In the Astros game last night, the consensus of opinion
seems to be that a brain freeze by Tony Sipp allowed the winning run(s) to
score. That may be true. However, Evan Drellich posted a great photo
https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/469705125041168384 that seemed to show Altuve was in position to field the ball and
could have gotten the third out if Guzman had been at the bag instead of
fielding the ball. Were the Astros a
victim of their philosophy of platooning?
Playing next to each other every day, day after day, allows the fielders
to know what the guy beside them is capable of doing and what they are going to
do. This yields better defense. Not
being a stat rat, I don’t have exact numbers to support this nor do I have
exact numbers to support what my eyes tell me which is that all of the
platooning is not generating a significant number of additional runs. I also believe that platooning interrupts a
hitter’s ability to get in a groove. I
think hitters (especially those that are new to a level) need consistent at
bats to succeed. I think that any
benefit gained by sending a young player in to pinch hit based on statistical matchups is negated
by the cold bat off of the bench.
Grizzly, old veterans with thousands of major league at bats are more likely
to succeed as pinch hitters so my opinion might be different if that were the
situation. Like I said, I have not
looked up the numbers to prove my opinion, but count me as a fan that is not
fond of the platoon philosophy used by this current team. I believe it is costing us runs on both sides
of the game. What do other great minds think? Do you agree or disagree and why?
You nailed it ... we're attempting to do too much too quickly in the sorting out process with prospects. This may signal, however, an intent on the part of management to move a significant number of their AAA prospects up to The Show this summer.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if platooning influenced that play or not. First basemen are taught to go after any ball they feel they can reach so I think no matter what he goes for that one. Nobody to blame for that but Sipp who at his age has participated in countless PFP's over the years and should have known to be moving toward the bag.
ReplyDeleteAs for your theory on the platoon affecting the hitting: that's possible since these are younger players. I am a fan of the platoon but agree it is best suited for older more experienced players with prominent splits.