tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post7321615751038276371..comments2023-10-29T08:25:54.951-05:00Comments on The Daily Something: Should Hitters be Platooned More Often?Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-79524109623622433182009-09-04T00:25:57.461-05:002009-09-04T00:25:57.461-05:00Roster space is easy. CArry 11 pitchers because yo...Roster space is easy. CArry 11 pitchers because you don't really need more, and have a competent RH bat that can play multiple positions.<br /><br />1B-LF<br />3B-1B<br />C-OF<br />C-1B<br />etc<br /><br />You might not need to platoon the lefties every day, depending on matchups, so one can play, and one can sit.Ron Rollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16852012772573977515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-31111794141350881092009-09-02T23:33:30.747-05:002009-09-02T23:33:30.747-05:00Lar made the point I was going to make; roster siz...Lar made the point I was going to make; roster size. And of course, Mark made the point I was going to make about full-time and part-time guys and the level of comfort.<br /><br />So, all that's left to say is great job.Zach Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09008120148742607293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-32422010691983960552009-09-02T20:32:09.478-05:002009-09-02T20:32:09.478-05:00Thanks for the comment, Cyril.
No, you're rig...Thanks for the comment, Cyril.<br /><br />No, you're right, there's a very real pinch-hitting penalty. <a href="http://insidethebook.com" rel="nofollow">The Book</a> had a chapter on it. I was just kind of glazing over that part, since it wasn't really the point of the post.<br /><br />And of course you're also right that you need to be sure that you're not overreacting to a small sample, and they do fluctuate a lot from year to year. But looking at Kubel's career and how Howard has declined over the last three years, I'm comfortable in saying that neither can hit lefties, and it's at least equally important not to overreact if he ends up hitting .300 after 60 or 70 ABs against them one year.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-34314558434296293272009-09-02T20:25:22.147-05:002009-09-02T20:25:22.147-05:00You wrote:
"How awesome is it to have the lu...You wrote:<br /><br />"How awesome is it to have the luxury of using Ryan Howard or Jason Kubel (or your righty thumper if the situation is reversed) at exactly the right time, rather than just hoping his turn in the order comes up when you need it to?"<br /><br />I think pinch hitting is hard. I don't have any data handy, but if Howard gets his first AB in the 9th, he might not hit like he normally does. But maybe if players did this more often, they would do better. Also, you have to estimate what a guy's splits will be before you decide to platoon. A year or two of extreme splits might not hold in the future so you might not need to platoon as a guy reverts to normal or regresses to the meanCyril Moronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07148864847009186694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-70463615107387472442009-09-02T13:58:30.840-05:002009-09-02T13:58:30.840-05:00Very valid point, lar, but of course nobody actual...Very valid point, lar, but of course nobody actually needs 13 pitchers (or even 12). This hypothetical management team would theoretically also be smart enough to go with 11 pitchers and 14 position players. <br /><br />But of course roster space is still valuable, and for that reason, guys who can play more than one position (especially righties who can hit lefties and play more than one position) would be exceptionally valuable. So that if you've got a big lefty 1B who can't hit lefties, maybe you get a righty 1B/3B/LF, so that he can be a platoon partner but also the de facto backup at all the corner positions. Or if you're platooning in the outfield, get a backup who can cover all three OF positions. Etc. Catcher, of course, is prime for platoons (if you can find a good lefty-hitting one), since you usually need to carry two guys who can pretty much only catch anyway.<br /><br />It definitely does limit how much you can do it, though...but I think with the right guys you could have 3 or even 4 of them in the lineup.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-350838428713551612009-09-02T13:30:17.547-05:002009-09-02T13:30:17.547-05:00The biggest problem I see with platoons - because ...The biggest problem I see with platoons - because the thought has crossed my mind before - is the roster space. Even setting aside the costs (in dollars) of paying two people to perform one role, the limited roster spots makes things hard. With teams struggling to suit up the right number of bench players anyway (let's see: 13 pitchers, 8 starters, 1-2 backup catchers - that leaves you basically with 2-3 guys off the bench), it'd be hard to justify having more than one guy as a strictly platoon player.<br /><br />An intelligently designed roster might be able to maximize these precious few spots so that you're not wasting a player in any particular game, but it'd be hard. I like the idea of smarter platoons, but I'm not sure they can fit on a 25-man roster (especially when pitching staffs are now at 12-13 players)larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314820003835656973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-72534030618759670122009-09-02T12:37:39.627-05:002009-09-02T12:37:39.627-05:00It's a good question, but I'm inclined to ...It's a good question, but I'm inclined to say that while there would be a lot of grumbling in that direction, it would make almost no difference to most or all hitters. How often do we see the media amazed at how a guy has come back from a long injury or suspension and just been on fire (like Mauer in May, for instance)? And when they slump badly, it usually turns out they were still injured. I just don't think things like "rhythm" factor into real-life baseball nearly as much as they factor into people <i>talking</i> about baseball. In The Book, for instance, they studied hitting streaks and found that being on a long hitting streak didn't increase the odds of getting a hit in your next game at all (suggesting that hitters don't really get "hot streaks"--at least not ones that have any predictive value--and suggesting to me that "rhythm" isn't a real thing in baseball).<br /><br />I'd really like to study this (considered doing it for tomorrow)--find some guys who had been both platoon players and full-time players in their primes and compare, for instance--but unfortunately, splits are just way too inconsistent from one year to the next due to sample size. Your boys' Matt Diaz, for instance, is a perfect example of the righty masher who can't hit righties that I was talking about, except he had one year ('08?) where he CRUSHED righties and didn't hit lefties. So the only way to really find out if that's a concern or not, I'm afraid, would be to give it a whirl.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650264859764006366.post-79961520382780093542009-09-02T09:47:04.061-05:002009-09-02T09:47:04.061-05:00It's an interesting idea, but would it mess th...It's an interesting idea, but would it mess the hitter's timing/mechanics/mojo? Most don't like platoons because it makes playing time so unpredictable and hard to get into a rhythm at the plate. Would more platoons just exacerbate the problem? Would it make the players worse against the pitchers they are supposed to hit against? <br /><br />Presumably, hitters do well against the other-handed pitcher 1) because that's how it works for several reasons and 2) they're in a sort of rhythm at the plate. Now, I don't know if it would really affect hitters at all. Maybe it doesn't really matter if they get consistent playing time. Something to consider.tHeMARksMiThhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445834941960575715noreply@blogger.com