SOB factor

[cp176]

I was just talking brawl factor. Not any other factor.

 

It was a few days ago, but we were questioning why our team didn't plunk someone. If your pitcher has the balls to hit someone, your team better be the kind of people that are going to come out of the dugout and protect the pitcher if things go south.

 

There are brawling teams, there are teams that are so talented they don't need to brawl. It doesn't matter to me.

 

This team doesn't strike me as a brawling team, and I'm good with that. Their talent is amazing.

 

Yea...... it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the fight in the dog that matters. I get it. But I see our outfield getting down and dancing to till the break of dawn to some tunes then stepping up with fists......... and I applaud them for that.

 

On a side note.... Chihuahua dogs should be eradicated from this earth..... they suck.......

 

No wants wants a team that has as their claim to fame as being just brawlers. I wish that these guys did have some of that kind of fight in them though. Talent is great but in no way is it enough.

[Maxbialystock]

Ok then... You've made it plain that you don't think that a player can 'turn it up a 'notch' in a clutch situation, and you don't think that hitting is random. So are you of the opinion that the only variations from random are when a player chokes?

 

Hitting clearly is not random, but neither is pitching. The good ones bear down a little more in tight situations--men on base, etc. They might throw a little harder, and their control improves. The good/clutch/tough hitters don't need to "notch it up" as much as they need to stay focused, calm, loose. To me the acid test for clutch hitting is how often they K with RISP and/or how often they hit easy grounders for GIDP. Even a GIDP is acceptable if the ball was hit hard. I get especially mad at any hitter who doesn't bring the runner on 3B home with 1 or fewer outs--that's choking, pure and simple. Same goes for looking at 2 out of 3 strikes with 2 or more men on base and 2 men out.

 

All that said, I also believe quite firmly that great pitching always wins out--that means the best pitchers going against the great hitters in any situation.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Maxbialystock

[Kimmi]

The random part is when the hits occur. Great hitters don't "try" to get a hit. They follow their approach and let the hits come as they may. Sometimes they come at the "right" time and sometimes they don't. Great hitters can't control things and gear up to get their hits when they count. They get their hits when they get their pitches to hit.

 

Thank you.

[Kimmi]

A WEAKNESS?? That's called 'hitting the ball where it's pitched', something both Pedey and Bogaerts are very good at.

 

Sometimes, you smoke the ball but it goes right to a defender. Other times, you make weak contact and get a bloop hit. That is randomness.

[Kimmi]

Your position about randomness in hitting (especially in clutch situations) has been very consistent. If it's not a repeatable skill then it's random.

 

So, like being clutch, since getting hits is not a repeatable skill it has to be random.

 

Actually I've always thought that there's a lot of luck in hitting - or at least in the result of hitting the ball. When a ball is hit between that both the 3B & the SS almost get to - but can't - there was a lot of luck in getting that hit. When an outfielder dives and catches the ball in the webbing of his glove he was lucky to have been playing where he was because if he'd been one step farther from where he caught the ball he wouldn't have been able to make the catch. I don't think any player can strike the ball with pinpoint accuracy to put the ball where he wants it nor do I believe that any fielder can accurately predict the exact spot where the ball will be hit. There's a factor of luck involved in it.

 

I'm not saying hitting is all luck. IMO when a player squares up on a ball he has a better chance of getting a hit. Like everything in baseball, it doesn't work EVERY TIME but he has a better chance of getting on base with a hard-hit ball then with a dribbler.

If you believe that good luck/bad luck evens out over 500 AB's then luck is a wash and the difference between a good hitter and a weaker hitter is the result of how well he strikes the ball, his hitting technique and his strength. But there's still some luck involved in it.

 

That's pretty much all I've been trying to about hitting being random. Good hitters will square the ball up more in clutch situations because they square the ball up more in all situations. There is skill involved. Again, I've never said that hitting is completely random.