Where's the Discipline?

[dabynsky]

I agree that a hitting coach can help with plate discipline, but really Soriano has been with four teams now. He is what he is, which is a free swinger who can drive the ball deep. The loss of his speed has turned him from a near elite player to a guy that is average at best. It was real unforunate for the Cubs that it happened as quick as it did, but it was something that everyone knew would happen at some point during the contract he got.

I guess I don't see how it is Rudy's fault that Soriano can't swing at strikes when that has been a problem for him his entire career.

 

[Captain Obvious]

I agree that a hitting coach can help with plate discipline, but really Soriano has been with four teams now. He is what he is, which is a free swinger who can drive the ball deep. The loss of his speed has turned him from a near elite player to a guy that is average at best. It was real unforunate for the Cubs that it happened as quick as it did, but it was something that everyone knew would happen at some point during the contract he got.

I guess I don't see how it is Rudy's fault that Soriano can't swing at strikes when that has been a problem for him his entire career.

he absolutely is a free swinging, however in the last two years(not really a good enough sample for this year, though), he has had his highest swinging at pitches out of the zone rate and his lowest swinging at pitches in the zone rate. i'm sure some of that falls on his age and eye getting older, but if none of that falls on rudy, then where do we draw he line at? does that mean that he is also not responsible for the fact that we have the lowest walk rate in baseball?

 

[daddies3angels]

I dont see alot of these players changing there ways now. Just hopefully the Cubs can teach patience in the minors so when they come up they are use to it.

 

[poodski]

Players swinging at pitches out of the zone is the coaches fault now? Is it their parents fault when the players don't wipe their ass completely and correctly and leave a little skid mark there for the clubhouse attendant to clean when doing laundry?

The players never do anything wrong right?

Yes and no. Rudy doesn't really teach patience. He teaches swinging and more swinging. The problem is the Cubs don't really have the type of players to do that with. Turning Soriano into a free swinger isn't good. Telling Castro to swing at everything under the sun isn't good. The Cubs are very high in BA because of the highest BABIP that is most certainly going to come back down a little bit, though the Cubs do have the second highest LD%, and an above average GB%.

I think Rudy is more an old school hitting coach. One who condones free swinging and I think with today's pitching that style doesn't work. Pitchers are ahead of hitters, and in order to get what you need you need to work better counts and then take advantage of mistakes.

The Cubs lead the NL in PA ending after the first pitch (192 thus far), Cubs have gotten in to the second fewest PA of 3-0 (65 only ahead of the Natinals). The Cubs just need to be a little more patient.

 

[EnjoyYourTiger]

I guess my only real question/ concern is how patience leads to baserunners, to runners in scoring position, to runs?

While I have no idea what LD% and GB% is, I just don't understand how not swinging at the first pitch the Cubs see will lead to anything. Pena seems to always work his way into deep counts, but then will strike out looking at a pitch right down the middle of the plate or hit some lazy pop fly to shallow center. If Castro manages to work himself into a deep count without grounding out on the first pitch he swings at, he'll certainly ground out on a 2-2 count to the SS/ 2B.

I get that seeing more pitches gives you a better chance of getting a pitch you like and can just wail on, the Cubs still have yet to prove that they can turn on a pitch and hit it into a gap even in a hitter's count.

I absolutely agree that this team has no patience. Kosuke and Castro are infamous for swinging at the first pitch they see, and especially leading off, that's definitely the worst thing possible. Is it just a matter of frustrating the pitcher with deep counts and then using that to wait for a mistake? I'm just not sure how patience actually translates to runs?