More and more 3rd strike lookers!

[bccardsfan]

Drives me crazy. If you're going down, go down swinging and take a whack. Called third strikes reflect indecision and lack of confidence.

My view was simple. I had two strikes to do it my way. No, looking at strike three, I gotta give myself up. Cannot strike out with runners on base. Many infield hit balls move a runner.

Classic old school ball. Sure, you might hit into a DP, which is worse than the K, but you have to try to put the ball in play. Geez it does drive one crazy watching the "best of the best" not play fundamental baseball. In a favorable count like 2-0, 2-1, sure you can guess and if you get the pitch you are looking for, great, grip and rip. But with two strikes......guard that dish. That is on the manager and coaching staff. If you tell guys you will not tolerate guess hitting with two strikes and you bench people for a game to make your point, then you can change the culture of the team. That is yet another reason Marmol is not a good manager. He can control the personality of the team to some extent, and you don't see him do it.

[Dewey Kuey]

The approach to hitting has evolved to what we have to endure in the game today. It's one of the biggest reasons the game is so frustrating/boring now days. Put the ball in play and let's see some action! This standing there looking like a fool, walking back to the bench is getting real old to me. For God's sake choke up an inch and be ready to take a cut at anything close with two strikes.

AMEN !

Amen+ Fundamental baseball sometimes waxes and wanes throughout a long season, but in the playoffs you often see some really good games with tight D, good pitching, tough ABs, moving runners, etc.... Too bad we don't see more of it during the season.

In the playoffs you are facing their best pitchers and in a long series sometime you face them twice. The really good pitchers aren't going to make many mistakes over the plate. Sometimes you've got to be able to hit that pitch an inch or two off the plate and hit it hard. Pujols was the best I ever saw at doing that.

During the season teams might come into a series and only face the 3,4 and 5 pitcher in the rotation..not their 1 and 2. But in the playoffs that don't happen.You have to be able to score runs anyway you can and guess swinging hard or standing up there with your head up your (donkey) is a sure ticket for failure. The good pitchers wins that war most every time.

Side note. The most frustrating hitter ever to me was Matt Carpenter. He would take those pitches right on the boarder with two strikes. A pitch he could have hit hard and put in play, the ump would ring him up and he would stand there and argue the call on a pitch way to close to take with two strikes. I use to want to choke him

[bccardsfan]

The approach to hitting has evolved to what we have to endure in the game today. It's one of the biggest reasons the game is so frustrating/boring now days. Put the ball in play and let's see some action! This standing there looking like a fool, walking back to the bench is getting real old to me. For God's sake choke up an inch and be ready to take a cut at anything close with two strikes.

AMEN !

Amen+ Fundamental baseball sometimes waxes and wanes throughout a long season, but in the playoffs you often see some really good games with tight D, good pitching, tough ABs, moving runners, etc.... Too bad we don't see more of it during the season.

In the playoffs you are facing their best pitchers and in a long series sometime you face them twice. The really good pitchers aren't going to make many mistakes over the plate. Sometimes you've got to be able to hit that pitch an inch or two off the plate and hit it hard. Pujols was the best I ever saw at doing that.

During the season teams might come into a series and only face the 3,4 and 5 pitcher in the rotation..not their 1 and 2. But in the playoffs that don't happen.You have to be able to score runs anyway you can and guess swinging hard or standing up there with your head up your (donkey) is a sure ticket for failure. The good pitchers wins that war most every time.

Side note. The most frustrating hitter ever to me was Matt Carpenter. He would take those pitches right on the boarder with two strikes. A pitch he could have hit hard and put in play, the ump would ring him up and he would stand there and argue the call on a pitch way to close to take with two strikes. I use to want to choke him

I used to hate that about MCarp too! I loved him when he came up and was a doubles machine. Then he sold out for dingers and all he did was pull the ball, which made him a much less effective hitter IMHO. He used to hit the ball to all fields.

[Hoosier59]

I agree, they take way too many strikes, obviously looking for that perfect pitch. With two strikes they just need to protect the plate and put the ball in play.
When my high school players would take too many 3rd called strikes, the next practice we’d run poles! That seemed to get the message across. Not sure you could do that with MLB players, but there has to be some kind of consequence.
Didn’t LaRussa use to do away with the buffet table, or something?

[Dewey Kuey]

The approach to hitting has evolved to what we have to endure in the game today. It's one of the biggest reasons the game is so frustrating/boring now days. Put the ball in play and let's see some action! This standing there looking like a fool, walking back to the bench is getting real old to me. For God's sake choke up an inch and be ready to take a cut at anything close with two strikes.

AMEN !

Amen+ Fundamental baseball sometimes waxes and wanes throughout a long season, but in the playoffs you often see some really good games with tight D, good pitching, tough ABs, moving runners, etc.... Too bad we don't see more of it during the season.

In the playoffs you are facing their best pitchers and in a long series sometime you face them twice. The really good pitchers aren't going to make many mistakes over the plate. Sometimes you've got to be able to hit that pitch an inch or two off the plate and hit it hard. Pujols was the best I ever saw at doing that.

During the season teams might come into a series and only face the 3,4 and 5 pitcher in the rotation..not their 1 and 2. But in the playoffs that don't happen.You have to be able to score runs anyway you can and guess swinging hard or standing up there with your head up your (donkey) is a sure ticket for failure. The good pitchers wins that war most every time.

Side note. The most frustrating hitter ever to me was Matt Carpenter. He would take those pitches right on the boarder with two strikes. A pitch he could have hit hard and put in play, the ump would ring him up and he would stand there and argue the call on a pitch way to close to take with two strikes. I use to want to choke him

I used to hate that about MCarp too! I loved him when he came up and was a doubles machine. Then he sold out for dingers and all he did was pull the ball, which made him a much less effective hitter IMHO. He used to hit the ball to all fields.

For sure. When he started having to pull everything he ruined his two strike approach.

[Cusecards]

The Cards aren’t the only team guilty of “guess” hitting.
It is league wide!
It seems that the so-called “analytics” that has taken over the game is obsessed with doing MAX damage?
So you swing from the heels no matter what the situation/count with higher launch angle.
Protect the plate with two strikes?- Nope
Take an outside pitch the other way?- Nope
Situational hitting?- forget it!

It’s now launch angle and guessing.
Guess wrong?> Stare at a pitch right down central.
The funny part is that most hitters WANT to hit a fastball.
But if they are “guessing” curve ball and get the fastball(the pitch they want to hit!) they stare at it! LOL

[blackinkbiz]

It's baffling to me how the majority of this team had a fantastic offensive approach with matching results through mid-June and since then it's just fallen off a cliff. I guess the league adjusted and Cards' hitters didn't adjust back.

The perpetual guessing which leads to watching the 3rd strike go by is, well, so maddening that I haven't watched a full game since June.

[Cranny]

I and others have posted this ad nauseam. We were all taught in little league... when you have two strikes, shorten up, guard the dish, and don't let the ump call you out on a borderline pitch. If it is close enough to be called a strike, then it is close enough to hit.

^^THIS^^

Exactly.

[WLTFE]

It's baffling to me how the majority of this team had a fantastic offensive approach with matching results through mid-June and since then it's just fallen off a cliff. I guess the league adjusted and Cards' hitters didn't adjust back.

The perpetual guessing which leads to watching the 3rd strike go by is, well, so maddening that I haven't watched a full game since June.

Good post...I'm in Section 148 and there are quite a few good baseball discussions during the game...the 3rd strike 'freeze' is frustrating to everyone.