Jacoby Ellsbury’s 21 hitting streak has really flown under the radar in Boston. He’s been able to get on base due to some good hitting and by utilizing his speed. I talked to him this weekend and mentioned that I noticed that he was fouling a lot of balls off behind the third base coaches box. This means that he is being too patient on the pitch and is making contact with the ball late.
Last night, Jacoby hit a pitch away for a solid single in the first inning. He still hit it to the opposite field, but made contact with the pitch out in front of the plate, rather than behind it. He has all of the tools, it will be fun to watch how long he can keep this streak going.
Slumping is bad, but being in a slump as a designated hitter is even worse. You realize that you can’t do anything in the game to help the team if you’re not hitting then you start to press too hard and the situation can get worse.People have raised a variety of concerns about Papi: that he’s got a problem with his swing, that his wrist is still hurt, that he’s lost bat speed. None of those problems is the cause of this slump. His swing looks the same as it always has (quick and fluid) and all indications are that his wrist is fine. If these problems were the cause of his slump, there are things that a player can do to compensate (grab a lighter bat and tape the wrist). Papi’s problem is that he is not seeing the ball well.
To bust out of this slump he needs to shorten his swing and hit the ball where it is pitched rather than getting angry and trying to crush 500 foot home runs every time he gets up. Basically, he needs to hit more like Dustin Pedroia and less like Big Papi. Pedroia hits the ball to all parts of the field and doesn’t press to put up power numbers. Papi needs to be willing to hit the ball the other way, get on base, and let the power numbers come later.
I’m going to stick by what I have said about Papi all season, he will be fine. He could still get hot and be on pace for a 25 home run season by the All Star break.
It was great to see the way the fans supported Big Papi throughout his slump and applauded him after he hit his first home run of the year. It was a 91mph fastball that David got hold of and launched to the camera well in center field. He didn’t try to do too much with the pitch: just put a good swing it and make contact out in front of the plate.
Home runs come in bunches. Don’t be surprised if papi puts up some good numbers this weekend.
I had a great time at the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend! It was my first time flying out there (we flew into Albany, then drove an hour to Cooperstown) but I have driven out there probably 3 or 4 times in the past. I was given a tour and shown where to go and what to do during the induction this summer. Do you have any questions about the Hall of Fame or my induction? Let me know.
Let me answer that question briefly: nothing! I’ve looked at Papi’s stance and swing, compared it to previous seasons, and I just don’t see anything wrong with him.
The media has made much of Papi’s recent struggles including articles this week from Ken Rosenthal and Howard Bryant on FoxSports and ESPN respectively.
Earlier this season, I though David was making contact with the ball after it had crossed the plate; he was late with his swing. But in what I have seen from him lately, his swing looks fine. He is hitting the ball out in front of the plate, but he is hitting into the shift every time he makes contact.
His numbers may be down but the team is winning. If he continues to make solid contact this slump will be a faint memory by August. He’ll finish the season with 25-30home runs in spite of, or perhaps fueled by, this slow start.
Julio Lugo just looks to me like he’s playing timid because of his knee. Opposing players are bearing down on him in double play and he hasn’t dirtied his uniform for a ball in the hole since returning from knee surgery last month. The first time someone knocks him over with a hard slide to break up a double play, it will bring him back. He might land awkwardly, but he’ll be ok and he’ll finally know that he doesn’t need to play so conservatively.
Carl Crawford is 22 for 22 in stolen base attempts so far this season including 6 steals in as many attempts against the Red Sox last Sunday. The way he runs and the amount of pitcher attention he draws from the while on base reminds me of Mickey Rivers, but the only ball player from my playing era who could have both had the opportunity to steal 6 bases in a game is Rickey Henderson. Guys just don’t on base often enough to accomplish
that type of feat.
Let’s hope that Dustin Pedroia can bounce back quickly from the groin injury that forced him to leave last night’s game. He’s a lead by example type in the field and a vocal leader in the clubhouse. A lot has been made about the humorous side of Dustin’s personality, but in the clubhouse he is frequently the one to stand up, tell the other players to turn off the music, and give a talk about the upcoming game. He just brings so much to the ballpark each day.
A lot of people had concerns with Jon Lester and Josh Beckett going into the Yankees series. I didn’t see anything wrong with either of them. Jon located his fastball well by pitching the Yankee hitters inside with his 94 mph fastball. The only times he got into trouble were missed locations on “get-me-over” fastballs early in the counts to Damon and Teixeira. Those two homeruns resulted from what Lester has been taught; to get ahead of the hitter early in the count by coming after him with your best pitch - the fastball.
If you look at the two teams Beckett struggled against - Tampa Bay and the Yankees - it’s easy to see why he may have struggled. Each team has lineups packed with good hitters who can make adjustments, a thorough scouting report on Boston pitching, and familiarity with Beckett after playing against him within the AL East division. The one problem I have seen with Beckett, and I didn’t notice it last night, is his tendency to slow the game down when he gets runners on base. With men on base, Beckett is very deliberate between pitches and this might cause him to lose some rhythm on the mound. With men on base his location is off, he looks to be guiding the ball at times.
Regardless, both Jon Lester and Josh Beckett look to be fine and I would expect them to get stronger as the season progresses. Lester will end the season with numbers similar to what he posted last year while Beckett will exceed last year’s totals, but not quite reach the statistics he reached during 2007 when he came in second place in the AL Cy Young voting.
Let’s hope that Dustin Pedroia can bounce back quickly from the groin injury that forced him to leave last night’s game. He’s a lead by example type in the field and a vocal leader in the clubhouse. A lot has been made about the humorous side of Dustin’s personality, but in the clubhouse he is frequently the one to stand up, tell the other players to turn off the music, and give a talk about the upcoming game. He just brings so much to the ballpark each day.
