Re: Cano sees fewest pitches in MLB


"Tom Kosensky" <mryclept2@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fZydnZ2dnZ2eiOTtnZ2dnXN1kN6dnZ2dRVn-zJ2dnZ0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > The Bottom 10
> > 1. Robinson Cano, Yankees, 3.01
> > 2. Cristian Guzman, Nationals, 3.14
> > 3. Garret Anderson, Angels, 3.28
> > 4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, 3.29
> > 5. Neifi Perez, Cubs, 3.31
> > 6. Carl Crawford, Devil Rays, 3.31
> > 7. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies, 3.32
> > 8. Shea Hillenbrand, Blue Jays, 3.34
> > 9. Jose Guillen, Nationals, 3.35
> > 10. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays, 3.3
>
> Interesting, though of course not surprising. The thing with Vlad is that
I
> bet he still gets himself into hitting counts...I don't have the time to
> look it up, but I wonder what his numbers are in 1-0 and 2-0 situations.
> He really is the only great player on this list...the others aren't great
> hitters. And if you notice, Cano is last BY FAR....it's not even a
close
> race. And that is what alarms you at this particular stage in his career.
> Hopefully, he learns.
>
>
>

Believe it or not, he's been improving in this regard. For most of the
season he was in 2.7-2.8 range. I'm not sure if avg. pitchcount is a key
determinant of a great hitter at this stage of his career yet. There was a
piece by Nate Silver earlier in the year in which he started to tinker with
a typology of early count versus late count hitters. Obviously the guys in
the bottom 10 aren't ones who can "control the strike zone" unlike Sheff,
Giles, Giambi, Abreu,etc., but I'm not sure if Anderson isn't a good run
producer. He still scares the heck out of me with RISP. And Wells is
becoming a fearful hitter in his own right. Some guys can hit 0-1, 0-2 like
Donnie in his prime and Carew (as well as Boggs in rare situations he got
himself in those counts). As you look at Robbie's splits, his numbers at
1-0 count is .455/.444/.773 but his numbers at 0-1 isn't bad either at
..340/.340/.511. I think the samples are too small for us to get a clear
picture (other than season total) because while he does well on 1-0, his
didn't do as well on 2-0 or 3-1.

Even Derek's pitches per AB is about average overall, but in a few years
he's lingered arond 3.5-3.7 while Woemack has had very good P/AB at 3.9 (and
in fact his career avg is better than Derek IIRC). It doesn't mean much how
many pitches a hitter takes if the bottom line isn't production. As Stefan
brought up earlier in the year, Cano at some point will have to inch closer
to 3.3-3.4 range, but I think it's too early to be alarmed about his slump.
If anything I suspect he's worn out. This is the most number of games he's
played in his career and we cannot underestimate the "wall" factor for young
rookies as I don't think Robbie got much rest earlier and he probably played
a little winter ball in DR also. That's why while I'd like for him to be
more patient, he gets a free pass from me this year because he's probably
learning how to hit ML pitching. As he matures he'll learn his limit
(unless he's as stubborn as Sori) and start setting up pitchers. In the
case of Robbie (and to a greater degree Vlad, Dawson, Bill Madlock, and
other early count hitters), his ability to hit is the biggest obstacle as I
think he probably believes he can hit anyone. It'll take time and Donnie
needs to start reining him in a little. He's not a dumb kid by any stretch
as he worked out a walk in the ninth before Escalona got the big hit. I
just think he's a little tired as I've seen him get jammed on inside pitches
that he'd crush earlier.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Chamberlain almost in tears
    ... pitches and hit a couple guys. ... giving him a "good talking to" in the dugout all during the bottom of ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Chamberlain almost in tears
    ... pitches and hit a couple guys. ... giving him a "good talking to" in the dugout all during the bottom of ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Clemens
    ... I used the assumption that the NL hitters did not need to deal with being ... hit by pitches. ... career out of scaring batters off the plate. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Chamberlain almost in tears
    ... pitches and hit a couple guys. ... giving him a "good talking to" in the dugout all during the bottom of ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Scoring only 4 runs when...
    ... It's painful watching the Mets hit save Alou and Church. ... Delgado swinging at pitches *way* out of the strike zone, ... hitting consistent .315 hitters over those three any day. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.ny-mets)