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Thursday, June 04, 2009

denverpost.com: Looking won’t cut it with Tracy at helm

HOUSTON — Less than a week into Jim Tracy’s tenure as Rockies manager, one of his major pet peeves has emerged.

He despises the “backward K.”

In other words, nothing ticks him off more than when hitters strike out looking. He made that abundantly clear Tuesday night when the Rockies watched strike three go by on six of their 12 strikeouts in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Astros.

He hammered the point home again before Wednesday night’s game against the Astros, saying the Rockies have to become more aggressive at the plate in order to turn their season around.

Baseball-Birthdays.com Posted: June 04, 2009 at 11:37 PM | 17 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. JPWF13

Posted: June 05, 2009 at 02:43 AM (#3207217)

5th in the NL in Ks with 383, but the average team has 367 so that's not a big deal
also 5th in walks with 207, average team has 192

so they are putting the ball in play a little less than most team but it doesn't seem huge...

2. Tripon Posted: June 05, 2009 at 02:47 AM (#3207221)

Jim Tracy blames everyone but himself.

3. Morally Excellent Posted: June 05, 2009 at 02:58 AM (#3207225)

Most strikeouts are looking.

4. BeanoCook Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:13 AM (#3207235)

I think it matters exactly where in the strike zone these "backwards" K pitchers are hitting. Down the middle, yes, you should be good enough to identify the pitch and swing, but I don't automatically see all backwards Ks as bad.

A "backwards" K is not always because a hitter is taking the wrong approach. It is possible the umpire is having an off night, sometimes a hitter could be trying to work the count or a full count for a walk and is watching a tough borderline K. Other times a pitcher could just be painting the black with movement.

5. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:16 AM (#3207237)

Always let other teams' pitchers know that your guys have to swing at everything when there's two strikes.

6. puck Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:25 AM (#3207240)

Most strikeouts are looking.

Really? I guess we should be able to tell with all the pitch data floating around. Does any site have this info calculated? Baseball Reference seems to show % of strikes looking, but not strikeouts looking.

7. Morally Excellent Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:38 AM (#3207248)

Sorry, I meant that most strikes are looking.

And BBRef does have it: L/SO, fourth from the right.

MLB average is 26%, so 74% of strikeouts are swinging, which is pretty stunning when you consider that 85% of total strikes are looking.

8. puck Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:45 AM (#3207251)

Oh yeah, there it is. I love the new BR. Well, the Rockies are leading the league in the category. I don't know if that's a problem, though.

Where do you see that 85% of total strikes are looking? The NL League batting pitches page has looking strikes/strikes = 29% for the league average.

9. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:48 AM (#3207255)

Umpires don't call the same zone with every count. The zone tends to be smaller with two strikes and bigger on 3-0 and 3-1.

10. Morally Excellent Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:51 AM (#3207259)

I only see Pitch Data on the players page.

On Adam Dunn's page, it says 17% of his swings this year have been swinging. He's at 25% for his career and the MLB average is 15%.

Maybe I'm confused. I cannot see pitch data on the NL page.

Edit: Yep, I am confused. Only 15% is swing and miss. The majority of strikes are on contact, of course. That makes more sense. Sorry.

So batters only swing and miss 15% of the time, but 76% of strikeouts are swinging. Jesus, I need to go to bed.

11. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: June 05, 2009 at 03:52 AM (#3207260)

Where do you see that 85% of total strikes are looking? The NL League batting pitches page has looking strikes/strikes = 29% for the league average.

The MLB average is 28%. Swinging strikes with no contact are 15% of all strikes this year, so strikes looking are 65% of non-contact strikes.

12. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: June 05, 2009 at 04:19 AM (#3207272)

Not that this likely figured into Tracy's thinking, but should Rockies hitters be less inclined to look at strike three due to their ballpark?

13. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: June 05, 2009 at 04:37 AM (#3207281)

It's nice to know that Jim Tracy is still a clueless jackass.

14. RMc's grumbling has gone far enough Posted: June 05, 2009 at 10:35 AM (#3207356)

When you score a game, do you use 'Kc' for a called strikeout (I do) or the backwards K? And for a groundout to first (unassisted) I write '33', which apparently most people don't...

15. Mattbert Posted: June 05, 2009 at 10:44 AM (#3207357)

On Adam Dunn's page, it says 17% of his swings this year have been swinging.

Okay, what percentage of his swings have been "hacking"? What about flailing, waving, and lunging? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

When you score a game, do you use 'Kc' (I do) or the basckwards K? And for a groundout to first (unassisted) I write '33', which apparently most people don't...

I use the backwards K. For any infield groundout unassisted, I write the position number followed by a "u" and circle it. So the play you described would be 3u. With runners on first and second and two out, a groundout to the third baseman who takes the forceout at third himself: 5u. And so forth.

16. Karl from NY Posted: June 05, 2009 at 06:19 PM (#3207881)

MGL had an essay somewhere with exactly the opposite opinion. Particularly on a 3-2 count, taking should be the default option. Even if you put it in play, your success rate is 30% at best. A borderline pitch on a full count isn't "too close to take", it's "too close to swing".

17. RB in NYC (Now with New Running Goal!) Posted: June 05, 2009 at 06:23 PM (#3207885)

I do a backwards K. And I do 3 with an upperscript "U" to distinguish it from 3 with an upperscript L (liners) or P (pop-ups)

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denverpost.com: Looking won’t cut it with Tracy at helm

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