Posted by MikeT23 on 11/3/2017 11:33:00 AM (view original):
BL is the dude at the bar where you eventually say "You might be right" just so he'll STFU and you can enjoy your beer without his high-pitched voice yammering in your ear about xFIP. He employs that strategy in these forums except there are at least 10 people, in every thread, who thinks he's a dumbass.

Except, in this case, tec is waking up to me at the bar, tapping me on the shoulder, and asking me to argue with him.

Posted by tecwrg on 11/3/2017 12:25:00 PM (view original):
BL would argue that hitters trying to cut down their strikeout rates would do so by intentionally grounding out to LH2B.

Ok, one question. If a hitter says, “I’d like to cut down on my strikeouts this coming season,” is he saying:

A) I’d like to make different types of outs

or

B) I’d like to make less outs

Why can't he simply be saying, "I would like to make more contact this year and put the ball in play more often."?

Posted by bad_luck on 11/3/2017 12:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by tecwrg on 11/3/2017 12:25:00 PM (view original):
BL would argue that hitters trying to cut down their strikeout rates would do so by intentionally grounding out to LH2B.

Ok, one question. If a hitter says, “I’d like to cut down on my strikeouts this coming season,” is he saying:

A) I’d like to make different types of outs

or

B) I’d like to make less outs

C) I'd like to have fewer unproductive PAs that don't help my team.

Who had the better game?

A) 0-4 with four strikeouts.

B) 0-4 with a ground out that advanced a runner from first to second, a warning track fly out that advanced a runner from second to third, and a couple of bases empty 6-3 ground outs?

Posted by bad_luck on 11/3/2017 12:26:00 PM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 11/3/2017 11:33:00 AM (view original):
BL is the dude at the bar where you eventually say "You might be right" just so he'll STFU and you can enjoy your beer without his high-pitched voice yammering in your ear about xFIP. He employs that strategy in these forums except there are at least 10 people, in every thread, who thinks he's a dumbass.

Except, in this case, tec is waking up to me at the bar, tapping me on the shoulder, and asking me to argue with him.

Why is he waking up next to you? Did you roofie him?

Posted by tecwrg on 11/3/2017 12:51:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 11/3/2017 12:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by tecwrg on 11/3/2017 12:25:00 PM (view original):
BL would argue that hitters trying to cut down their strikeout rates would do so by intentionally grounding out to LH2B.

Ok, one question. If a hitter says, “I’d like to cut down on my strikeouts this coming season,” is he saying:

A) I’d like to make different types of outs

or

B) I’d like to make less outs

C) I'd like to have fewer unproductive PAs that don't help my team.

And my point this entire time has been that almost all outs of any type are unproductive and unhelpful. The fact that some of them are strikeouts really doesn’t matter.

And that's why you're the object of ridicule. There are productive outs in baseball. None of them are strikeouts.

BL has decreed that all outs are unproductive.

Who are we to question his superior baseball IQ?

Did I say "all" or "almost all?"

BL, do you think a guy like Aaron Judge would benefit from simply making more contact?

Posted by bad_luck on 11/3/2017 2:10:00 PM (view original):
Did I say "all" or "almost all?"

Is your baseball IQ zero, or almost zero?

Are you seriously going to go back to the example of a guy who was just among the top 3 A) rookies of all time and B) hitters in the American League this year to try to make the point that striking out too much is bad? Because that's a really, really tough argument to defend.

Maybe Aaron Judge can improve if he makes more contact. But maybe not. Are you asking him to shorten his swing with 2 strikes? 'Cause here's the thing - Judge hit 20 home runs this year with 2 strikes. Is it worth it to put more balls in play weakly and give up 10 or 15 homers? That's going to depend a lot on how many more balls he can really put in play. The guy's going to strike out a lot. His strike zone is enormous. It's the downside of being outrageously tall for the sport. The upside is that his frame generates a ton of torque and he can hit the ball really, really hard. I think in this case you maybe just need to take the bad with the good. Again, you're talking about a guy who's going to challenge for the MVP as a rookie.

You've made the case for him to change his approach by stating that his frame generates a lot of torque and he can hit the ball really, really hard.
Changing his approach doesn't have to mean swinging weaker, it can mean waiting on the pitch a little more. If it's in the zone he can hit it hard the other way, if it's not he can take the pitch.

Dahs joins BL in the strikeout argument:

"Come argue with us. We'll argue for ever and ever and ever".