Are our pitchers and hitters failing to make adjustments mid-game?

[fondybrewfan]

Let me preface this by saying I really didn't research this at all and is based more on gut feeling than anything. So if anyone comes up with some stats to refute this that is fine.

Is it just me that both our pitchers and hitter are lousy at making mid-game adjustments. Our SP continually get rocked once they get to the 3rd time through the order, so it would seem the opposing hitter is making an adjustment and our pitcher isn't changing it up at all.

It also seems like our offense does the same thing. A pitcher may be pitching us a certain way but we don't make adjustments to it at all. Example: Pretty much everyone pitches us on the outer half of the plate but it seems we still try to pull everything.

Is it the players, is it the coaches or am I just completely off my rocker and I just don't know what the heck I am talking about?

[TooLiveBrew]

Our SP continually get rocked once they get to the 3rd time through the order

 

The 3rd time through the order is notorious for being the death knell for most SP. Our hitters do need to approach at-bats differently, imo. More opposite-field intentions would be nice, and a single here & there wouldn't kill us.

[endaround]

The 3rd time through is also when pitchers tire. You get to over 85 pitches and velocity starts to drop. Over 100 pitches and it drops even further. Pitch counts aren't just to prevent injury but also a signpost for when a pitcher can be expected to start faltering.

[Crew2323]

I would answer "yes" to the thread title. I've watched the majority of games, and it seems as if most pitchers are pitching the Brewers outside or way in. Yet, the players seem so adamant about pulling the ball. Is it because they are home run hitters? Dead pull hitters? I think those are certainly reasons. It's frustrating to me why they can't just swallow their pride a bit and hit a ball opposite field, even if it is only a single. It would be nice to see them take the ball to where it is pitched more often.

 

Is it just me, or did Prince seem to hit the ball to the opposite field more last year? I don't recall seeing many of his hits (even outs) going to the opposite field so far this year. It just seems the team is way to pull happy at the moment and refuses to take what is given them. I'm sure that if they start doing that on a consistent basis, then the pitchers will come middle-half more than they have been.

[pitchleague]

crew2323, I seem to remember hearing about and then seeing it with my own eyes that Prince was specifically working on going opposite field during Spring Training. So I don't know what has happened in that department with regards to Mr. Fielder. He certainly hasn't been taking the ball to the left side too often, and when he does, it's a lazy pop fly to left. Or the (very) weak grounder to the 2nd base area.

[craigharmann]

Yes. Yes. Yes. You would think with all the advance scouting and all the prep work, these guys would be prepared for pitchers and hitters, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. For example, when I was watching the Marlins games, I can't count how many time BA and Rock said the Marlins are good fastball hitters. Then throw them offspeed stuff and set up your pitches so they're off balance! It's not rocket science. It's baseball.

[dlk9s]

Our SP continually get rocked once they get to the 3rd time through the order

 

The 3rd time through the order is notorious for being the death knell for most SP.

In one of the Florida IGT's, I posted the Brewers pitchers' 6th inning stats compared to the NL. It was shocking how much worse the Brewers were (something like .200+ higher OPS, BAA maybe .330 versus .266, etc.). I'll try to find the stats again later, or someone can check out baseball-reference.com.

If I remember correctly, our pitching stats in the first couple innings are better than the league average.

 

 

 

[jjlong19]

I see a lot of the Favre factor when it comes to Brewers pitchers. I think opposing hitting coaches are instructing their hitters to wait because Brewers pitchers will eventually groove one. They just have to be patient and put a good swing on it when it comes. Much like DBs waited for Favre to just 'put one up'.

[DrWood]

Kids these days are coached to have repeatable swings, repeatable throws. Adjustments aren't really done by most players. Seeing the same guy a few times improves timing, though.

[TabbertBB]

Maybe the fact is that our starting pitchers are just not starting/finishing pitchers. Any pitcher can be a starter but it key how many innings can they pitch. Our pitchers seem only to be able to pitch 4 or maybe 5 innings without getting hit hard. Someone in the dugout needs to wakeup and make changes and have 2 4 inning guys as compared to thinking one guy is always going to be pitching 8 innings. We don't have Moose Haas and Mike Caldwell on the staff.

[dlk9s]

Kids these days are coached to have repeatable swings, repeatable throws. Adjustments aren't really done by most players. Seeing the same guy a few times improves timing, though.

"Repeatable" has to do with mechanics, not in-game strategic adjustments.

 

[RightFieldCoder]

We don't have Moose Haas and Mike Caldwell on the staff.

Yet. With the amount of ex-82 Brewers we hire don't be surprised if they don't become our new Pitching and Bullpen coaches.

[JohnBriggs12]

I see more opponents that take advantage of the Brewer defensive alignment than I see Brewer hitters doing. I wish I had a nickel when watching from the center field camera I see what looks like off the bat to be a routine out to short or second only to see the Brewer infielder pulled drastically one way or the other and incapable of making the play. I also see Braun too deep when lefthanders are hitting and Hart too deep when righthanders are hitting and way too many bloop hits to the opposite field dropping in.

[DrWood]

Kids these days are coached to have repeatable swings, repeatable throws. Adjustments aren't really done by most players. Seeing the same guy a few times improves timing, though.

"Repeatable" has to do with mechanics, not in-game strategic adjustments.

 

 

You can't have a repeatable swing if you open your stance, change your grip on the bat, etc... from swing to swing. Pitchers can try to use different pitches to get batters out in later AB, or set them up differently than they did in the earlier AB, but other than that, I don't know what strategy you are considering.

[Paulus88]

I don't think it's about changing your stance or grip, but if they're pitching on the outside corner going the other way, if they're throwing first pitch strikes be aggressive, if you're behind shorten up. These are the type of adjustments I think they could make.

[TooLiveBrew]

I wish I had a nickel when watching from the center field camera I see what looks like off the bat to be a routine out to short or second only to see the Brewer infielder pulled drastically one way or the other and incapable of making the play. I also see Braun too deep when lefthanders are hitting and Hart too deep when righthanders are hitting and way too many bloop hits to the opposite field dropping in

 

You're overgeneralizing here. I wish you paid BF.net a nickel each time the shifts employed led to outs. Until we see some data on the shifting, no one is credible enough to say 'I knows it's true cuz I seen it'

 

Btw, OF shifts play off spray charts, and each hitter is (relatively) unique. Also, the OF is the one that ultimately decides where to stand -- Yost & Co. can't call 'time' & go show the guy exactly where to stand like a teeball game.