Before Wednesday's game, their extraordinary struggles w/RISP seemed to come from being overanxious at the plate. It was as if they were taking Hud's brainless advice to "GO UP THERE HACKIN'!" far too seriously, especially in those situations. No, I don't think that they literally take Hud or his opinions seriously, but they might as well have been doing so.
But Wednesday night they found a way to be selective, but also aggressive when appropriate. I'd like to see a whole lot more of that approach and a whole lot less of the Hud approach!
I really think there’s a lot more to the mental side than any of us think about there. I guess we’ll see if that’s true because I get the feeling that it becomes a press mentality when it hasn’t worked and we all know the more pressing a player does, generally the worse things go. And I think that really is true for a young offense. I wonder if they had gone and won 7-2 on Opening Day and scored even three or four in the second game if this would look different. Even that game against the Blue Jays wasn’t really great with RISP.
So hopefully having a good approach and seeing results can help them calm down a little. I think it’s interesting they found some success late on Tuesday in big spots and it carried over. The Braves provide a real challenge so we’ll see how it goes.
Appreciate the content, as usual David. I live in Dallas and was at the game last night (and Monday's dud), and man was it nice to see good pitching, good hitting, and a dominant win. Bobby running wild was an added bonus as he is so much fun to watch on the bases. My wife remarked that she'd be into watching a lot more games if they play like that more often (wouldn't we all!). I guess I kinda forgot that sometimes your team just makes it look easy, but what a treat to see it come together last night, and at least a glimpse of what could be...
It really was just a complete team win. You love to see it. And you're right, it shows what they're capable of doing because that's not a bad team down there at all.
Good writing and ideas as always, thank you. And great call on offense to come on!
It is kinda nice to have a day off after a great win as I am still in early season-watch almost every pitch- mode. Is Massey coming around? MJ seems to be getting a bit better every game and thankful to see it.
I was a bit nervous about Pasquatch at beginning of season too, but this might be a beast we will get lucky to keep
I really wonder how many bases BWJ can steal if they occasionally get a comfortable lead. I am on the record (along with my 80 win prediction at end of ST (yikes) - as saying BWJ gets 40 this year.
I had said to give Dozier a couple weeks at least, but seeing how long it has taken to see others come around, I will begrudgingly give him 2 more even. But maybe mgmt already made up mind to "got to go"?
I still like Lyles and really like Reyes, and kinda think maybe keep JBJ around for certain situations once Waters comes back, but depends on how he looks. Also liking Oli and Nicky, idk something seems to be possibly clicking as a true team there. Go Royals!
I'll actually have something about Massey tomorrow. I'm not ready to send him down just yet, but there are both good and bad signs with him.
I do think Bobby can steal at least 40 and maybe 50 with the new rules, so we'll see about that. As for Dozier, this weekend will be interesting. They'll see three righties, so we'll see how much he plays. If he doesn't start any of the games, I'd say the end is near. If he does (and I think he will), I'd say they're giving him more time to get going.
I'm going to stick by my prediction that BWJ isn't quite ready to hit 30 HR yet (maybe in another year or two?) but I think you're spot-on about the SB's. Couldn't agree more.
If the pitching is for real, I believe in the offense coming around. I don’t know that it’ll matter enough to get them into the playoff conversation but I do think they’ll be much more watchable.
Before Wednesday's game, their extraordinary struggles w/RISP seemed to come from being overanxious at the plate. It was as if they were taking Hud's brainless advice to "GO UP THERE HACKIN'!" far too seriously, especially in those situations. No, I don't think that they literally take Hud or his opinions seriously, but they might as well have been doing so.
But Wednesday night they found a way to be selective, but also aggressive when appropriate. I'd like to see a whole lot more of that approach and a whole lot less of the Hud approach!
I really think there’s a lot more to the mental side than any of us think about there. I guess we’ll see if that’s true because I get the feeling that it becomes a press mentality when it hasn’t worked and we all know the more pressing a player does, generally the worse things go. And I think that really is true for a young offense. I wonder if they had gone and won 7-2 on Opening Day and scored even three or four in the second game if this would look different. Even that game against the Blue Jays wasn’t really great with RISP.
So hopefully having a good approach and seeing results can help them calm down a little. I think it’s interesting they found some success late on Tuesday in big spots and it carried over. The Braves provide a real challenge so we’ll see how it goes.
Appreciate the content, as usual David. I live in Dallas and was at the game last night (and Monday's dud), and man was it nice to see good pitching, good hitting, and a dominant win. Bobby running wild was an added bonus as he is so much fun to watch on the bases. My wife remarked that she'd be into watching a lot more games if they play like that more often (wouldn't we all!). I guess I kinda forgot that sometimes your team just makes it look easy, but what a treat to see it come together last night, and at least a glimpse of what could be...
It really was just a complete team win. You love to see it. And you're right, it shows what they're capable of doing because that's not a bad team down there at all.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Good writing and ideas as always, thank you. And great call on offense to come on!
It is kinda nice to have a day off after a great win as I am still in early season-watch almost every pitch- mode. Is Massey coming around? MJ seems to be getting a bit better every game and thankful to see it.
I was a bit nervous about Pasquatch at beginning of season too, but this might be a beast we will get lucky to keep
I really wonder how many bases BWJ can steal if they occasionally get a comfortable lead. I am on the record (along with my 80 win prediction at end of ST (yikes) - as saying BWJ gets 40 this year.
I had said to give Dozier a couple weeks at least, but seeing how long it has taken to see others come around, I will begrudgingly give him 2 more even. But maybe mgmt already made up mind to "got to go"?
I still like Lyles and really like Reyes, and kinda think maybe keep JBJ around for certain situations once Waters comes back, but depends on how he looks. Also liking Oli and Nicky, idk something seems to be possibly clicking as a true team there. Go Royals!
I'll actually have something about Massey tomorrow. I'm not ready to send him down just yet, but there are both good and bad signs with him.
I do think Bobby can steal at least 40 and maybe 50 with the new rules, so we'll see about that. As for Dozier, this weekend will be interesting. They'll see three righties, so we'll see how much he plays. If he doesn't start any of the games, I'd say the end is near. If he does (and I think he will), I'd say they're giving him more time to get going.
I'm going to stick by my prediction that BWJ isn't quite ready to hit 30 HR yet (maybe in another year or two?) but I think you're spot-on about the SB's. Couldn't agree more.
Games like this will become more common as things progress. I can feel it. No analytics required. Or I’m just a homer idiot.
If the pitching is for real, I believe in the offense coming around. I don’t know that it’ll matter enough to get them into the playoff conversation but I do think they’ll be much more watchable.
By “as things progress” I meant this season into next. I didn’t make that clear. I hear you, though. Great work, as always, Mr. Lesky.
Oh for sure. I think they’re definitely on the right path even though it may not seem like it some nights.