A thought on Trumbo

[Angelsjunky]

Although I've been vocal about trading Trumbo, I can't help but feel that at some point soon - maybe next year or the next - something is going to click for him and he's going to go from a .250/.780, 30 HR hitter, to a .280/.850+, 35 HR hitter. I know he's already 27, but it just seems like he needs more time to mature into his peak, which will be more like age 28-32.

 

Who knows, of course, its just an inkling I have. Maybe the Angels have the same inkling and are thus hesitant to trade him.

[Angel Oracle]

That is a good point.   But then we get back to having Pujols, Trumbo, Hamilton, and Calhoun for just 3 positions (1B, RF, DH) to start 2014.   Unless Calhoun can handle starting just 1/3 of the games and still perform well, there is a glut there, while the pitching staff is in upheaval.

[wopphil]

What kills me about Trumbo is that all his struggles seem to be based on pitch recognition.  When he is hitting well, he is moderately patient and when he makes contact, the ball is hit hard.  But when he is going bad, he swings at so many pitches so far out of the zone that he has absolutely no chance.  It is almost like he battles with sporadic vision problems.

[Stradling]

Phil just gave AO a new theory. Damnit LensCrafters!!!!

[HaloCory22]

Get him some Ricky Vaughn glasses.

[fan_since79]

I hate how he goes up there, stares at his bat for a long time, then hacks away at absolute garbage.

 

Is he too serious in his mindset, too much thinking, too much intensity? Hitting is not rocket science.

[Jobu]

http://www.imgur.com/O8PtzVL.jpeg

[gotbeer]

It is almost like he battles with sporadic vision problems.

 

Remember Glaus always had that problem also.  Some days the contacts would work great, sometimes they would just bug him.  And I think as long as he was with the Angels, he refused to get laser surgery.  Which is kind of understandable, since it was in it's infancy back then, and no way would I want them cutting into my eyes.   

 

Anyone know if Trumbo wears contacts?  

[Angelsjunky]

AO, but its really six players for five positions, with Bourjos and Trout in the mix. You've got to count on someone losing playing time due to injury, and perhaps more frequent days off for old guys Hamilton and Pujols. But even without injury I could see something like this:

 

5 positions X 162 starts = 810 starts

 

Trout: 155

Pujols: 145

Hamilton: 140

Trumbo: 140

Bourjos: 130

Calhoun: 100

 

Calhoun and Bourjos will get more games through coming in late as defensive replacements, and Pujols and Hamilton will PH at times to fluff their games played.

[markb]

Trumbo has started both of the last two seasons with measurably improved plate discipline, only to let it all slip away the moment he hits a rough patch.  It seems like all the work he puts in during the offseason gets away from him and then he starts trying to hack his way out of slumps, leading to ABs where he looks like he's being attacked by bees.  

 

He's had a couple ABs recently where he looked like he was about to throw his bat in frustration after swinging at bad pitches.  That kind of visible frustration is really telling.  

 

Maybe Trumbo needs to see whatever sports psychologist set Roger Federer straight.  A lot of people forget that early in his career he had a horrible temper that led to bouts of wild inconsistency.  Then somehow he morphed into a Vulcan assassin that destroyed every opponent in his path.

[gotbeer]

 

Maybe Trumbo needs to see whatever sports psychologist set Roger Federer straight.  A lot of people forget that early in his career he had a horrible temper that led to bouts of wild inconsistency.  Then somehow he morphed into a Vulcan assassin that destroyed every opponent in his path.

 

He should go see whoever Hamilton went to go see.  Because Hamilton is exactly the opposite of Trumbo, after a bad at bat, he walks away like he doesn't have a care in the world.

[rageous]

That's just wishful thinking.

It's more likely that he will regress in a few years and become a platoon player.

It's very unlikely that a player at his age actually improves.

[Angel Oracle]

I would hope that laser surgery has come a long ways a decade after Glaus was having the sight issues.

[Angelsjunky]

Trumbo has started both of the last two seasons with measurably improved plate discipline, only to let it all slip away the moment he hits a rough patch.  It seems like all the work he puts in during the offseason gets away from him and then he starts trying to hack his way out of slumps, leading to ABs where he looks like he's being attacked by bees.  

 

He's had a couple ABs recently where he looked like he was about to throw his bat in frustration after swinging at bad pitches.  That kind of visible frustration is really telling.  

 

Maybe Trumbo needs to see whatever sports psychologist set Roger Federer straight.  A lot of people forget that early in his career he had a horrible temper that led to bouts of wild inconsistency.  Then somehow he morphed into a Vulcan assassin that destroyed every opponent in his path.

 

Roger Federer should go back and see the same psychologist, because he's falling apart of late.

 

As for Trumbo's plate discipline, the trajectory over the last few years is encouraging (BB%):

2011: 4.4%

2012: 6.1%

2013: 8.7%

 

Now if only that would translate into more HR and BA, but it hasn't as of yet.

[fan_since79]

Federer is getting old, which is the primary reason his game is declining.

[Torridd]

I hate how he goes up there, stares at his bat for a long time, then hacks away at absolute garbage.

 

Is he too serious in his mindset, too much thinking, too much intensity? Hitting is not rocket science.

Easy to say, fan. It's supposedly one of the hardest things in the world to do, but I know what you mean. Basically, he shouldn't think too much. Still, much easier said than practiced.

[ten ocho recon scout]

He should go see whoever Hamilton went to go see. Because Hamilton is exactly the opposite of Trumbo, after a bad at bat, he walks away like he doesn't have a care in the world.

its because of how smooth the head and shoulders with old spice has made his hair.

we should get brut cologne to merge with pert plus, and sign trumbo. Problem solved.

[The God of Runs]

Trumbo will continue to produce. If Pujols and Hamilton was so bad, we wouldn't even be talking about him.

[Mudville]

Roger Federer should go back and see the same psychologist, because he's falling apart of late.

 

As for Trumbo's plate discipline, the trajectory over the last few years is encouraging (BB%):

2011: 4.4%

2012: 6.1%

2013: 8.7%

 

Now if only that would translate into more HR and BA, but it hasn't as of yet.

 

Walks do not generate HR or BA. Shuck works a lot of walks but produces nothing in terms of slugging and now that pitchers understand he is a paper tiger like Willits he is getting pitched to and generating more outs.

 

For Trumbo it is all about what he is swinging at, or if he is even swinging at anything,

 

While his O-swing (swinging at pitches out of the strike zone) has dropped from 38.1% last season to 35.6% this season those stats are not indicative of how far out of the zone he is reaching for those pitches. A pitch 3" outside the plate belt high is an O-Swing but a very hittable pitch with Marks long arms. However, as we saw last night, Mark tried to hit a pitch that was about 6'2" off the ground for a strikeout. It really doesn't matter if that was center plate or 10" outside he was never going to make contact and that is his biggest failure in the O-swing department, taking out of zone to the outer limits.

 

Now what about swing at pitches in the zone or Z-Swings? In 2011 he was taking a cut 66.6% of the time, in 2012 lower at 64.4% of the time and this year 62.7%. Is this a good thing? Oh heck no, the in the zone pitches are the ones you want to be swinging at so it shows he is becoming more hesitant and taking more called strikes.

 

That is in line with his overall swings per plate appearance that dropped from 53.5% in 2011 to 47.8% this year. So he is swinging less but in terms of percentage of swings more are to bad pitches he should hold up on and less at pitches in the zone.

 

This is precisely why his batting average and slugging percentage is down from last season, generating less solid hits, striking out at the same rate, generating more weak outs and not hitting with authority.

 

He is so confused at what he is trying to accomplish that he swings at pitches out of the zone then watches the good ones go by thinking that is plate discipline. It's not and an extra walk or two is no indicator that he is getting better at this.