John Paciorek of DugoutCentral.com offers a tip on “Making a better A-Rod” – over at YESNetwork.com. [Hat tip to BBTF.] A few snips from the feature:
There is no better athlete in the game today than Alex Rodriguez. And he hits home runs with greater ease than anyone else. But why is it that he doesn’t get more intentional passes?
Another interesting fact is that Rodriguez didn’t receive an intentional free pass after August 8 of this year. By comparison, [Manny] Ramirez had 15 and [Ryan] Howard five over the same period.
So why are opposing managers so much more comfortable pitching to Rodriguez?
It’s probably because they feel (or know) that if the pitcher doesn’t make a mistake, they are much more likely to get him out than Albert Pujols and the others on this list. Let’s compare Rodriguez to Barry Bonds and Pujols and see if we can figure out what’s going on.
Rodriguez does something that the other two don’t (or potentially in the case of Bonds “didn’t”) — and the result is that he has a larger margin for error. This error margin is what holds him back from being even better.
When Bonds bats, his front foot hardly lifts off the ground. It moves just slightly forward while Bonds keeps his head and eyes perfectly still and maintains a low center of gravity. Pujols only lifts the heel of his front foot, while staying balanced and low. One result is maximized visual acuity. Another is the ability to get the front foot properly planted when it’s time to attack the ball with the synergistic forces of the legs, hips, shoulders, arms and hands. Very seldom can a pitcher catch either Bonds or Pujols off balance enough to disrupt their swing.
Rodriguez is different. His stance begins balanced, low and stable. But as the pitcher releases the ball, Rodriguez starts an obtrusive attack with what I’m sure he thinks is a precise timing mechanism to generate a power surge. It isn’t and it doesn’t. What happens is that Rodriguez lifts his front foot high off the ground while he waits in suspended animation to detect the speed, direction and nuances of the pitch before he abruptly lunges forward and down to plant the foot so as to begin the swing. If the plant is too early, he’s out in front of the pitch and loses much of his power. If he is late with the plant, the fastball is by him.
The timing on this, for me, is interesting. Just this past Saturday, I was at a family birthday party for my wife’s aunt. Her husband – my wife’s uncle – is 72-years old. And, he’s a baseball fan. At one point during the party, he, along with his brother-in-law – who is also a baseball fan around his ’70’s, asked me “Do you think A-Rod is a great hitter?” And, here was my answer to them:
“I know, as well as anybody, at the end of every baseball season, Alex is going to have his 35 to 40 homers, and over 100 RBI, and that looks great – because it is great. And, when he’s said and done, all those seasons are going to stack up into one of the best careers ever – in terms of numbers. But, I’ll say this, for at least the last ten years, or longer, as a Yankees fan, every time that Manny Ramirez came to the plate against the Yankees, the first words that come to my mouth are “Oh, #$&!@*!” – because I knew he was going to get a hit, every time. I never felt that way about A-Rod when he faced the Yankees – ever. And, now that he’s on the Yankees, I still don’t expect Rodriguez to get a hit in the big spot for the team. Actually, when he comes up, my expectation is that he’ll strikeout, pop-up or hit into a double-play. So, no, I don’t think that A-Rod is a great hitter.”
And, now, as Paciorek shows us, perhaps managers facing Alex feel the same way? A-Rod, for all his “greatness,” has some holes up at the plate – and he can be pitched too. But, really, this is nothing new. I wrote about it back on May 2, 2006:
But, the fact of the matter is that Alex Rodriguez does not swing the bat like Roy Hobbs or Barry Bonds. And, A-Rod does not hit the Red Sox the way that Ortiz mashes Yankees pitching.
In reality, Alex is a high-octane version of Cal Ripken Jr. He’s a player who has the defensive skills to play the left side of the infield, who is durable, and has great power. But, he’s also a player who does have some holes in his strikezone and who has a tendency to run into cold streaks with the bat.
And, since nothing has changed since 2006 on this, don’t expect it to change now…unless, maybe, A-Rod picks up on Paciorek’s suggestions…
10 Responses to “Paciorek: A-Rod Can Be Better”
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:08 am
FWIW, 2008 OBP
AR: .392
MR: .430 (.398 BOS/.489 LAD)
RH: .339
While he may not be IBB’ed, he’s still getting on base.
Not sure why Paciorek wants Rodriguez to change an approach that has been successful…
October 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Exactly, Raf. How do you end up with 35+ homers (and sometimes 35++++), the BA, the OBP, the RBIs and not be considered a good hitter?
Perhaps A-Rod’s stance and swing make it tougher to be consistent every single week of every single month, but you may want to think twice about messing with success. I mean, this isn’t Alfonso Soriano we’re talking about, susceptible to down and away sliders since he was 12.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Even though this is pretty mild bashing as far as A-Rod bashing goes, I still cannot let it stand. Steve, do you remember when we didn’t have A-Rod this year? Do you remember how desperate everyone was for him to return, both fans and other players in the line-up? Do you realize how happy Sux fans were that he wasn’t in our line-up? You might not say “Oh @#%^#” when A-Rod comes up, but believe me Red Sox fans do (at least compared to anyone else on the roster.)
I think part of the comparison is unfair. Manny and Ortiz hit like .500 against the Yankees. How is A-Rod supposed to do that? Thats inhuman. Take a look at Vlad, his postseason numbers are FAR worse than A-Rod but he doesn’t get half of the shit that A-Rod does.
I’m sorry, but Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi are not good supporters for A-Rod. Except for Giambi (who really shouldn’t have had to be a number 5 hitter), A-Rod is the only power hitter on the team. Teams can and did pitch around him. Thats why he hit like 240 with RISP but OBPd .400-something.
Also, do NOT talk about A-Rod being a compiler. All of Manny’s HRs come in the bottom of the 9th with the Sox (or Dodgers) down 2? When the Red Sox win 11-0, does Ortiz go 0-5 so he can save his hits for games that count? Of course not. EVERYONE compiles stats in blowouts, thats the way it works. Yankees fans just choose to blame A-Rod for it (BLAMING HIM FOR HITTING A HR?!) Absurd.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:33 am
“But, I’ll say this, for at least the last ten years, or longer, as a Yankees fan, every time that Manny Ramirez came to the plate against the Yankees, the first words that come to my mouth are “Oh, #$&!@*!” – because I knew he was going to get a hit, every time. I never felt that way about A-Rod when he faced the Yankees – ever.”
Steve…
Manny vs Yanks career.
.321/.411/.618…1.029
A-Rod vs Yanks career.
.334/.386/.651…1.037
October 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Hey, the stats may be what they are…but, it doesn’t change the way I felt when each came to the plate, FWIW.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Hey, the stats may be what they are…but, it doesn’t change the way I felt when each came to the plate, FWIW.
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That’s exactly the point Steve. You, and other Yankees fans, FOR NO REASON feel that A-Rod doesn’t perform. The numbers don’t back up your argument, only a ‘feeling’ Let me tell you something. Baseball is by far the most statistically oriented sport. In some manifestation, stats really tell almost all of the story. So, the stats aren’t wrong about A-Rod, you and all others who ‘feel’ that he underperforms are wrong.
Yes, he’s not Jeter in terms of WS rings. But in terms of their contracts, he far outperforms Jeter.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Yes, he’s not Jeter in terms of WS rings. But in terms of their contracts, he far outperforms Jeter.
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Ah yes, but don’t you know that Brosius is BETTER than A-Rod?!
October 8th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
“So, no, I don’t think that A-Rod is a great hitter.”
^ If he’s not a great hitter, then what is he?
October 8th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
But, he’s also a player who does have some holes in his strikezone and who has a tendency to run into cold streaks with the bat.
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Also, what does that even mean? He runs into cold streaks? So… if he runs into cold streaks with the bat, what does that mean he is doing the rest of the time? Somehow people seem to think A-Rod is terrible the entire year and magically puts up 40-120-100. If we grant Paciorek’s idea, then this must mean that when A-Rod is on a ‘hot streak’ he is an absolute MONSTER.
Everyone in baseball goes on streaks… It’s a long season. A-Rod’s hot and cold streaks aren’t any different from any other player. Players don;t hit .310 every month from April to September. There are ups and downs. This is a bogus argument.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Sorry guys, for me – and you’re welcome to not share this opinion – in order to be a great hitter, A-Rod has to come through in the “clutch” – meaning “clutch” as defined by Bill James:
http://waswatching.com/2008/09/12/the-numbers-guy-a-rod-clutch-hitter/