Hitting

[sportscoach]

Ramirez has 11 home runs, which would extrapolate to 30 in a 162 game season. Problem is he's trying to hit 30 in a 60 game season. 11 in 60 just doesn't feel the same as 30 in 162 somehow. Pity.

You said the issue right there. The whole team is trying to hit the 30 in the 60 games. They arent sticking to game plans, they are trying to be heroes and kill every pitch. We get on base then try to win the game.

We actually need to focus on playing small ball in a sense. Take walks, move runner over and get them in. We have a great pitching staff, so we don't have to score ten runs. We need to focus on contact and contact only and I think a lot of our issues will go away.

Jose is striking out over 20% of the time, he's never been over like 15%.

Lindor's extra base hits are way down. On pace for like 30 Doubles and 20ish HRs. Which tells me he isnt putting the barrel of the bat on the ball in he normally would be.

These guys aren't playing within themselves. They are trying to hard and not using what they practiced over and over.

 

[Kevalier]

@BimboColesHair is the best person to ask for this.

Honestly I think its the mix of a pitching first organization plus bad luck. We have been doing a lot of if 1A is a pitcher and 1B is a hitter, we go pitcher it feels like. Hence why i wanted a college bat in the draft and hence why i was happy we got Miller in the Clev trade.

Also i am thinking its because we dont have the right veteran leadership when it comes to the position players. We dont have that Napoli or Giambi with just the age experience you could say. We dont have someone like Brantley who could lead hitting by example and could help out the younger hitters.

With the pitchers, we had established veterans, Klubers, Bauer, Carrasco etc, when these guys are coming up, who could impart wisdom and say hey chill out in this situation and do this when this happens.

Lindor is a fine leader, but most of these guys are more aggressive in a sense and competitive (plus not very old). While that's good and dandy, i dont feel there is someone to keep them from getting off the rails. Right now they are off the rails and its just hurting us overall. The chemistry is good in the clubhouse, we just don't have that one guys who is the devils advocate and/or can be like chill your ass down and focus. You have to get your approach back.

This is an excellent point that I keep coming back to, especially in recent days. The clubhouse is sorely lacking the types of leaders they have had over the years like Giambi, Napoli, Brantley and Encarnacion. Lindor even alluded to how enormous of a loss Brantley and Encarnacion were to the guys in the clubhouse going into the 2019 campaign. If one of our insiders could shed light on this, it would be valuable, as I wonder if Frankie and Jose are truly leaders or more so the best position players who have essentially been forced to assume leadership duties. With Frankie and Santana more than likely to be elsewhere next season, the organization will be relying on a new group of guys to grow into leaders unless they sign a Giambi/Napoli type to fill the void for at least next year.

 

[sportscoach]

This is an excellent point that I keep coming back to, especially in recent days. The clubhouse is sorely lacking the types of leaders they have had over the years like Giambi, Napoli, Brantley and Encarnacion. Lindor even alluded to how enormous of a loss Brantley and Encarnacion were to the guys in the clubhouse going into the 2019 campaign. If one of our insiders could shed light on this, it would be valuable, as I wonder if Frankie and Jose are truly leaders or more so the best position players who have essentially been forced to assume leadership duties. With Frankie and Santana more than likely to be elsewhere next season, the organization will be relying on a new group of guys to grow into leaders unless they sign a Giambi/Napoli type to fill the void for at least next year.

To me Frankie is a leader, and Jose is a sparkplug/attitude type of person. They help keep the chemistry strong in the clubhouse. To me they just dont have the experience/the same presence as those guys.

Put a Brantley type of guy, even though he wasn't ever and never has been a talker, on the roster then I think it would be a team that's hard to beat. Brantley lead by example and would always stay within himself. When the team would struggle to get a hit, he would just go slap a hit the other way and get on. He had so much respect he didn't need to say much probably outside of almost like, hey adjust this a bit, relax and wait for your pitch.

In my mind, I dont see who has replaced the leaders we lost. Almost like the issue i had in OOTP when I took control of an expansion team. I went and got talent and had a leader, but i didn't have an older veteran captain and the chemistry was bad cause I didn't in the game. Right now they have leaders, but no veteran player presence to help keep the ship right during the storm.

 

[EdMonix11]

Ramirez has 11 home runs, which would extrapolate to 30 in a 162 game season. Problem is he's trying to hit 30 in a 60 game season. 11 in 60 just doesn't feel the same as 30 in 162 somehow. Pity.

Wtf? He leads this team in offense by a wide margin, statistically and analytically, and he’s 2nd at his position in the entire MLB in WAR via Fangraphs. He’s also ranked 3rd offensively at his position in the entire MLB also via Fangraphs.

Yeah his K’s are up by a few percentage points but so are his walks. As long as he’s getting xbh’s there’s no issues there.

I mean the Indians literally have only one other hitter who isn’t a negative offensively via fangraphs and you’re choose to nitpick JRam’s production? Lol

 

[Derek]

Wtf? He leads this team in offense by a wide margin, statistically and analytically, and he’s 2nd at his position in the entire MLB in WAR via Fangraphs. He’s also ranked 3rd offensively at his position in the entire MLB also via Fangraphs.

Yeah his K’s are up by a few percentage points but so are his walks. As long as he’s getting xbh’s there’s no issues there.

I mean the Indians literally have only one other hitter who isn’t a negative offensively via fangraphs and you’re choose to nitpick JRam’s production? Lol

His current HR pace also extrapolates to almost 39 HR, not 30

 

[CDAV45]

I needed a break so I took one. Didn't even watch the game last night and that's probably a good thing. At the beginning of the season, if you would have told me our lineup would be Lindor, Hernandez, Ramirez, Santana, Reyes, Naquin, Naylor, Mercado, and Perez I would have been optimistic at the least. These guys can hit, and I have no idea why they're not. I think it's cultural/coaching. I think that due to the fact that we really haven't had more than 1 or 2 guys hitting well at the same time. One thing I don't believe is a factor at all is "player leadership". That's nothing but a bunch of BS. All of Lindor, Ramirez, Santana, Perez, Reyes, Naquin, and a few others are experienced players. They are also of good character or they wouldn't been on this team. Besides that, the coaches are the leadership and you win championships with talent that performs. Again, I can't put my finger on the exact issue, but it's not some silly idea of no player leadership. Hit the f'n ball!

 

[daddywags]

Wtf? He leads this team in offense by a wide margin, statistically and analytically, and he’s 2nd at his position in the entire MLB in WAR via Fangraphs. He’s also ranked 3rd offensively at his position in the entire MLB also via Fangraphs.

Yeah his K’s are up by a few percentage points but so are his walks. As long as he’s getting xbh’s there’s no issues there.

I mean the Indians literally have only one other hitter who isn’t a negative offensively via fangraphs and you’re choose to nitpick JRam’s production? Lol

You're right. It was a bad choice to make my point. I picked Jose because he has 11 home runs and he's been popping up a lot. Overswinging in my view. In any event it was the fact that 11 home runs in a 60 game season equates to 30 (roughly) in a full season. And he happens to have 11 home runs.

 

[Derek]

You're right. It was a bad choice to make my point. I picked Jose because he has 11 home runs and he's been popping up a lot. Overswinging in my view. In any event it was the fact that 11 home runs in a 60 game season equates to 30 (roughly) in a full season. And he happens to have 11 home runs.

If you looked at the numbers, I think you’d be surprised how often good hitters pop up. Jose is just outside the top 50 in pop up rate among guys with 100+ PA this year.

 

[daddywags]

If you looked at the numbers, I think you’d be surprised how often good hitters pop up. Jose is just outside the top 50 in pop up rate among guys with 100+ PA this year.

Fair enough.

 

[kidduck]

From Pluto:

Since the 2018 All-Star break, he(Ramirez) is a .232 hitter (200-for-861).

 

[Derek]

From Pluto:

Since the 2018 All-Star break, he(Ramirez) is a .232 hitter (200-for-861).

Prime example of a cherry picked stat

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Prime example of a cherry picked stat

861 at-bats over 1.5 seasons is cherry-picking?

And Jose's infield fly rate this season is over TWICE as high as his career average. He's definitely popping more balls up - even the STO announcers noticed it.

However, he's having a good season anyway. His OPS is higher than his career average and the fourth highest of his career. A line of .263/.876 is close to his career averages. He's also playing pretty good defense and his base thieving has been outstanding. Hosey is not the problem. He's only 2-for-15 with RISP and two out, but otherwise he's having a typical season.

 

[Derek]

861 at-bats over 1.5 seasons is cherry-picking?

And Jose's infield fly rate this season is over TWICE as high as his career average. He's definitely popping more balls up - even the STO announcers noticed it.

However, he's having a good season anyway. His OPS is higher than his career average and the fourth highest of his career. A line of .263/.876 is close to his career averages. He's also playing pretty good defense and his base thieving has been outstanding. Hosey is not the problem. He's only 2-for-15 with RISP and two out, but otherwise he's having a typical season.

It’s absolutely a cherry picked stat. It’s not on @kidduck though, it’s on Pluto.

Never said he wasn’t popping the ball up some. Just said you’d be surprised how common it is for good hitters to do so.

Also, whatever stat the STO announcers quoted is incorrect as far as I can tell. Fangraphs has his IFFB% at 13%, slightly up from last year and identical to 2018.

 

[xmasbuck]

It’s absolutely a cherry picked stat. It’s not on @kidduck though, it’s on Pluto.

Never said he wasn’t popping the ball up some. Just said you’d be surprised how common it is for good hitters to do so.

players arent static - they get better and they get worse

 

[EdMonix11]

From Pluto:

Since the 2018 All-Star break, he(Ramirez) is a .232 hitter (200-for-861).

Ummm MLB front offices haven't looked at a batting average statistic in probably 10 years. The game is way beyond that now.....

861 at-bats over 1.5 seasons is cherry-picking?

It's cherry picking because he finished the 2nd half of 2018 in a huge slump and started the 1st half of 2019 in a huge slump and everyone knows that. He was on a tear on the bookends of those seasons....

Why isn't Pluto talking about his stats since the 2019 All Star break because, since then, he's 8th in WAR in the MLB and has a .988 OPS? Or the last two full seasons plus this one where Jose was 7th in the MLB in WAR in that timeframe.