Stubbs, or so they say

[JohnU]

This from the CBS Fantasy board where a number of us have teams.
You can evaluate this on its own terms but remember, Stubbs left a team that has scored 12 runs in its last 6 games.


New swing playing off for Drew Stubbs

Indians outfielder Drew Stubbs has been working since the offseason to eliminate the leg kick in his batting stance and the results finally appear to be coming through, MLB.com reports.

He entered Saturday against the Royals batting .353 (6 for 17) with a homer and two RBI in his last five games.

"I actually feel pretty good," Stubbs said. "I feel like I'm really settling into the direction I wanted to head and taking the right steps forward."

Manager Terry Francona added that he has liked what he's seeing from the 28-year-old.

"When he squares up balls, that's when he's got a chance to be really hot," Francona said. "We've all seen what he can do when he's on the bases. He can change the game. ... I think he's been very consistent [with his swing]. He's trying to just get himself in a position where he's ready to hit and I think he's done a good job of that."
Ed Gauna
CBSSports.com
Apr 27, 2013 8:13 PM ET

 

[Redsfan1507]

You can't accomplish different things by doing the same things. Dusty doesn't understand this simple concept. He's rarely been held accountable for such things.

 

[Shanemansj13]

He has really improved so far. He isn't an everyday starter, but for the most part he is their right-fielder.

Y'all took our best hitter so you will make it...lol

 

[JohnU]

I was one of Stubbsie's biggest rooters and I still am. I watched the guy hit for 3 years and figured that if I could see what he was doing wrong, why didn't anybody else? We all concluded it was Stubbs not working on it. I think it was Stubbs being told that working on it wasn't important. I heard so many people claim that *they* tried to help Stubbs and *it* didn't work. I never learned who *they* were or what *it* was that *they* tried. I honestly hope the guy hits .300 and has 30 HR.

 

[Beggs]

You can't accomplish different things by doing the same things. Dusty doesn't understand this simple concept. He's rarely been held accountable for such things.

Blaming Dusty? We don't have a hitting coach whose sole job is working with hitters? Also, Stubbs didn't want to change his swing

 

[Redsfan1507]

I never saw a hitting coach that wasn't on the same page with the manager keep a job very long. If there was an effort to change Stubbs from a swing away hitter, why didn't Dusty drop more than a handful of bunt signs a season on Stubbs ? He wanted him to swing away.

 

[redseat]

Why is everyone so quick to blame the managers instead of the players themselves?

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Hall of Fame numbers in a 15 AB sample size.

Here's Drew Stubbs 2013 season by the numbers;
0.175 versus RHP
0.290 versus LHP
He's striking out at a slightly higher rate than in 2012 at 31% of the time.

Overall his slash line is .225/.300/.310, all well below his career numbers.

Different league, different uniform,....... same Drew Stubbs. His value is as a platoon player versus LHP and defensive replacement/ pinch runner. The same role it should have been in Cincinnati.

To this point in the season, Francona hasn't figured it out anymore than Dusty did.

 

[Redsfan1507]

You can't blame Stubbs for not getting a bunt sign.

 

[Beggs]

I never saw a hitting coach that wasn't on the same page with the manager keep a job very long. If there was an effort to change Stubbs from a swing away hitter, why didn't Dusty drop more than a handful of bunt signs a season on Stubbs ? He wanted him to swing away.

Would bunting more really help Drew Stubbs? | Cincinnati Reds

 

[Beggs]

You can't blame Stubbs for not getting a bunt sign.

Professional players can read the infields and know when a bunt would get them on base. He shouldn't need a sign when the bases are empty or the infield is playing deep.

 

[Beggs]

Stubbs had an 8 game streak last season hitting .429, scoring 13 runs, hitting 4 home runs and 11 RBI. We all know how well that worked out for us

 

[Redsfan1507]

Jose Reyes and Ichiro Suzuki have a green light to bunt. Players like Drew Stubbs have to get a sign. Dusty benched Stubbs once for stealing 3rd without a sign. He wasn't bunting without one.

I'm a little Dusty biased. Until he shows me he understands the difference in a steal situation and a pitch out count, can advance a runner into scoring position without. Homer or 2 out hit, wins a playoff series, or plays .500 in a non contract year, I'm not buying into Trusty in Dusty.

 

[Beggs]

plays .500 in a non contract year? So the players on the field are cool with not playing as well, hurting their chances for a bigger contract, because the manager got some money? You can't really think this.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It is what it is. The train follows the engine. Of course, I think Dusty invented herpes, the Leprocy and the lousy economy too.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Dusty actually might have played .500 in a non contract year somewhere... but he hasn't in Cincinnati yet.

 

[JohnU]

I am less inclined to care about Dusty in this topic as much as I am inclined to be interested in seeing how Stubbs reacts to a different hitting coach. I have never been a Brook Jacoby fan. If Stubbs shows he CAN hit and play ball in the bigs by getting a different kind of instruction, that will help validate my criticism of Jacoby.
The approach to how the offense is managed is integral to the thread but it's not the origin of the topic. Stubbs needs to prove to me he can hit.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I think Stubbs problems are two fold- he can't hit, first and foremost... and he was allowed to be a low contact swing away leadoff hitter that didn't walk much, all the way through the minors... Even though he didn't show any power there. Those failed tools took him to the dance, and he's still dancing with what got him there. You can't correct a problem until you admit having one... and so far, his checks keep showing up in the mailbox.

 

[Beggs]

If you read the link earlier, he said last season he didn't want to be a contact hitter. He wanted to be a power hitter.

 

[eburg5000]

Then Stubb's isn't very bright then, because his talent is in his legs and if he wants to stay at the major league level he better change.