8/2 Games

[SoxBlanco]

4 hours ago, bmags said:

Here's my interpretation of Collins year.

He was focusing a lot on defense and didn't care about offense, but it got so bad early that he was allowed to focus on offense more for a bit (this was in an article). I think once he proved to himself he could hit he went back to focusing on improving defense.

What exactly does focusing more on defense instead of offense look like?  I’m genuinely curious, because I’ve seen a lot of people mention it, and I’ve always found it odd to claim somebody goes into a slump because they aren’t “focusing” on offense. Do you mean mentally? Or actually doing less BP/hitting drills in order to get more defensive drills in?

[bmags]

5 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

What exactly does focusing more on defense instead of offense look like?  I’m genuinely curious, because I’ve seen a lot of people mention it, and I’ve always found it odd to claim somebody goes into a slump because they aren’t “focusing” on offense. Do you mean mentally? Or actually doing less BP/hitting drills in order to get more defensive drills in?

From what it sounded like in the article, the latter. Working more on footwork, throwing, managing the game is both time intensive and physically demanding.

Part of it was scaling back those drills, while also letting him work more on his swing and approach.

[danman31]

5 hours ago, bmags said:

Here's my interpretation of Collins year.

He was focusing a lot on defense and didn't care about offense, but it got so bad early that he was allowed to focus on offense more for a bit (this was in an article). I think once he proved to himself he could hit he went back to focusing on improving defense.

This is nonsense. Just because you're not working on offense in your practice time doesn't mean you immediately get worse. There has to be retention.

[bmags]

10 minutes ago, danman31 said:

This is nonsense. Just because you're not working on offense in your practice time doesn't mean you immediately get worse. There has to be retention.

Read the next post. I'm not saying he forgets how to hit as soon as he stops focusing on it. I'm saying the work he's putting in to improve on defense is taxing, he's learning what it takes to be a professional catcher, and it's affecting his offense.

 

 

[danman31]

2 hours ago, bmags said:

Read the next post. I'm not saying he forgets how to hit as soon as he stops focusing on it. I'm saying the work he's putting in to improve on defense is taxing, he's learning what it takes to be a professional catcher, and it's affecting his offense.

 

 

I think that's a weak excuse for a guy who has shown red flags as a hitter before.

[footlongcomiskeydog]

7 minutes ago, danman31 said:

I think that's a weak excuse for a guy who has shown red flags as a hitter before.

Yep. Weak excuse for sure.

Maybe the Sox just extremely mis-scouted the kid? No one outside the organization thinks he will stick at catcher. No one outside the organization is saying that his defensive game is improving. Maybe the Sox should just let the kid focus on his offensive game and move him to first.

[SoxBlanco]

2 hours ago, footlongcomiskeydog said:

Yep. Weak excuse for sure.

Maybe the Sox just extremely mis-scouted the kid? No one outside the organization thinks he will stick at catcher. No one outside the organization is saying that his defensive game is improving. Maybe the Sox should just let the kid focus on his offensive game and move him to first.

If it’s a weak excuse, then how would moving him to first so he could “focus” on his offensive game help at all?

[bmags]

On 8/3/2018 at 5:26 PM, danman31 said:

I think that's a weak excuse for a guy who has shown red flags as a hitter before.

That’s fine, But I don’t think lineup protection is any more valid.