721
July .731
Some posters harp constantly about how inconsistent this team is offensively. They resurface whenever it loses three out of four. They never offer any sort of analysis to back up their claim. Possibly because any analysis would indicate that their claims are unfounded.
Now can you include the BB rate? It seems to me it's trending in the wrong direction, but I don't know the stats so I could be wrong.
You can find all the numbers at any number of websites. fangraphs, baseball reference. Go look em up. They are quite educational.
Walk Rate:
April: 9.3% (4th)
May: 8.6% (14th)
June: 10.8% (7th)
July: 6.3% (26th)
BINGO! Certainly shows how poorly of an approach the team has had in July so far.
No one should be surprised by this, I posted the CWS OBP/walk numbers under Walker and they were always in the bottom 5-6 of the league. Didn't understand the hire then, nothing has happened since then to change my opinion.
The solution?
Need more Laird.
Forever Fredi
Julio3000 (07-24-2013)
I think inconsistency is the bugbear that rankles a lot of folks (myself included). I don't know which team leads the majors in times being shut out, but we've been shut out 11 times and have looked mercilessly bad in games where we produced one or two runs. I agree with the notion that the team looks better on paper than it has on the field, but it's difficult to argue with a seven-game lead in the standings. Outside of Freeman and McCann, our top-tier players haven't looked that way. Heyward was showing signs before his injury and if he gets on track, it makes everyone better.
OK. The team has had a poor walk rate in July. Does this say something relevant about the pitching coach? Was Walker good in April and June, average in May, poor in July?
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