Jays Vs. Mariners

[Schad]

Jesus, Lindy. Not a bad way to break out of a nine-game homer drought.

And despite his rather extreme struggles with making contact, I really like Snider's patience since being recalled...he now has 20 walks in 137 plate appearances, for a walk rate of 14.6%. For the sake of comparison, Scutaro, one of the most patient guys in the league, has a walk rate of 13.2%.

Doesn't make his extreme strikeout totals suck less, but it does make him a more tantalizing middle-of-the-order possibility if he ever addresses his contact issues.

[tsherkin]

Yeah, at least he's starting to see pitches better, that's definitely a positive change for Snider. He's just not catching up with major league heat right now, but he's got time still. Maybe working with Cito and Gene will help speed up his bat and get it moving through the zone better.

[zilby]

well my comeback is working

[Schad]

Yeah, at least he's starting to see pitches better, that's definitely a positive change for Snider. He's just not catching up with major league heat right now, but he's got time still. Maybe working with Cito and Gene will help speed up his bat and get it moving through the zone better.

I think the problem with bat speed is that he's letting the ball travel further for pitch recognition purposes (to allay the issues he had with off-speed stuff in his first couple of months) and thus doesn't have much of a chance against serious heat. The upshot is that, as his pitch identification improves (hopefully) Snider will be able to make that decision a shade earlier and not only catch up with those fastballs again, but have more of a chance to center them.

[tsherkin]

He's 21 and this is basically a new skill. I like that he made the adjustment, even if he's still struggling. He'll learn. If nothing else, it's a sign that he's adaptable and coachable. The patience is important, so once he improves his pitch recognition, as you said, things will progress.

[Hoopstarrzz]

The thing about Snider's in ability to catch up with Major-league fastball is that his batting stance makes it impossible for him to identify pitches late in their flight. He is trying to be a patient hitter by not swinging on every pitch and therefore, starts his swing quite late if he deems the ball in the zone and his current batting stance always makes him late. The way I see it, he needs to alter his batting stance and use his front leg more to speed up his swing once he sees a fastball to his liking. At the moment, he doesn't have any leg movement on his swings, he's pretty much stationary trying to let his arms do all the work. I am sure they will address that in the off-season and work with him. The kid is still only 21.

[zilby]

woo!