The guy they call our hitting coach

[ghoetke]

Might be doing some good things but he evidently isn't getting through to Trumbo. His discipline at the plate and understanding of the strike zone are atrocious for a veteran major league hitter.  How great can he be if he overcomes that ??

[Reveille1984]

He's in his age 28 season next year, I doubt he has much "overcoming" left to do.  He is what he is.

[FireThemAll]

There is no one on the face of the Earth that could say something to Trumbo and magically make his discipline improve. He's going to have atrocious plate discipline his whole career. This is the kind of hitter he is.

[tdawg87]

Trumbo is what he is. His walk rate HAS improved every year thus far but his K rate has gone up every year as well.

 

I think we could see his BB rate continue to improve gradually but I don't see him ever becoming a truly patient hitter.

[Docwaukee]

I was hoping that if he took more pitches and tried to be more patient that it would make him a better offensive player, but it's actually making him worse.   His pitch recognition just hasn't been there. 

 

It's like hitting an iron off the tee because you are erratic with the driver.  Turns out that he's probably just as erratic with the iron yet he sacrificing the distance.  He tends to hit the ball really hard when he makes contact, so let him have at it.

 

Take out the driver, swing as hard as you can, and deal with the lack of accuracy. 

[AngelsFaninGA]

The real question is, why is no one in the minors working these kinks out? 

[SoWhat]

I agree with Reveille, he is what he is. He won't net us anything special in a trade, so it's best to just hold into him and let him hit 30 HR's and drive in 80 RBI's for us at a cheap price.

[Lifetime]

The real question is, why is no one in the minors working these kinks out?

his issue is pitch recognition not lack of patience. You can't teach pitch recognition. If it were so simple as having minor league coaches work with them to "work the kinks out" you'd see boat lads of great hitters coming out of the minor leagues. Pitch recognition can improve and usually does to some extent as a hitter matures, but there's no magic to teach it. Trumbo has worked very hard on improving his approach but the reality is, this is about what you can expect from him going forward. It's not a coaching issue, it's a skillset issue.

[Docwaukee]

his issue is pitch recognition not lack of patience. You can't teach pitch recognition. If it were so simple as having minor league coaches work with them to "work the kinks out" you'd see boat lads of great hitters coming out of the minor leagues. Pitch recognition can improve and usually does to some extent as a hitter matures, but there's no magic to teach it. Trumbo has worked very hard on improving his approach but the reality is, this is about what you can expect from him going forward. It's not a coaching issue, it's a skillset issue.

it's interesting because his swing % has gone down each year, so he's trying to be more selective, he's just picking the wrong ones to let go or he should be letting go a ton more.  I think it's evolved that you don't have to throw him strikes to get him out. 

[Lifetime]

it's interesting because his swing % has gone down each year, so he's trying to be more selective, he's just picking the wrong ones to let go or he should be letting go a ton more.  I think it's evolved that you don't have to throw him strikes to get him out. 

To a certain extent I agree. He does get into grooves where he's laying off those pitches and forcing pitchers to pitch to him. He can't seem to maintain that however. I think it may be a bit of a head issue. When he gets in a groove, in large part because he's being more selective, it seems like he gets over confident, like he thinks he can hit anything so he increases his zone. Pitchers exploit it and it seems to take him a while to reign it back in.

[Tyler]

We should keep him no matter what because he is inexpensive, even though we can fill holes at an actual position of need.

[tomsred]

I agree with Shane, he's a bargain for the next few years.

[Docwaukee]

We should keep him no matter what because he is inexpensive, even though we can fill holes at an actual position of need.

 

I agree with Shane, he's a bargain for the next few years.

 

Shane was being sarcastic.  He's been an advocate of trading trumbo.  Frankly, if I had to choose between trumbo and a pitcher of equal value, I'd probably choose the pitcher. 

[tomsred]

Shane was being sarcastic.  He's been an advocate of trading trumbo.  Frankly, if I had to choose between trumbo and a pitcher of equal value, I'd probably choose the pitcher. 

Oh, I think I would choose the pitcher too, but I'm afraid the value of the pitcher may not be good enough to our liking.  We're starting to amass relief pitchers, but we've yet to hit on some truly outstanding ones.

[Tank]

If someone calls and asks about Trumbo, you really have to listen to their offer. His salary in the coming years will certainly go up, but he's not going to break the bank, so keeping or trading him because of salary shouldn't even be on anyone's radar.

There are too many times when he looks completely baffled by some of the pitches, and his swings are embarrassing to watch. He's back on his heals or he swings only with his arms. He's a known quantity, but he is what he is. If someone offers a reasonable player in return, listen carefully.

[Mark68]

Adam Dunn without the walks.

[EDinTUSTIN]

his issue is pitch recognition not lack of patience. You can't teach pitch recognition. If it were so simple as having minor league coaches work with them to "work the kinks out" you'd see boat lads of great hitters coming out of the minor leagues. Pitch recognition can improve and usually does to some extent as a hitter matures, but there's no magic to teach it. Trumbo has worked very hard on improving his approach but the reality is, this is about what you can expect from him going forward. It's not a coaching issue, it's a skillset issue.

Good post, LT. I agree completely with this.

[Jobu]

I'm still unclear... What is he? Is he what he is or what he isn't?

[Angel Oracle]

Only Trout is capable of taking the first pitch, and still succeeding.

Trumbo needs to always be aggressive on fastballs. That's how he succeeds ultimately. I'd rather he lost some BA/OBP pts while increasing the SLG %.

[Glen]

I'm still unclear... What is he? Is he what he is or what he isn't?

 

 

 

They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

[ukyah]

They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

 

 

my oscar gamble fetish thrives.

[Glen]

my oscar gamble fetish thrives.

 

 

I have an autographed card from him, the card with the great afro pic.  That quote is one of my favorite quotes ever.