Carlos Gomez's patience

[trwi7]

Swung at the first pitch in his first two at bats tonight.

[homer]

This thread will be annoying.

[monty57]

This thread will be annoying.

 

Yes, but it will probably also end up being around 15 pages :-)

 

His swinging so hard at pitches in the dirt that his helmet falls off doesn't scream "patience" to me. I don't know how you could even hope to make contact if your head is moving so much that your helmet falls off. Really seems like he has a "swing hard in case you hit it" thing going right now. Colorado's pitchers seemed to be seeing how far out of the zone they could throw it and still get him to swing.

 

I'm sure he'll warm up soon, but I don't think he'll ever be a patient hitter. I just hope the second half of last season proves to be his "new normal" and not a fluke, as he is now a Brewer at an average of $9MM/year for the next three seasons.

[H4P]

Carlos waits patiently in the dugout prior to getting to the plate. Serious question: Do you get any kind of base awarded if your bat and/or helmet fly out of the stadium in fair territory?

[JackNicholson1974]

Hey how about that catch last night? He showed a lot of patience waiting for it to come down out of the sky.

[H4P]

This thread will be annoying.

 

Then don't read it.

[homer]

This thread will be annoying.

 

Then don't read it.

 

 

I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

[lcbj68c]

Carlos waits patiently in the dugout prior to getting to the plate. Serious question: Do you get any kind of base awarded if your bat and/or helmet fly out of the stadium in fair territory?

 

To answer your "serious question"....Can you explain how your helmet and bat fly out of the stadium in fair territory?

 

Maybe more appropriately....do you get any bases unawarded if you lose your balance after a swing? Do you get any strikes added to your count if you lose grip of the bat during a swing? Does it only count as a half of an out if you see 2 pitches in an at bat instead of 1? Are there international judges w/ placards ranging from 1 to 10 seated at table that will award us runs if the player's swing mimics something we see on floor exercise at the Olympics? Some stats are good, but at the end of the day, an AB is either successful or it isn't...everything in between including a graceful swing is just white noise.

[H4P]

This thread will be annoying.

 

Then don't read it.

 

 

I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

 

No problem. Glad I could help. Didn't mean it to be snarky if it came across that way.

[MJLiverock]

Carlos Gomez career OPS when swinging on first pitch .890

Carlos Gomez career OPS after falling behind 0-1 .524

 

I have no problem with guys swinging at the first pitch. Taking pitches for the sake of taking pitches doesn't make one a better hitter. Being selective does, not swinging at balls, but just taking, nah, just a fool's game.

 

EDIT:

Gomez swinging at balls outside the K zone since 2010: 37%, 33.6%, 36.6%

Gomez swinging at strikes inside the K zone since 2010: 64.3%, 67.3%, 75%

Gomez overall swing percentage since 2010: 50%, 50.7%, 54.8%

Gomez Contact on balls outside the K zone since 2010: 63%, 55%, 60%

Gomez contact on strikes inside the K zone: 84%, 85.3%, 84%

Gomez overall contact on swings: 76%, 75.4%, 75.7%

 

Over the last three years Gomez hasn't really been laying off the balls so much as he has been swinging more at the strikes. If anything his patience hasn't gone up, he's attacking the strikes more often then letting them go by, in other words maybe even swinging earlier in the count if the pitch is a strike which given his contact rate on strikes vs. balls is a good thing.

[Nottso]

Gomez had 51 spring PAs and had 9 walks. He now has 8 regular season PAs with zero walks. Should we wait a week and a half or so, so we have an equal sample size to compare?

 

It was great seeing his increased patience this spring, but I agree with xis and Logan that we'll need to see him show that patience for a prolonged period of games that count before declaring that he's changed his ways. He's a Brewer for the long term now, so I really hope he has "found it" and will continue to put up All Star numbers like he did the second half of last season.

 

Well said. I especially like the bold part as it at least allows for the possibility that Carlos may make a change (although it's not looking real likely right now).

[logan82]

I have no problem with guys swinging at the first pitch. Taking pitches for the sake of taking pitches doesn't make one a better hitter. Being selective does, not swinging at balls, but just taking, nah, just a fool's game.

Nobody is saying he should take a first pitch strike. Nobody. The problem is that Gomez isn't' selective enough.

 

Almost all players have their best results on the first pitch. This is because is a player is swinging at the first pitch, it is usually the pitch they were looking for. This doesn't mean they should swing at the first pitch.

[MJLiverock]

I have no problem with guys swinging at the first pitch. Taking pitches for the sake of taking pitches doesn't make one a better hitter. Being selective does, not swinging at balls, but just taking, nah, just a fool's game.

Nobody is saying he should take a first pitch strike. Nobody. The problem is that Gomez isn't' selective enough.

 

Almost all players have their best results on the first pitch. This is because is a player is swinging at the first pitch, it is usually the pitch they were looking for. This doesn't mean they should swing at the first pitch.

Really, no one? Read this thread, even just a few posts above my original post an you see people trying to correlate the number of pitches seen to success. I even pointed out selectivity not patience is the key which I think you are agreeing with. But you can't convince me there aren't plenty of negative posts whenever Gomez or YB or a whipping boy make a first pitch out in the game threads or in this thread. Nobody is going to bat 1.000 on anything so I'll take their much better results on pitch 1 than being patient and seeing more pitches. My original post adresses the selectivity he isn't laying of balls, he's just not taking as many strikes. Not perfect but not blinding hacking or taking pitches for patience sake.

[monty57]

I'm not a big fan of Gomez's extension, but if he is going to be a good, everyday player, I think it's going to be because he's the player he always has been, with the addition of 20+ HR/year. I just believe that expecting him to start taking a lot of walks and becoming an OBP threat is expecting him to be something he is not, and could just take away from what could actually make him a valueable player.

 

He's an exciting but frustrating player who will be a decent option at CF for the next few seasons. The reason I'm not a fan of the extension is because the only real "glut" of talent we have for position players in the high minors is in the OF.

[brewcrewdue80]

Don't think we'll be seeing that BBs as this thread is hoping for. No walks in first 6games. It was a nice thought but a career Hacker doesn't become a BBs taker in one spring. As Monty said above I wasn't a fan of the extension but I always hold out hope that it's some other team that takes on the next 3years while we get his last "cheap season"

 

I just hope Gomez cranks 15+HRs and steals 20+ bases while being around .250. And I hope he stays in the 6th spot and down in the order never seeing time in the top of the lineup.

[homer]

bump

 

Gomez still doesn't walk all that much but he seems to be crushing mistakes which he didn't used to do.

[JohnBriggs12]

bump

 

Gomez still doesn't walk all that much but he seems to be crushing mistakes which he didn't used to do.

 

He would crush mistakes in the past too, but he's hitting the ball harder and more frequently to the opposite field and getting hits off of better pitches as a result.

[jerichoholicninja]

He needs to stop swinging at those pitches that almost hit him in the head.

[Bombers]

Carlos Gomez continues to rake. His last night stat line 4 for 5, 3 runs, 3 RBI's and two of his hits were triples. He also scored on one of his triples as the throw to 3rd went into the stands.

 

I always knew if given regular playing time he would do better than his career .255/.302/.403 line shows. But I didn't see this. He might hit 20 triples this year along with his 20 home runs - that would be nuts. Keep it going CarGo we are all cheering in excitement.

 

He is a player that seems to truly love playing the game, and is a lot of fun to watch and root for. It may have taken a while for the 5th tool to come around, but it has arrived in a flurry.

[3and2Fastball]

The way his hitting mechanics look (overswinging sometimes, pulling his head) it may be difficult for him to sustain his present pace, but there is no arguing with his results.

 

The difference between Gomez & hitters who are elite year in and year out (such as Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Buster Posey) is that they are extremely consistent with their mechanics and extremely balanced, whereas Gomez is just all over the place.

 

That said, Gomez is one of my favorite baseball players and I'm thrilled with the way he's playing.

[Invader3K]

I really hope the team considers trading him. I'm not saying he can't keep up what he's doing (or at least come close to it), but I really don't see any way he signs another extension at this point. He'll break the bank in free agency in a couple years if he keeps this up.

[JohnBriggs12]

Imagine what his price tag would be had he not signed the extension? I was thrilled when the Brewers locked him up because I thought it was a bargain, but even I am amazed. Boras has to be kicking himself too.

[Outlander]

I wonder what people would be saying about him if he never signed the extension, would he be considered the typical guy that has a great year before becoming a free agent? I imagine he would have been traded at the deadline with the impending huge contract. I have my doubts he will sign another extension as well but he is signed for three more full years and the remainder of this year so wouldn't feel the need to trade him now. Would probably get a better deal in the off season if they go down that route.

[Invader3K]

I thought we only had him for two more seasons, but you are correct...he is under contract through 2016. That makes it less urgent to trade him than I had been thinking. I hope that doesn't preclude Melvin from listening if some other team is offering a big haul, though.

[Bombers]

I really hope the team considers trading him. I'm not saying he can't keep up what he's doing (or at least come close to it), but I really don't see any way he signs another extension at this point. He'll break the bank in free agency in a couple years if he keeps this up.

I am torn on the idea of trading him. I wouldn't move him for anything less than a pitcher with ace potential ... Just trading him for some guys isn't worth it. He is a top 5 CF in baseball. And if he does keep it up, then his value will continue to rise and we can trade him in year 4.

 

Imagine what his price tag would be had he not signed the extension? I was thrilled when the Brewers locked him up because I thought it was a bargain, but even I am amazed. Boras has to be kicking himself too.

Ha, ya. First time ever Boras had his client sign for under value.