Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
Fowler needs to go but, that aint happening. Dead horse indeed.  O'Neill has looked a lot better. I've seen all of his AB's. He's laying off the slider in the dirt or outside that he was a sucker for last year. It still happens but at an acceptable rate. He could be a 25-30 homer guy this year. You don't sit those players on the bench.
Bader is still swinging at those sliders that are so far outside that they are in the opposite batting box. The dude has speed but no arm and if he cant lay off that slider, he's not an everyday MLB player.
Looks like the opening in the outfield is going to be CF. Can Carlson play CF? |
Bader is a PURE guess hitter right now. I mean it's clear as day.
Throw him a hanging breaker down the middle and he may just take it for a strike. Bury the next one in the dirt and he'll swing through it. And he's not just guessing pitch-type, he's guessing location as well. Throw him a first pitch fastball that's down and in and he'll swing over it because he was expecting it up.
He looks like Grichuk looked for a bit there when he was completely lost. He's not seeing anything, he's not recognizing anything and I'll be completely honest, I'm not sure he's even trying to.
I think he's going up there and before every pitch is delivered he's thinking "Okay, he's gonna throw me a ball, so I'm gonna take..." or "Okay, this is going to be a slider in, so I'm gonna swing" and if he manages to defy the odds and guess both pitch and location, he'll hit it.
He's a MFing mess at the plate. I mean if nothing else, just decide you're a fastball hitter. Go up there hunting fastballs and the very damn instant you see one in the zone, take a hack at it. But he's taken a little over half the fastballs in the zone he's seen for strikes thus far. He's caught in a rocking chair for every single pitch.
He needs to sit. His attitude regarding his hitting has been dogshit for 2 years. He refuses to utilize advanced approaches, he's been unreceptive to coaching and bristles at criticism. That guy got himself a fan club and believed he'd 'arrived' and didn't need to develop anymore. He believed he was better than he was, his development cratered and now he's an offensive liability because of his own piss-poor attitude.
Lane Thomas has earned an opportunity to take that job from Bader. Succeed or fail, he's earned the shot.