I get the feeling there is information overload in today’s game. Baseball is a simple game, see ball, hit ball, throw ball, catch ball. At least that was the idea in Bull Durham. I remembered back to when I was first learning the game. And as I recall, I was coached very little.
I did get coaching on how to field a ground ball in the outfield and infield. Always use two hands when catching pop flies or fly balls. Follow through when you swing that bat. Swing level.
You watch a game in this era, and you see guys staring at I-Pads, talking to other players and the batting coaches. Some even head down the tunnel and watch videos. When a new pitcher comes in, you automatically see the coach huddling with batters showing them the pitcher’s tendencies on the IPad.
Back in the day, hitters kept books on the pitchers. Some pitchers used to keep books on umps tendencies. Harder to do that today since umps are used in both leagues and you do not see a crew as often as they used to.
Ted Williams probably remembered every pitch a certain pitcher threw him. Tony Gwynn was like that too. Striking out was a huge no-no. Not so much now. Some hitters can be successful with the launch angle theory. It worked for Justin Turner. But it seems to me that some coaches forget that players are different and not all hitters are going to be comfortable with that type of approach.
Chris Taylor when he came to LA was pretty much a weak bat and a good glove. The hitting coaches changed his batting style and approach, and Chris became much more of a threat to beat you with power now and then. But his K rate went up a ton too.
But he still managed to keep his career average around .250. For a player like him, who is used largely in a utility role, it worked and he parlayed that into a four-year contract.
While his BA has suffered a lot over the three years so far, he has battled through injuries and has had some pivotable moments with the bat. Like his game winning 9th inning homer in the 21 Wild Card game. He then htt three homers in game 5 to beat Atlanta.
His awful beginning to this year was looking like it might get him sent on his way via DFA. But the Dodgers have stuck with him, and he seems to be coming out of it.
Is the info they are giving him making the difference? He still looks like he is swinging the same way he always has, especially with two strikes. I honestly cannot remember ever seeing him shorten up his swing with 2 strikes.
As a matter of fact, the last player I remember doing it almost all the time was Albert Pujols when he was with LA. He would shorten up and try to poke the ball the other way, especially with two outs or runners on base.
Do they have info on how often this is an effective technique? Seems to me they have info on everything else. Exit velocity, how far the ball travels. I was happy back when I only knew what their batting average was.
Why does Jason Heyward stand so far back in the batter’s box? There must have been data saying he was not getting to inside pitches. His arms are long enough for him to be able to reach the outside corner of the plate when he is hitting. And it worked for him last year and revived a sagging resume.
Hitters and pitchers need to adjust day to day and game to game. There is a lot for them to process. I get the feeling that sometimes, there is just too much information.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORT
Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 3 – OKC Baseball Club 1
Justin Wrobleski made his AAA debut. It was relatively a very good debut. He went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk. Unfortunately 2 of the hits were solo HRs; one in the 3rd inning and 1 in the 4th inning. The 3rd run was from a 2-out single, a WP and a run scoring single in the 5th.
Wrobleski also had his strikeout pitch going. He had 11 Ks in the 5.0 IP. 7 were swinging and 4 were called. The first HR was a good pitch, better swing. The second HR was a hanging slider center/center.
Justin Wrobleski is looking like he could be a front of the rotation starter so far in his AAA debut. He has struck out ELEVEN (the most an OKC pitcher has had since Ryan Pepiot last year!) batters through 5 innings pitched. He also reached 98.4 mph on the fastball. pic.twitter.com/akZTOA2KQV
— ∞ The Infinite Dodger ∞ (@InfiniteDodger) June 23, 2024
OKC got their sole run in the 7th on a Ryan Ward HR (19).
That's your PCL home run leader going deep again! pic.twitter.com/91KFVolfFD
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) June 23, 2024
- Ryan Ward – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (19)
- Austin Gauthier – 2-4
- Doubles – James Outman (6), Austin Gauthier (7)
WRISP – 0-6 Runs on HR Slug – 1
NW Arkansas Naturals (KC) 3 – Tulsa Drillers 2
NWA scored a pair of go ahead runs in the bottom of the 7th to take a 3-2 lead. In the 7th with Antonio Knowles on the bump, he had 2 outs with a runner on 1st via a walk. That was followed by a walk, single, and double for a pair of runs for the eventual h.
The Drillers got their two runs on a pair of solo HRs. José Ramos hit his 10th in the 2nd and Austin Beck hit his 11th in the 6th.
The Drillers had 4 hits. Besides the 2 long balls, they got a pair of doubles from Dalton Rushing (11) and Diego Cartaya (8).
WRISP – 0-4 Runs on HR Slug – 2
Great Lakes Loons 3 – Quad City River Bandits (KC) 1 – 7 Innings
This game was halted after 7.0 innings due to rain.
Chris Campos pitched the longest game of his career, 6.0 IP. He allowed one run on 5 hits and 1 BB. He registered 4 Ks on the night. The run against Campos came in the 4th. Single, PB, BB, double.
Chris Campos turned in another great start!
6IP 5H 1R 4Ks 1BB
Gave up a single run in the 4th but controlled almost the entire game. ERA down to 3.15, WHIP just 1.01, 50Ks in 45.2IP. 2nd outing in a row (11IP) where he's allowed just 1 run, 9 Ks in those outings, just 1 walk.… pic.twitter.com/wBA9GnhVga— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) June 23, 2024
Felix Cabrera retired the side in the 7th with one BB for his 1st save.
The Loons scored a run in the 2nd on a Chris Newell walk. Newell went to 3rd on a Kyle Nevin single and scored on a ground out DP. The Loons got two in the 6th on a Chris Newell 2-run HR (19).
The Loons had a total of 3 hits.
WRISP – 2-7 (1 run) Runs on HR Slug – 2
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6 – Inland Empire 66ers (LAA) 5 – 10 innings
RC scored to open things in the 1st. Kendall George singled, stole 2nd (20 steals), and scores on a Josue De Paula single.
IE scored a pair in the 3rd and RC matched it on 4 singles.
IE scored 2 more in the 4th on a pair of doubles and a triple.
Jose Meza homered in the 7th to tie the game.
IE went back in front in the 8th on a walk and 2 singles.
In the bottom of the 8th, Kendall George singled, moved to 3rd on a De Paula single, and scored on a Jeral Perez sac fly to tie it up again.
In the 10th, Callum Wallace retired the side on a sac bunt, strikeout, and fly out.
In the home half of the 10th, Oswaldo Osorio was the free runner at 2B. Wilman Diaz singled him to 3rd, and Kendall George singled him home for the walk off win.
- Kendall George – 4-5, 2 runs, 1 BB
- Josue De Paula – 3-4, 3 RBI
- Wilman Diaz – 2-4, 1 run
- Jose Meza – 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (1)
Josue DePaula is on a heater that rivals Dalton Rushing after he got drafted in 2022. DePaula had 3 more hits tonight, which is his 4th multi hit game in row & his 2nd 3 hit game in his last 4. He also has hits 7 games in a row & has raised his average 36 points in those 7 games.… pic.twitter.com/lAGtEtBg28
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) June 23, 2024
#Dodgers CF prospect Kendall George tallied his second career four-hit game tonight, finishing it with this WALK-OFF single! pic.twitter.com/cHUmGpcz1p
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) June 23, 2024
WRISP – 5-7 Runs on HR Slug – 1
ACL Padres 8 – ACL Dodgers 3
Scott predicted the Dodgers would go 3-6 against KC, Colorado, and LAA. STB said 6-3. Actual – 6-3. STB wins this battle.
On the 6 games before the last 9, Scott said the Dodgers were going to get swept by Pittsburgh and NYY – Actual 3-3.
The Dodgers are going on the road for three against CWS and SFG. Scott, please predict the Dodgers will go 1-5. 😍
Thank you for that acknowledgment, Jeff. I was just wondering, will there be an award ceremony? Maybe a plaque or cash award? I’ll be available to sign autographs before today’s game. Oh, wait a minute, there is no game today.
I was more optimistic than you, I guessed 7-2. Damn one run extra-inning games!!!!!!!
What’s this, a second Bear prowling around here?
You got very close, Paul. I’m willing to split my cash award with you, 60-40.
No, that is the sign in name they gave me so I can write while Jefe is on vacation, and I do not have to email my posts to him. My real name is Michael.
I have no idea where they got that name from. It literally has never been brought up.
No big deal. Everyone knows who I am.
Son of a gun, an imposter. Yes, I know your name is Michael.
You should definitely be the only Bear allowed on here.
I’m going to comment as Bear Mike from time to time.
Well, that is your right, but I earned my nickname a long time ago. No plagiarism allowed.
I am very sure Jefe monitors all the animals.
Hopefully there’s only room for one porpoise
Jeff does not have a big pool, so yep.
Shouldn’t you guys be thanking me for my help?
Honestly if they keep putting out these horrible lineups they will start losing. They can’t play the Angels and Colorado every series.
I know! Can you believe Doc continues to put Will Smith in the lineup, and bat him 2nd? What is wrong with him. Since he went into the #2 spot, Smith is 2-17, 3 BB, .118/.238/.412/.650. That OPS is a bit misleading. His two hits were a triple and HR pushing his SLG up. But it goes further back. In his last 9 games he is 3-30, .100/.177/.267/.443. OKC has to be calling him, right?
Bluto…now that was a joke. Sarcasm actually.
Last night the bottom three were 6-12 while the rest of the lineup was 3-20. I guess the bottom three read thru all the reports and the rest of the lineup read the CliffsNotes version.
Bad hitters are bad hitters Jeff, one good game doesn’t change that.
BTW, I never predicted 3-6 or whatever. I said the way they were playing and with the lineups they’ve been putting out filled with mendoza hitters that I wouldn’t be surprised if they went 3-6, or something like that.
Here is the exact discussion between you and STB on this subject:
On a night when Mookie was out, Freddie did not have a good night, the “utility players” did come thru which discounts your “not able to do that” assessment. They have won 4 out of 6 without Mookie, and Smith playing like crap. Yes it was Colorado and LAA, so what. They are 3-0 against Atlanta (with Acuña), 2-1 against NYY, 2-1 against KC, 2-1 against Minnesota, 3-1 against St. Louis. Padres beat the Dodgers (3-5) and Colorado beats San Diego (5-2).
We know. Outside of Mookie, Ohtani, Freeman, Smith and Teoscar, the Dodgers cannot hit. AF sucks. Too many utility players. Have I got that right?
Should I post their season stats again?
You’re the one who said they have too many utility players, and I agreed with you.
You’ve been posting a lot about how you don’t trust Friedman and you do not like the construction of the roster right now. Are you changing your opinion?
Don’t be fooled by a few games against horrible teams.
I have not changed my mind on anything. I do think the Dodgers have too many utility players, and they have a lot more in MiLB. That does not make me right and AF/BG wrong. They have a much better record than me. But I can question it, and I do. I do not like the construction of the team right now. Same qualification. I am not fooled by the few games against horrible teams, but outside of manybe 7-8 teams they are all horrible. But when you make statements like the automatic outs do not have the ability to make up for when the top do not hit, and then they do, I am going to call you out on that. You had the team with this horrible lineup going 3-12 in the last 15 games and they went 9-6.
When the team does well, I give them credit. I do not call it luck against horrible teams. When Gavin Lux and Cavan Biggio produce and add to the win more than Smith, Teoscar, and others, that should be acknowledged not ridiculed as meaningless against horrible teams. These are all MLB players and are all quite capable of playing at the MLB level.
Fair enough.
He also hit some balls really hard that were caught in Colorado.
Scott has the shit-posting for dummies strategy down.
He predicts poor performance. If he’s wrong he claims motivation and credit.
If he’s right, he claims foresight and credit!
Please Bluto, do not piss off Scott as he has the ability to make the Dodgers winners just by saying they are losers. You are going to make him call the Dodgers winners and then we have to live with a lot of losses.
I try to help
Bluto,
You are the biggest idiot and blowhard on this board. You claim everything to be based on luck, yet continue to tell us that the Dodgers front office has more info then us peasents do, because you know don’t ever question the mighty Friedman, and less mighty Gomes.
you and Patch should have lunch together, but at least he has a couple of redeeming qualities.
Get bent Bluto, you are a true piece of crap.
Not necessary Scott. We do not need this kind of stuff here. You know well what happens when all the picking at each other starts. Just disagree and move on.
I understand Bear, but what about what he just said to me?
Scott has the shit-posting for dummies strategy down
any warning for him? Or can he just continually insult me until the end of time?
Ever hear the phrase ” be the bigger man.” Just ignore it. That stuff can get out of hand. He does something like that again, and I now have the ability to delete his post. He just is one of those people who wants to push buttons.
Word
Bottom of the lineup was the reason they won last night. They see an even worse team the next three days. Honestly Scott, do you think for one minute that the team on the field right now is going to be the team that is on the field come October? There will be some changes. Maybe not as drastic as the fans want, aka Robert Jr, but they will make some moves. They just do not need to make them right now. The team closest to them, Padres, 8 games back, do not play the Dodgers again until the end of July, a two-game set, then only 3 games after that the last week of the season at Dodger Stadium. 6 of the Dodgers last 9 games are against the Rockies. I have a lot of faith that by that time, there will be a lot of changes on the field.
I’m sure they will do something Bear, and yes the team will look different, but that 8 or 9 game lead in the division is the worst for them because it gives Friedman an excuse to wait until the very last minute, which he usually does.
They should make whatever changes they are going to make as soon as possible.
For once I can say this, you know better than that. They won’t make any moves until they evaluate the market and who might be available. He has on occasion made early strikes, getting Machado was one, but he usually does not start making moves until one or two days before the deadline. And remember, Gomes is part of the equation.
Sensory overload.
I still look at the game very much the same way I always have. Players are bigger and stronger than they’ve ever been, but park dimensions haven’t changed. The bases are still 90’, the rubber is still 60’6”” from a 17” home plate. Spin rate has always existed, you knew it when you saw it, you just couldn’t calculate its exactness. Do players practice the fundamentals we were all taught growing up? No, they don’t, and for me it’s quite noticeable when they don’t. But I don’t know what they are being taught on back fields and in the minors. They can’t bunt for sh’t, they don’t hit behind runners or hit the ball where it’s pitched, they don’t protect the plate and they don’t anticipate the overthrow. For all I know the numbers now say all that is a waste of energy and doesn’t produce wins above replacement.
I know many old timers are not happy about how much information there is now but it doesn’t bother me. I am trying to embrace it as it what baseball embraces. It’s science, but it isn’t rocket science. I find it interesting.
I totally get it Badger. It gets way too complicated for me to understand. I have embraced WAR, OPS, OPS+ and a few other things. But I still think fielding percentage tells you an awful lot about a player’s defensive ability. Max’s shows that he has improved a lot this year as a third baseman.
For those who may remember, there is a real treat in The LA Times Sports Section this morning; a May 1962 article on Willie Mays written by my all time favorite sports writer Jim Murray. I no doubt read it the day it was printed as I read everything Jim Murray wrote. I wanted to be a sports columnist because of him, after my baseball career was over of course. Anyway, I hope you all get an opportunity to read it.
I loved reading Murray, he was one of the greats. I remember reading him during high school. I would grab the sports page every morning before class. He was a unique voice. One of my teachers liked reading him too, and frequently would ask me ” did you read the latest Murray?”
I think my favorite baseball writer back then was Bud Furillo who used to write for the Herald-Examiner. Bud was a classic.
I remember that article. My homeroom teacher, who played minor league ball for the Red Sox, was a huge Mays fan also. He gave me the paper and I read it after school. I wanted to be a play-by-play announcer. Unfortunately, the Army intervened.
Damm Army.
Great line said by Bobby Trump, who was later on the TV series ER as a doctor. Line was, Goddamn Army, Goddamn Army jeep.
I know the big boy Dodgers are off today, but the little boy Dodgers are on MLB.TV.
Right now, watching the Payton Martin and Great Lakes game. Game 2 will feature Jackson Ferris, so that will also be fun to watch.
Went fishing yesterday at one of my favorite lakes. The lake is really high right now because of the rain and all the runoff from the mountains. But it also made the paths a bit more difficult for an old buzzard like me to navigate. Since I have limited mobility in my knee, I cannot bend it very well to step up. When I went from where I was fishing to get to the path, I lost my balance and landed on my pride! My glutenous maximus took the brunt of the fall, plus I tore a huge patch of skin off of my arm by the elbow. Since I am nowhere being a small human, it took three intrepid souls to get me back on my feet. Needless to say, I thank them all. I did get three nice trout that we are going to smoke. But from now on, I am heading to a lake where I can park right next to the water……..hopefully I am cognizant enough to not drive into the water!!!! Watched the game from my recliner with my massage pad going full blast the entire time.
Do you know what your spin rate was?
One half body turn before impact with gravel path. Not good.
Lux’ bat mentioned yesterday that Reports of its death are greatly exaggerated
That would be an amazing “addition” to our team
Great subject for a post Bear. I think of the abundance of information to players, coaches and fans can be an overload.
I personally would have loved much of the information as a player and coach. But how much is too much?
I suspect it’s up to each player to sort through information and decide what applies to his game; what to keep and what to let go in one ear and out the other.
As a fan, we can’t escape the amount of useless information offered up by announcers to fill air time.
My fear is for young players who are good listeners, being turned into robots. The idea that there is one way to do things. Not every player is suited to an organizational hitting approach or pitching style. The uniqueness of an individual player can get lost.
“Not every player is suited to an organizational hitting approach or pitching style.”
Never were truer words spoken.
Fans can sift through what they need and like. I think one of the reasons Vargas struggled so bad was that he went away from what had worked for him. Good hitters are going to hit in spite of their coaching. Bad hitters sometimes need massive adjustments to their approach.
As a fan Bear, I sort through plenty of the useless, unnecessary, bullshit stats presented by the announcers. Joe Davis is right up there with crap that is meaningless. But he after all, he is paid to talk.
I have seen many examples of kids who were scouted heavily and somebody decided they liked their skills. As soon as they get signed many organizations go about changing shit. Changing stuff to conform to some organizational philosophy or style. I have seen it totally ruin prospects who became shells of who they were when scouted.
I remember a high school phenom with pull side power and the organization was then teaching that Walt Hriniak and Charlie Lau stuff then was in vogue at the time, to get the kid to stride and glide and try to spoon the pitch off field. The kid was very coachable and a good listener. And it ruined his swing. He neve made it past AA as a first round pick.
Coaches like coachable kids. But players need to learn how to politely listen to all the different advice and then do what works best for them.
Good coaches understand that and advise kids to do just that. It makes me a little apprehensive when organizations think they can fix everybody before they know it’s broken.
My best friend’s kid was a sate high school player of the year. He could really hit. Always could. He went to a state university and the first day during fall hitting in the cage, a young coach had him trying new shit. I remember the young coach as a player and he couldn’t hit but thought he knew how. His dad was pissed and just said “don’t listen to this coach’s bullshit”.
Players need to listen politely and do what works for them.
I use what works for me and blank out all the other crap. I still value BA, wins, losses, ERA and fielding percentage.
Luzardo placed on the 15 day-IL. But the problem he has usually takes 6-8 weeks to improve. He won’t even be pitching by the deadline. Yankees obtained JD Davis. They also put Stanton on the 10-day IL. May and Graterol have started throwing programs. Both could return by August.
Who didn’t see this coming?
Referring to my Dodger Injury Glossary,
“Will monitor” adds 3 weeks
“Feeling some soreness” adds 2 months
“Possible next rehab outing gets pushed back” adds 6 weeks
As of now, he should be available around October 20th.
Perfect, he can start game 7 of the NLCS for us
I like the idea that someone could look at fancy stats and see when something changed. I was listening to the opposing Dodgers team’s announcers who said their pitcher slightly moved his index finger away from his social finder and closer to the seam and just like that that pitch was getting hit at a much greater rate.
It was noticed using the high speed video technology.
Yeah Bum, those super high speed cameras like Edgetronics are a must nowdays for pitchers. Years ago I took video of pitchers and broke it down with pitchers. We could obviously see things impossible to see in real time. Now with super high speed cameras pitchers, coaches and visual analytic staff can see the most minute details.
Most pitchers now never throw even a bullpen without the cameras. I think it was Justin Verlander, but he would just be an example of many others, noticed a slight difference in his wrist angle on his slider. He fixed it and got back the results he was looking for. Finger and thumb position is now easy to see and that information is used to improve pitch shaping. That’s all technology used to improve performance and a reason why pitching has never been more dominant.
That to me is not an overload of useless information.
That’s not changing things for the sake of changing.
I agree that video is not a stat but like a new stat, someone other than the player can spend hours finding something that helps and then figure out a way to tweak something.
By the way Bum, Edgetronic kits are close to $10 grand. Just in the wheelhouse of all those affluent parents to build a future big league player.
But wait, order now and get free shipping.
Dodgers picked up 1/2 game in the standings from all of their division rivals as all three lost their games today. Pirates put Bednar on the 15-day IL. Arenado left the Cardinal game with forearm soreness and later received an injection.
They get high with a little help from their friends.