Southwest Sider Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) Let me preface by saying I don't necessarily believe that he should, but I believe TA can do almost anything he wants on a baseball diamond, and I also believe if he committed to the idea, he could hit more home runs. TA believes he's the best short stop in the game. I believe him, I think a lot of us believe him, or at least respect that he feels that way. The thing is, other shortstops in the league are hitting for more power and not having to sacrifice too much of their batting average to do so. I believe TA really loves having a high batting average and it shows as he does hit tons of singles. He is also sporting a respectable 2.5 fWAR... but could he be better? Tatis Jr has .286 BA, 28 HRs and a 4.1 fWAR. Bogaerts has .318 BA, 15 HRs and a 3.9 fWAR. Turner .319, 17 HRs and a 3.9 fWAR. Correa .283, 16 HRs and a 3.4 fWAR Crawford has a .289, 18 HRs and a 3.4 fWAR Bichette .295 16 HRs and a 2.7 fWAR And then you have our TA who has 6 HRs and that 2.5 fWAR. Certainly terrible, but not the best SS in the league or the AL. Other SS's also have a higher walk rate and respectable batting averages along with their power. Tim has the swagger. He has the confidence. He has the skills too, IMO. Should he start trying to hit for more power? Would he be a more effective middle of the order bat as well? Edited July 17, 2021 by South Sider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look at Ray Ray Run Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 His swing and approach aren't made for power right now. I believe he is disappointed he's not hitting 15-20 HR's but but right now his approach with letting the ball get deep isn't great for power for a smaller guy who needs pull power to hit it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Side Hit Men Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 No. Tim is the leadoff hitter, he's doing what he is asked to do which is get on base, drive the ball to the gaps, use his speed to stretch out singles to doubles, and set the table / provide a spark to the White Sox offense. The only thing I would "change" about Tim Anderson is to have him stop attempting so many steals. He leads MLB in caught stealing with 7. He has a 66% success rate, far below break even 76% rate. If he is to steal at all, it should only be when he has a distinct advantage. The Sox need to shift from Tony's obsession of making unnecessary (caught stealing / failed hit and runs) and intentional outs (bunting), and move to the 20th Century (Earl Weaver / Casey Stengel) and 21st Century (every manager under 76 years old) mathematically proven strategies. They also need to embrace 20th / 21st century defensive positioning, primarily employing proper defensive shifting against RH hitters. Failure to rectify Tony's extreme stubbornness will result in an unnecessary early exit from the playoffs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentralChamps21 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 8 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said: No. Tim is the leadoff hitter, he's doing what he is asked to do which is get on base, drive the ball to the gaps, use his speed to stretch out singles to doubles, and set the table / provide a spark to the White Sox offense. The only thing I would "change" about Tim Anderson is to have him stop attempting so many steals. He leads MLB in caught stealing with 7. He has a 66% success rate, far below break even 76% rate. If he is to steal at all, it should only be when he has a distinct advantage. The Sox need to shift from Tony's obsession of making unnecessary (caught stealing / failed hit and runs) and intentional outs (bunting), and move to the 20th Century (Earl Weaver / Casey Stengel) and 21st Century (every manager under 76 years old) mathematically proven strategies. They also need to embrace 20th / 21st century defensive positioning, primarily employing proper defensive shifting against RH hitters. Failure to rectify Tony's extreme stubbornness will result in an unnecessary early exit from the playoffs. I agree he should cut down on the steals but a couple of those caught stealings were botched hit and runs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Hombre Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Not sure if this has to do anything with his lack of power this year, but he changed his follow through. He finishes with both hands on the bat this year, whereas years past he finishes with top hand off the bat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southwest Sider Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 26 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said: No. Tim is the leadoff hitter, he's doing what he is asked to do which is get on base, drive the ball to the gaps, use his speed to stretch out singles to doubles, and set the table / provide a spark to the White Sox offense. The only thing I would "change" about Tim Anderson is to have him stop attempting so many steals. He leads MLB in caught stealing with 7. He has a 66% success rate, far below break even 76% rate. If he is to steal at all, it should only be when he has a distinct advantage. The Sox need to shift from Tony's obsession of making unnecessary (caught stealing / failed hit and runs) and intentional outs (bunting), and move to the 20th Century (Earl Weaver / Casey Stengel) and 21st Century (every manager under 76 years old) mathematically proven strategies. They also need to embrace 20th / 21st century defensive positioning, primarily employing proper defensive shifting against RH hitters. Failure to rectify Tony's extreme stubbornness will result in an unnecessary early exit from the playoffs. I don't really disagree with your post. In a world where Nick Madrigal didn't get injured, I might ask that of Nick and utilize Tim as more of the middle of the order bat. Like I said, I believe that he can do anything he sets his mind to in this game, including hitting for more power. What do you think of trying to do something like that next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Let Tim be Tim. Whatever he is doing is working, why mess with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Mercedes Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Leave him be and be glad he finally took defensive improvements seriously enough to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Side Hit Men Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 2 hours ago, South Sider said: I don't really disagree with your post. In a world where Nick Madrigal didn't get injured, I might ask that of Nick and utilize Tim as more of the middle of the order bat. Like I said, I believe that he can do anything he sets his mind to in this game, including hitting for more power. What do you think of trying to do something like that next year? Nearly all players can add power by swinging aggressively, but it cuts down on contact rate and batting average. Power is returning with Robert and Eloy, plus Vaughn should turn some doubles into homers in his second season. Hopefully Nick can stay healthy to provide the 9-1 table setting that worked well to start the season. The wild card is Tony freaking out for having only two LH/SH options with his best everyday lineup. 2021 OPS (2020 for Eloy & Engel) SS Anderson .779 3B Moncada # .795 1B Abreu .776 DH Jimenez .891 CF Robert .822 C Grandal # .824 LF Vaughn .763 RF Engel .811 2B Madrigal .774 Bench: C Collins; Inf Leury; OF TBD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominikk85 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 He is currently under performing a little but he has hit 20 Homers before. I don't think he should change his approach, he could go for more pull side power but then he probably his a 230 hitter with a 280 opb. I rather have him hit 300/340/470 than 230/280/450 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiddleCoastBias Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Confirmed: TA reads this board. 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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