JN wrote:linery88 wrote:They can get decent hitters,and turn them into GOATS thanks to Popkins,and our small ball put in play philosophy.Thing is ,are they smart enough to do it,or will they keep going after big huge names with huge contracts.Guys who dont strike out or who dont swing at bugs with guys on would make us drive the A.L. East pitchers nuts.How forward is Fried looking to pitch to us or Jake Smell.Pitching is another story.We signed a Korean for a million.Would expect Shatkins to keep looking at Japan,and Korea,but they should also look at the Dominican Republic for both hitters,and pitchers.Cost would not be an issue.Giminez became a bigtime threat thanks to Popkins.So can others.
We have a put the ball in play strategy (or at least focus on those types of hitters in terms of acquisition), but I'm not necessarily sure its a small ball strategy. Those two don't necessarily go in line with each other.
And even in terms of ball in play, I'm not sure if its implicit, or really just the hitting coach doing a great job of allowing a hitter to do what they do best within a general team philosphical context. Look how well it worked with George Springer, who actually swung more aggressively this year.
Anyway I'm not sure if any of the above makes sense. But what does make sense is that our most valuable acquisition and most valuable coach this year was no doubt Popkins.
I dont mean it implicitly,but that doesn,t matter much even if it is.We know what it means to us.Those terms are what all the broadcasters both here,and in the u.s. have been calling it all year,over,and over,so i just borrowed that.The small ball works perfectly for a put ball in play team like ours because we dont K,and it leads to more grinding of pitchers,and extended innings lol.We also dont chase bad pitches most of the time.Its up to Popkins to find these guys he thinks he can work with.Giminez now looks way more dangerous than he did with guys on then when we got him.
Popkins needs to work with Varsho in this area more.Saw him(Popkins) in an interview during this run with Brian Kenny who was peppering him with questions about his hitting philosophy,and teaching methods.Kenny was grinding on him,and Yander Alonso had to rescue Popkins by saying "He cant give away all their secrets" Kenny responded by saying "So close"lol.Then the interview on MLB Now ended.Thanks to Alonso.
We established a great foundation this season,and they better **** grow it or they are an unserious org.Thing is it doesnt have to be expensive if you know the players you are looking for,and feel strongly that you can work with them in being a part of this philosophy.You can look at how much Lukes,Barger ,and other guys made this year,and on the cheap.To me,this is a better way to go than shelling out a ton for high profile stars,but they may also be looking at how much money those high priced start can make for the franchise aka Ohtani for LA.