4/15/25 : Just Sayin
- Steve Potter
- 17 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Every team over the course of a long professional baseball season incurs lulls or “slumps”. It’s inevitable as the game of baseball is fulls of ebbs and flows often mirroring the lives of those participating in it. Perseverance and consistency of demeanor is the key, to remain positive in the shadows of down times and not over exuberant in times of triumph. I agree with skipper Rob Thomson’s assessment that winning twenty-six series or so during a season will likely result in a playoff berth - doing that enables a club to basically play at or near the .500 level for the balance of the year - it truly doesn’t matter which playoff berth is garnered, just getting one is the requirement. It’s also important to be “hot” when it matters the most, in the fall. The spring after the Phillies went to the World Series against the Astros and during a spring training game against the Braves an Atlanta fan was chiding me that the Phillies weren’t as good a club as the Braves - that they were the Division winners - I kindly reminded him that it doesn’t matter how ya get to the dance but rather how ya dance when ya get there - that’s been proven time and again. Long season - there’s gonna be some missteps along the way -just sayin.
There is a thin line between plate discipline and lack of aggression as a hitter. The former aligns most often with higher on base percentages but hitters must be careful to not fall into the trap of the latter and get into “mixups” where not being able to pull the trigger on hit-able pitches becomes a recurring mindset. Hitting a baseball remains one of the most difficult things to do in sports. I get frustrated (as do the players I’m sure) when I see batters take pitches for strikes and put themselves in pitchers counts because of the pursuit of building pitch counts or being “plate disciplined”. I’ll use a hitter many folks belittle in regards to his offensive prowess as an example - when I watched Johan Rojas ascend thru the minor leagues it was his aggression as a hitter that enabled him to produce - that included turning what would be singles for most batters into doubles on balls hit towards the gaps in the outfield. What I see from him in the show is different - there’s a hesitancy to his approach and often times he’s in backwards counts. When he excelled at Reading before his initial call-up Coach Tyler Henson had simplified his mindset to “Zone it, See it and Hit it” regardless of count. Aggression is an element of every good hitter’s game - controlled aggression is what makes hitters great - a passive approach results in quite a few right turns at first base - just sayin.
Pitching mechanics are something I like to watch and review - I’m a proponent that the simpler the mechanics are the easier it is to throw quality pitches. When there’s a lot of motion the littlest thing could throw things out of kilter and cause imbalance in follow thru or staying square to the target and also impact velocity. A simple thing like where a pitcher sets his hands can create a shortened arm swing which in turn sets in motion an alteration of what has been successful in times past. Consistency is a driving force to being able to deliver quality pitches and maintain both spin and velocity. With modern technology teams are able to review and track biomechanics and pinpoint where pitching motions fall out of line. But sometimes a good old fashioned eye ball review can set such a deeper dive in motion, especially when a comparative view is enabled to when times were going good. Jordan Romano just went thru it - it’s always amazing how little things matter in broader success. Just sayin.
I watched Ranger Suarez throw a side session a week or so ago on one of the bullpen mounds at Carpenter Complex. I had the privilege of following Ranger as he ascended up thru the minors to the show. He’s always had the ability to master his location - in the minors early on there was higher velocity but over the course of time as he refined his ability to locate and spin the ball more the velocity was replaced with even better precision. Watching his pen from just beyond the batter’s box was telling just how talented he is. Wherever catcher Angel Mata set up Ranger hit the glove - it was really fun to watch a true pro pitcher at work. Good stuff! By the way I’ve watched sessions where Andrew Painter has made the same impression - he is able to locate even with high velocity and spin, often times I’ve seen him tell the receiver where to set up and he hits the target. Last fall in his first live BP session it was amazing at how precise he was - his first outing last week had some adrenaline attached to it so wasn’t as strong in location but this kid has it and has a very real chance of being special. Just sayin.
One last thing - I’m not a fan of the minor league stateside roster limit of 165 active players - to me it really puts a strain on backfield rosters such as extended spring camp and the FCL. Often times practices are limited in regard to what a coach might want to teach simply because there aren’t enough players to man every position. It’s incredulous to me that MLB is so concerned with saving minor league roster salary that it hand ties teams in the development process. There’s value being dismissed beyond saving costs employing a few more players - just sayin.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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