Cozart

[JohnU]

If you pop up 5 times out of 10 at-bats, wouldn't you think that maybe your approach is wrong? Does the dumb-shit hitting coach do NOTHING on this team?

 

[Redsfan1507]

Hey, maybe he IS... He used to hit into 2 DPs a game. Solo outs are an improvement I guess. The guy has also tossed a ball into the 8th row and tried to catch a DP throw with his wrist...he's been hitting like Drew Stubbs, and if he doesn't start gloving like a SS, the old, dark and hitless "veteran backup" fav of Dusty's is going to get more PT.

 

[eburg5000]

It wouldn't be so bad if Dusty would bat him 8th, but for some reason that I can't figure out, Dusty thinks Cozart is a number 2 hitter

 

[JohnU]

CF leads off, SS bats second. Why tinker with a plan that was drawn up just after the French and Indian War?

 

[Redsfan1507]

He's stuck on the idea that whoever hits in front of Votto should get pitches to hit. Unfortunately, the guy has to be able to hit. Cozart is a fine defender, but his .260 minor league BA and bad K/BB ratio suggests he isn't a top of the order hitter. He can bunt and run, but Dusty doesn't attempt those things. They are just playing to each others weaknesses. Dusty is... Uh... Patient ( or stubborn). Too much so, IMO.

 

[Ryanballa]

I really dont know who else we could put in the 2nd hole, Cozart is struggling but he aint the only one.I think that people are freaking out a lot more then they should be.This team is gonna be fine, We have a better record this year then we had last year at this time and we have had a lot of injures.Not to mention today is the 1st day the Reds have had off in 20 days.This team is fine and so is everybody on it.

 

[JohnU]

Move the lineup forward on spot and slide Cozart in the 8 spot.
Problem solved.
I would love to be on the Pollyanna Express here, Ryan ... but the trends are set. This team can't hit.
Period.

 

[Redsfan1507]

No team is going to win many games scoring 0-2 runs. It's not that early. Players have 100 PA now. The 162 game schedule doesn't change, and how many wins you need doesn't usually change much.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

As a fan, when you start thinking your starting SS could use some hitting advice from Mark Belanger, you might be in trouble.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It's also bad when you whine about your SS hitting, when the LF isn't hitting any better.

 

[Ryanballa]

Exactly 1507 I agree man. Neither is Bruce, or Frazier, or Choo (Choo gets a double here and there).But I'm not one bit worried about this team, No doubt they are in a funk. But look at the Angels they went and spent tons of money and like 8 games below .500 I wouldn't trade this Reds team for any team in baseball. We are gonna be absolutely fine.

 

[ckhokie]

It wouldn't be so bad if Dusty would bat him 8th, but for some reason that I can't figure out, Dusty thinks Cozart is a number 2 hitter

L-R-L-R-L-R

NO EXCEPTIONS

 

[Hit-n-Run]

It's obvious Cozart isn't the only player not hitting. Catchers are hitting .152, LF is hitting .191, and SS are hitting .198.

The thread is about Cozart.

Don't see where anyone is winning.

 

[Ryanballa]

I think every thread at some point gets a lil bit off topic. I'm simply giving my 2 cents, I have seen a lot of stupid stuff being put on a thread that had nothing to do with it.I mean what are you @HitandRun the Thread Police lol.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Most threads range off topic, some of the best threads.

The Cozart thread comment had nothing to do with the direction or content of the thread. It had more to do with why the wise crack was made about Cozart. If the thread was about another position, the names could be substituted to players of that position.

An attempt at humor obviously missed the mark

 

[JohnU]

I opened the thread because Cozart was the topic. We tend to let a lot of these topics drift off onto other ones and that doesn't really bother me. Eventually, it's all about the team -- either how it hits, or doesn't, or whether they can win with good pitching, bad defense or just plain bad competition.

So as far as trying to steer the topic back to Cozart, we have established that he either is in a slump, won't ever get out of a slump or could just get better with time. He's the best SS we've had in several years and he seems comfortable in the Reds infield.

I wish he'd try to hit the ball on the line to the right side, which was what I wished Stubbs could/would do ... it's amazing what happens when you learn to inside-out a slider. Really, it is.

The only person evidently who isn't willing to teach that is the Reds hitting "coach."

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I saw an interview with Ludwick in which he credited Jacoby with turning him around. He stated that Jacoby got him hitting the ball to rightfield. I'm assuming he didn't have to teach him to do it, Ludwick had just gotten away from philosophy.

Reminding a veteran and teaching a young player are two different things. Cozart needs to improve his mechanics and build muscle memory to perform in game conditions. Jacoby may be saying the right things, but is he actually able to connect with the player and teach them. The development of the young hitters like Cozart leads you to believe the answer is no.

 

[JohnU]

I see zero evidence that Cozart has done anything to modify the results of his rather redundant and pathetic at-bats. The more he pops up, the more he tends to want to do the things that lead to the result he is trying to not achieve.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Infielders never play in on Cozart, except in a sac situation, and he rarely bunts then. I don't see anything wrong with dropping one on a 3b with no one on sometimes. Cozart isn't the only one, but he fouls off a lot of get ahead fastballs, takes a few more and winds up putting a pitchers pitch in play for an easy out. For a team of swingaholics, they take a lot of strikes, too. It's tough to put any kind of play on behind in the count. It's a team philosophy that lends to bad streaks.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Plate awareness by this team proves we have worthless coaches. 1) they will swing away at balls off the plate putting themselves in a hole on the count 2) they dont hit to the right side to move runners and 3) other than Votto--they dont seem to read pitches very well. This is a result of poor teaching. Who is teaching this group? A good hitting instructor would take Votto's approach and use it as an example to make every hitter in that lineup better. This team has the ability to hit well, we have seen it, but they cant do it consistently until they change their approach at the plate. Good hitters work the pitcher and make them throw the pitch they can hit. This group swings at anything and everything and hopes for the best. Hence--2 hits in 2 days.