Just askin'

[Theoldmole]

How are players like Niewenhuis and and den Dekker -- and lots of others -- allowed to get as far as they have in baseball without learning that it's not a good idea to strike out all the time?

[Ceetar]

because it's not the striking out that's the problem, it's the not-enough quality AB otherwise, and these guys generally have mashed the ball in the minors to the point that the strike outs weren't a problem.

look at Ryan Howard, or Adam Dunn.

[Edgy MD]

[Guest vtmet]

TheOldMole wrote: How are players like Niewenhuis and and den Dekker -- and lots of others -- allowed to get as far as they have in baseball without learning that it's not a good idea to strike out all the time?

I think part of the problem is that today, many baseball talent evaluators care more about pitch counts, OBP and OPS than they care about strikeouts...if they can help wear a pitcher down by going deep into counts, get on base and can drive the ball, then K's are accepted (which quite often the K's are an indirect result of taking extra pitches, then falling behind in the count, thus allowing the pitcher to throw them "junk" which totally fools them)...

Guys like Kirk, den Dekker, Duda, Ike and even David Wright, will let hittable pitches go by earlier in the count, then get 2 strikes on them, and then not cut down their stroke and protect the plate in that situation...

As much criticism that guys like Jose Reyes, Moises Alou and even Jeff Franceour got for swinging at the first pitch; these 3 guys apparently realized that they sucked at hitting with 2 strikes so they tried to make contact before getting 2 strikes (when the pitcher could really make "their pitch" and make the batter look foolish)...

[G-Fafif]

I swear I thought Mole was asking how players like Nieuwehnhuis and den Dekker have gotten this far without learning to have easier names to spell.

[Theoldmole]

den Dekker is not so bad if you can remember the lower case D.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

G-Fafif wrote: I swear I thought Mole was asking how players like Nieuwehnhuis and den Dekker have gotten this far without learning to have easier names to spell.

And yet they aren't even good enough to play on the Netherlands' WBC team despite having those names.