Calhoun and Bunting

[Taylor]

12 minutes ago, krAbs said:

How the eff did we survive the off-season??

We channelled our energy (read: stupidity) in the Spin Forum.

[Griffey's Corner]

9 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

So, his "downturn" is going from .272 .325 OBP .776 OPS 123 OPS+  in 2014 to .271 .348 OBP .786 OPS 116 OPS+ in 2016?

Interesting...

We have a difference of opinion. It's time to move on.

[Lou]

1 minute ago, red321 said:

yeah, Lou hates when a thread gets "Lou'd"

i hear that causes blindness 

[mulwin444]

2 minutes ago, Griffey's Corner said:

We have a difference of opinion. It's time to move on.

Bunting on it huh?

[Griffey's Corner]

6 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Bunting on it huh?

too funny. Let's move on. We are all Angel fans. We just disagree on what is best for the team.

[Jeff Fletcher]

Go here....

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11200&position=OF

Scroll down to batted ball.

Pull percentage:

2014: 43

2015: 42

2016: 42

2017: 44

2018: 39

Now look at the ground ball column: His career average is 42 and this year is 56. That is the problem.

The shift doesn't matter when he's hitting the ball in the air like he's supposed to.

[krAbs]

13 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Go here....

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11200&position=OF

Scroll down to batted ball.

Pull percentage:

2014: 43

2015: 42

2016: 42

2017: 44

2018: 39

Now look at the ground ball column: His career average is 42 and this year is 56. That is the problem.

The shift doesn't matter when he's hitting the ball in the air like he's supposed to.

You're an in-the-know reporter media type person. What do YOU think about bunting against the shift, in general? Obviously (as you are pointing out), Calhoun has bigger problems than the shift. But, it seems like most players are really hesitant to do it. Do you think its a talent thing, a pride thing ("I'm payed to hit home runs, not bunt like some kind of little b*tch"), or that they just genuinely think that its better to hit into the shift (or try hitting the other way) than to bunt into the empty half of the field?

[stormngt]

48 minutes ago, krAbs said:

I just heard that the fat bastard isn't putting Ohtani in the outfield today - no place will be safe.

Why the body shaming?

[Make Angels Great Again]

This thread is hilarious, and extraordinarily difficult to read.

[krAbs]

1 minute ago, stormngt said:

Why the body shaming?

Oh, so suddenly being a fat bastard is a bad thing? Wow, look at this guy over here, talking crap on fat people.

[Make Angels Great Again]

Hearing Fat Mike makes me think of Fat Sal's sandwiches in LA.

[Griffey's Corner]

11 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Go here....

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11200&position=OF

Scroll down to batted ball.

Pull percentage:

2014: 43

2015: 42

2016: 42

2017: 44

2018: 39

Now look at the ground ball column: His career average is 42 and this year is 56. That is the problem.

The shift doesn't matter when he's hitting the ball in the air like he's supposed to.

Really.... I thought we had moved on. The problem with what you are saying Fletcher is that Kole's whole career he keeps trying to hit into the teeth of the defense. If he would use the whole field than he would be a better hitter. So I apologize I appreciate all your hard work but I am not interested in Kole's previous years when he would hit .244 and everyone would pat him on the back and reward him with a pay increase. I want and expect better.

 

Basic understanding of one's own self & limitations.... Kole so far has not shown much ability to be a 30+ HR guy. And as far as the eye test goes every time I watch him at the plate he is pull happy.... which is why teams play such a radical shift on him.

 

I would be much happier if Kole and a few others would work counts better, keep their hands back longer and spray the ball to the whole field and away from the defense. Drop a few bunts down, take a few walks, lean into some pitches and take a bean for the team.... especially when you are slumping and hurting the team.

 

I love the guy's moxie & grit. I love his Defense. But I can tell by the way the guy walks around and lifts his chest out and draws his shoulders back that a lot of this is ego driven.

 

No amount of stats tells me different than the eye test. The eye test shows he is better than a .167 hitter.... but some of those batted balls that should have been hits were not because he hit it right into the teeth of the shift. I saw 2 last week alone. 

 

2 hits a week is a massive difference on a BA. So now Kole has a ground out on the box score so he goes back to the dugout dejected and thinking he needs to try a new approach but the reality was it was a scorching one hopper.... right to someone. It messes with your confidence, your approach, everything.

[Lou]

46 minutes ago, Griffey's Corner said:

We have a difference of opinion. It's time to move on.

Whoa, slow down there, sailor. That type of behavior will not to tolerated here. 

Final Warning. 

[Griffey's Corner]

And Fletcher correct me if I am wrong. I apologize in advance if I am misconstruing what you are trying to say.... but are you saying that he is struggling more because he is hitting more ground balls than normal..... To me if there was no shift a lot of those would than go as hits. Which than proves what I have been saying all along. Kole should develop an approach to break the shift.

[Lou]

7 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

Hearing Fat Mike makes me think of Fat Sal's sandwiches in LA.

[T.G.]

[Griffey's Corner]

Also as a pitcher if I see Kole Calhoun come up and he so pull happy. I would pitch him away because all that will happen will he will roll over on it and hit a weak grounder. I already know he is not going to take the ball to LF. If i pitch him up he might get enough to yank one out of the park...... which could explain also why he has only hit 1 HR on the year. It also explains why he is hitting more ground balls than usual.

[Griffey's Corner]

32 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Go here....

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11200&position=OF

Scroll down to batted ball.

Pull percentage:

2014: 43

2015: 42

2016: 42

2017: 44

2018: 39

Now look at the ground ball column: His career average is 42 and this year is 56. That is the problem.

The shift doesn't matter when he's hitting the ball in the air like he's supposed to.

Also the shift does matter when you have 2 players in RF.... instead of one.

[ten ocho recon scout]

3 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

People blaming mike are funny.  Carpenter on the cardinals is even worse but he's still starting and swinging away. 

Young is getting more at bats and now blash is here.  Calhoun knows his grace is nearing an end.  Scioscia handling it well imo.

 

Agreed. 

Its a tough situation. As bad as calhoun has been, we dont have some obvious replacement in house. The other part is that as bad as his bat has been, his defense is still outstanding. And that seems to be the strategy of this team.

[Pablo]

Just now, ten ocho recon scout said:

Agreed. 

Its a tough situation. As bad as calhoun has been, we dont have some obvious replacement in house. The other part is that as bad as his bat has been, his defense is still outstanding. And that seems to be the strategy of this team.

Excellent point - his defense covers alot of faults. RF isn't really a defense-first position, however, so it's not a free pass.

[Make Angels Great Again]

There are I think a few things going on with Kole, as Fletch said he's hitting the ball into the ground too much, he's not able to get any lift. He's striking out too much, and walking too little.

But that's not all, he's kind of getting pretty unlucky too on balls that he has hit. His BABIP is .225, well below his .299 career mark. He's doing that while having the best hard hit % of his career at 39.5%, and the lowest soft hit % at 12.3%, so the rare occasions that he's actually hitting the ball, he's hitting it well for the most part, just poor launch angle and bad luck.

At least, that's how it appears to me.

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, Griffey's Corner said:

too funny. Let's move on. We are all Angel fans. We just disagree on what is best for the team.

Your mature responses and lack of arguing likely violate some of the codes of conduct of this site. Not sure how the mods missed this.

In the future, if you disagree with someone, you need to call them an idiot, and it never hurts to tell the other person you drive a luxury car and get laid a lot.

[Griffey's Corner]

1 minute ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Your mature responses and lack or arguing likely violate some of the codes of conduct of this site. Not sure how the mods missed this.

In the future, if you disagree with someone, you need to call them an idiot, and it never hurts to tell the other person you drive a luxury car and get laid a lot.

You are cracking me up. Kudos to you my friend. honestly I am so new to the site that some times I cannot tell when people are joking or are serious. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

I also think Calhoun should consider changing his stance back to how it was in 2014, which i think was his best year.

Compare this stance:

https://www.mlb.com/video/calhouns-solo-shot/c-36142061

to this:

https://www.mlb.com/video/ohtani-scores-on-double-play/c-2008314683

 

WAY more simple.

[Griffey's Corner]

5 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

There are I think a few things going on with Kole, as Fletch said he's hitting the ball into the ground too much, he's not able to get any lift. He's striking out too much, and walking too little.

But that's not all, he's kind of getting pretty unlucky too on balls that he has hit. His BABIP is .225, well below his .299 career mark. He's doing that while having the best hard hit % of his career at 39.5%, and the lowest soft hit % at 12.3%, so the rare occasions that he's actually hitting the ball, he's hitting it well for the most part, just poor launch angle and bad luck.

At least, that's how it appears to me.

It's not bad luck when they have the whole team shifted to one side of the field.