Game 132, Angels at Mariners
Dave · August 29, 2006 at 6:49 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Weaver vs Washburn, 7:05 pm.
For various reasons, I’d really, really like to see the M’s put a beatdown on Jered Weaver. He’s going to have a 2 IP, 8 H, 7 R performance sooner or later, and I’d love for it to be sooner.
M’s run out the ultimate 2006 Mariner line-up:
1. Ichiro, CF
2. Snelling, RF
3. Beltre, 3B
4. Ibanez, LF
5. Sexson, 1B
6. Broussard, DH
7. Johjima, C
8. Lopez, 2B
9. Betancourt, SS
For the first time in, well, this year, the team isn’t running out an automatic out somewhere in the line-up. 1 through 9, everyone can hit, at least a little bit.
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354 Responses to “Game 132, Angels at Mariners”
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Thanks for the clarifications fellas. I never played ball in any formal capacity and am completely mystified by most of the commentary on players’ techniques, mostly because every ‘event’ (ie swing) is so fast that unless one knows exactly what to look at, they look more or less the same. So yeah, thanks again.
At the point of impact, you would be amazed at how similar most good hitters are.
In that respect, compare the picture of Doyle’s swing (linked above) with this one of Ibanez hitting his grand slam The Ibanez one is obviously taken slightly earlier in the swing (can’t see the ball) but in terms of stance they look pretty darn similar to me. Hip rotation makes sense; and if Doyle’s leg can take running in the outfield I would think it’s up to whatever’s necessary to swing the bat with power. Edgar could barely walk when he tore that ACL or whatever it was and he was still hitting with authority (I remember thinking he was clearly planing to hit HRs so that he didn’t have to worry about running on the basepaths).
Dave in Stanford-ville, if you say so. I’m pretty sure it was Heaverlo, but if we both saw a young Hal Baines for the White Sox hit it we must be talking about the same game. The ball did go down the first base line. I was on that side for once because my Dad likes to sit there. Ugly incident, though.
JAS, I’m not implying that Doyle’s batspeed is or will suffer from what he’s doing if he’s not putting weight down into the back leg. I think that if he is keeping the weight off the back, left leg, it will be hard for him to _fully torque_ his hips, although I didn’t say it that way in the earlier post. Doyle does have good rotation, but he’s generating a lot of that with his arms, rather like metz123 said. Yes, Doyle’s stance is very centered and focused on rotation. Watch some of those other hitters when they really torque down and under that ball to pull it; see how much stress they put on the back leg, and how they have to rotate the knee on the back leg to do it: this is what Doyle _isn’t_ doing, as I see it, and probably a good thing that he’s not. But it’s also why I wonder if he’s going to be able to get under low pitches, especially inside, and drive them with authority. Pitches up, yes; pitches down or away, I’m not so sure.
All that said though, it’s clear that Doyle is a very advanced hitter, with highly consistent mechanics at the plate, who know exactly what he wants to do, and how. He exudes confidence, and whether it’s an Oz attitude or more him he clearly thinks it’s the pitcher who’s in trouble when Doyle has a bat in his hands—and he’s right.
Your description of Raul seem dead on. He definitely ‘sits on the back leg and swings up,’ really a very different approach than Doyle, or more accurately a more extreme version of hip rotation. The interesting thing about Ibanez with that swing is how much contact he makes with that swing. He seldom swings through a pitch, especially on the inside of the plate; he’s very disciplined with it. Doyle making good contact doesn’t surprise me, but Raul making such good contact with a more extreme rotation is just hard work and talent coming together.