Greg Walker ~ What have we learned?

[LDF]

So you agree that playoff appearances is not a good way to evaluate if a coach is doing a good job and should be retained?

 

i don't think so, i personally, and now, esp with B Bickell - hockey contract after his playoff performance, am more skeptical.

 

i want to judge the performance over the duration of a year.

[LDF]

I think that's exactly the point I was trying to make -- we had a hitting coach who said ridiculous things like "I want guys to expand their zone with runners on base," to a guy who came from the A's and says things like, "I need our hitters to be patient so that they force the pitcher to give them a good pitch to hit," and we've seen no real change in the results.

 

that is a great point you are making. 2 different ideas.

 

i am confuse, internally of this approach.

[caulfield12]

Just to amuse DA.

 

Mike Moustakas had 17 opposite field hits all of 2014.

 

This year, he already has 19, a .330 average and increasing plate command and patience/OBP.

 

 

Moustakas’ issue has been that his hands and shoulders all turn as a unit and rotate toward the ball, cutting off the amount of time his bat is in the way of the pitch’s path. He looked like he tried to improve that last year by getting his back elbow working before his hands started, but he was still moving the hands and shoulders together rather than getting that rollback look with the back arm like the best hitters. Even on his better hits this year, it still looks the same, and often he’s down through contact rather than on a slight upward path with the pitch. I think he’s just hitting the right part of the ball in the early going, but I don’t expect much different results without a big change in approach or mechanics.

 

I do not agree. Even if his swing mechanics could still have room for improvement, Mike Moustakas’ changed approach that allows him to spray the ball around the field should yield significantly better results than the recent past.

 

Mike Moustakas may never realize his perceived potential as a prospect, but he can still be a good everyday player if he continues to hit the ball where it’s pitched rather than try to pull everything.

 

http://kckingdom.com/2015/04/22/kc-royals-...s-a-new-hitter/

Of course, someone at fangraphs disagreed, as is their wont to do.