Eckstein

by SirVLCIV on May 19, 2005 10:48 AM EDT

Couldn't think of a better place to put this, as I doubt you'll be reading comments from posts almost a week old, but this was neat:

"And he even hit a first pitch the other day. I'm rubbing off on him a little. I said, 'Hey, man, if they lay it in there, you've got to hit it.'" (Grudzielanek talking about Eckstein).

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/1C33CA27F576BFC386257004001E259F ?OpenDocument

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gotta keep them honest

i got this via e-mail t'other day from an angels blogger who watched eck thru four yrs of good and bad in anaheim:

"I believe that Eckstein sees it as part of his job to see as many pitches as possible. He always takes strike one. Where problems ensue is that pitchers will just come after him, esp. in leadoff situations, because of his lack of power. He used to draw a lot more walks in the minors, but major league pitchers can just come right at him without fear. I'm not sure that changing his approach would really end up helping him that much, but it probably wouldn't hurt him to swing at those first-pitch fastballs down the middle every now and then, just to keep the pitchers honest."

by lboros on May 19, 2005 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

oh and thanks

for adding this to the discussion

by lboros on May 19, 2005 12:25 PM EDT reply actions

eck

I know some of yas don't care for Eck that much, but he was still a bargain and has done a more than passable job so far. If that continues, I'll be more than happy with him.

by rockin redbird on May 19, 2005 5:28 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

It seems more and more to me as I get more into baseball (I only really started watching it in 2002) that what you have to do as a team on a limited budget is take advantage of cheap players, if only temporarily, to be able to afford the stars at other positions. Obviously, this is our last year with Walker, and JEdmonds isn't going to be around for a long time, but Pujols and Rolen are on the roles for awhile.

And for the next couple of years at least, Molina's cheap, and so will Reyes and Wainright (if we ever call them up), so hopefully that won't be a weak spot. Other than this past week, I'm satisfied with the pitching, but if we get a good trade offer and have to include Suppan or Marquis, it's good to know we have replacements in the wings.

by SirVLCIV on May 20, 2005 11:13 AM EDT reply actions

I like Eck's approach

He isn't going to hit the ball out of the park if he swings at the first pitch, so I see no real trouble with working the count, esp early in the game. If he makes a starter throw seven or eight pitches to the first batter of the game, then most likely that pitcher's shown him (and the other guys watching the at-bat) every pitch he's got, and the at-bat has probably thrown the pitcher a little bit out of his rhythm.

After the first at bat, there are all kinds of reasons to see some pitches--not the least of which is to give your pitcher time to get off his feet after grounding out weakly to second.

I can see wanting to jump on the first pitch late in the ballgame, but I'm not sure those kinds of situations merit the risk involved in tinkering with what seems to be a very methodical (and so far, effective) offensive approach.

by KidNichols on May 20, 2005 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

But something can also be said about Grudz's approach - if the pitcher's going to throw me a meatball on pitch #1, I'm going to hit it.

by SirVLCIV on May 20, 2005 10:58 PM EDT reply actions

i'd like to see eck

get aggressive in rbi situations. if he's leading off an inning and wants to take some pitches, fine. but when there are men on base and you get a fastball right down the middle? you're a major-league hitter, you make $3 mill'n a year; put that baby in play.

by lboros on May 20, 2005 11:04 PM EDT reply actions