Show #66: We Sit Down With Tim Hudson
The game 3 loss in Boston. Should TP, Bobby, or Wren be worried about their jobs? And our clubhouse interview with Tim Hudson.
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June 22nd, 2009 at 1:57 am
TP was disciplined as a hitter? Are we talking about the same TP that never walked 50 times or more in a season and had a career OBP of .316?
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:11 am
Terry P def. doesn’t teach patience at the plate. In fact he tried to take Kelly Johnson’s pateince away! And how many times you hear him say he “doesn’t want to take away his aggressiveness” about Francoeur?
He’s big on the whole “you’re only going to see one or two hittable pitches, so swing early” thing. I HATE HATE HATE that philosophy. It relies on the idea that the pitcher will always try to get ahead first and then nibble. But just as freaking often they try to nibble first and then come to the zone if you don’t chase.
AND, if you nearly always swing early in the count, they’re even less likely to give you that “one or two hittable pitches” in the first couple. Why would they?
It’s such a dumb philosophy that I can’t believe he can use it and have one of the thirty hitting coach jobs in MLB.
Be patient, see more pitches, cost the pitcher more energy, and then be selectively aggressive once in a while. If a pitcher starts exploiting your patience, it’s easy to make THAT adjustment. Go up there and swing hard at the first couple until he gets honest again. It isn’t rocket science.
Thankfully, Chipper and McCann just ignore TP and wait for a good pitch. McLouth is also excellent at waiting for a strike. I counted 9 balls he took WITH TWO STRIKES on him in four consecutive at-bats the other day (across two games). That’s a good eye. First time he slumps, Chipper better take him aside and tell him to ignore TP’s “hittable pitches” speech.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Pendleton’s track record:
In 2002, the Braves were ninth in the league in hitting and OBP, 10th in runs.
In 2003, they were first in hitting and runs, second in OBP.
In 2004, they were fifth in all three categories.
In 2005, they were fourth in runs, fifth in hitting and seventh in OBP.
In 2006, they were second in hitting and runs, sixth in OBP.
In 2007, they were third in OBP, fourth in hitting and runs.
In 2008, they were third in hitting and OBP, sixth in runs.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
For what it is worth, here is the Braves record and standing over that time period . . .
In 2002, the Braves were ninth in the league in hitting and OBP, 10th in runs.
101-59 (1st in NL East)
In 2003, they were first in hitting and runs, second in OBP.
101-61 (1st in NL East)
In 2004, they were fifth in all three categories.
96-66 (1st in NL East)
In 2005, they were fourth in runs, fifth in hitting and seventh in OBP.
90-72 (1st in NL East)
In 2006, they were second in hitting and runs, sixth in OBP.
79-83 (3rd in NL East)
In 2007, they were third in OBP, fourth in hitting and runs.
84-78 (3rd in NL East)
In 2008, they were third in hitting and OBP, sixth in runs.
72-90 (4th in NL East)
I wish there was some correlation to hitting stats and record, but I can’t find any. For example, our records were almost identical in 2002 and in 2003, but we were 9th/10th in hitting in 2002 and 1st/2nd in hitting in 2003. Go figure. Obviously pitching comes into play. We need Bill James to sort this out for us.
One thing is clear though, we are moving in the wrong direction.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I’m for firing the entire coaching staff, for what it’s worth.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Where the Braves rank in hitting isn’t any more a certain indicator of TP than our 90′s ERA was an indication of Mazzone. Were they better or worse than their natural talent because of TP’s instruction. (I’m not saying I know the answer to that.) Listen, when’s the last time an ATL hitter really bragged on TP getting them out of a slump?
I’ve heard Morton, Lowe, Kawakami, and Hanson all credit Roger for fixing something just this year. And that’s just right off the top of my head.
Also, just a reminder of Bobby’s quote from the 15th:
“Our hitting’s been good, really good at times. But it’s all over baseball now, a lot of good pitching, and it’s going to shut you down. It’s not so much the hitter, it’s the pitching you run into.”
Frank Wren, please do not offer this circus freak a damn extension.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
McMouth: would you toss yet another piece of the 90′s to the curb by getting rid of TP?
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 am
Why doesn’t Prado play 2nd every day? Atleast platoon he and KJ.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 am
Leah – Because in the month of September last year, Kelly went crazy and hit .398, with 3 HR and 19 RBI. They keep waiting for that again.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 am
Hmmm…typical.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Where the hell is Infante?!
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Is that a rhetorical question?
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I think that the only coach that should stay based on how well he’s done his job is Roger McDowell. Kudos to him for his efforts and what he’s done w/ the pitching staff. For the sake of keeping most of the fans happy (selfishly I put myself in this category as well)…Bobby needs to stay too. I’ve watched more games this season than I ever have in my life, & I can clearly see what you guys are talking about (his judgment calls & pitching changes. The most consistent head scratching decisions that I see Bobby making is in pitching changes. I think he should be utilizing Kris Medlen where he normally chooses Jeff Bennett. Do any of you guys think that Medlen could be used well in relief for Tommy Hanson because of how their pitching styles contrast? After dealing with Hanson’s power pitching (including heat that tops out at 99, a Smoltz – like slider, and a good curve)…having to deal with Medlen who seems to be all about location, he changes speeds really well.
Back to using Medlen in relief of Hanson…wouldn’t a change like that really screw with a hitter’s timing? Maybe I’m just dreaming. Anyways…food for thought. I realize that there’s a lot of fans that are discouraged right now…but out of curiosity…what was our record as of June 23, 1991? It’s a relevant question because we’re coming off of a 90 loss season…and because we haven’t made the postseason in a few years, a lot of fans like to get nostalgic about the “good ‘ol days.”
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
BluesMan – great question. On June 23, 1991 the Braves were 34 – 32, 7 games out of first. Regarding the Hanson/Medlen thing I think it just depends. Sometimes you see that kind of style/speed change be really effective on hitters and other times it seems to make no difference at all. And, it’s all kind of moot because he’s the long reliever and Bobby barely uses him like that as it is.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Just throwin something out here, lets say we release Francouer at the end of the season and I wonder are aggressive enough to go after Matt Holliday because I believe last time I checked he is at the end of his contract.
Also Francouer sister is now my High School’s women’s basketball coach (For the Record) and I too attended Fenway for games 1 and 2 of the Bosox series.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
The are ruining Medlen having him in this position. What good does it serve him to be sitting in the bullpen, not knowing when or if he is going to be used? He needs to be getting regular use or he needs to be starting for Gwinnett.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Curt, you’re absolutely right…has he made any appearances outside of that extra innings game against the Pirates (?? I think that’s who it was…it was on my birthday and it was like a 5 hour game).
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I should’ve mentioned this in my first comment about this week’s podcast…but apart from McDowell…I feel that Frank Wren has also done enough to keep his job as well. I think if anyone told you that our rotation was going to be looking this good…people would tell them to cut back on whatever drugs they’re doing. The trade for Vasquez & Nate McClouth were very good. I didn’t think Vasquez would be worth the money…but he truly is. Here’s a couple of jokes I found on comments at Mark Bowman’s new blog about B-Mac deserving to start at the All-Star game this year.
-Why is it so hot at Marlins games?
Because there’s not a fan in the place.
-Whats the Difference between UPS and Jeff Bennett on a bases loaded 3 – 2 count?
UPS knows how to throw a strike.
& finally…
-One Day the Devil challenged the Lord to a baseball game.
Smiling the Lord proclaimed, “You don’t have a chance, I’ve got Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and all the greatest players up here.”
“Yes”, laughed the devil, “but I have all the umpires!”
–Credit goes to MLB.com user ‘Jurrjens4NLCY.’
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:37 pm
BluesMan – very funny stuff. Great win tonight. I am being totally seduced by wins over high profile opponents. If we won a make up game against the Giants and then took game 1 against the Reds, would I be so excited and think this could be THE turnaround we’ve been waiting for? Probably not. But my mind is going crazy with possibilities right now.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Whoever said we’d win one of these seven… is now one off with games to go.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
*with five games to go, I mean…
June 24th, 2009 at 11:32 am
So hopeful. I LOVE beating the Yankees.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Did I hear somewhere that Bennett is the de-facto team barber?? Talk about “keep your day job…”
June 24th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Frenchy’s been listening to the podcast…I’m convinced.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Bennett has apparently not. Anyone not named Moylan, Gonzalez or Soriano is allowed to pitch anymore. And can we get one freaking call to go our way? Did I mention I despise the Yankees.