Why did Lawrie change his stance?

[Pete_7]

I thought maybe I was seeing things, but then I went and looked up this 2011 highlight package of him and his stance is clearly more open now that it was in 2011. Wonder why he changed his approach. Seems like he is late on a lot of FB's that he was right on in 2011. Obviously the power numbers were better in 2011 as well.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EBdfRUQGdI <- 2011 highlight pack

[BlueJayWay]

The other thing is, Lawrie looked a lot quieter at the plate when he first came up 2011. He seems so twitchy now: a lot of moving, jumping parts. It also seems he has a swing hitch. So many pitches that he used to turn on and drive, he's behind and popping up or fouling off now. He just doesn't really look that good at the plate.

[BabbaGanoush]

The other thing is, Lawrie looked a lot quieter at the plate when he first came up 2011. He seems so twitchy now: a lot of moving, jumping parts. It also seems he has a swing hitch. So many pitches that he used to turn on and drive, he's behind and popping up or fouling off now. He just doesn't really look that good at the plate.

 

Yup. Everything you said is soooo right. You'd think with Motolla as the hitting coach they would go back to the approach he had back then.

[Dr Negative]

I think only Lind and maybe Cabrera are paying attention to Motolla. EE is off doing his own thing. Everyone else is a Murphy guy.

[Tuco]

Yup. Everything you said is soooo right. You'd think with Motolla as the hitting coach they would go back to the approach he had back then.

 

Thats all on the premise that Lawrie is actually responsive to teaching.

[TheHurl]

I think it's probably time that people stop looking towards Mottola is a saviour

[GD]

Lawrie's not hitting as many line drives but when he hits them, holy hell they're hit hard

[Anemic0ffense]

There's certainly a ton of potential in Lawries bat, but we haven't seen much of it since his call up in 2011... This past series against Boston might not look good on paper, but he squared up a lot of pitches... Let's hope this is something he can build off of, because his bat is crucial to this teams success... We have enough black holes in this lineup

[LGBJ29]

He's hitting .150

 

Players always make adjustments so it looks like they're trying

 

comments like these are evidence of people who have never played ball growing up

[o2cui2i]

I think it's probably time that people stop looking towards Mottola is a saviour

 

Mottola is saying all the right things. Lind is night and day more patient. Melky has worked through things and is getting better. JPA just needs to lay off the pitches that are 6 inches off the plate and TAKE THE f***ING WALK BOZO!!..

 

Jose's eye is getting better. with him, the base on balls come first as he starts seeing the ball, then he hits bombs in bunches.

 

Ed started swinging at everything. then he said straight out that he knew it was happening and it was gonna change. he did change, but now he's fallen back in the pattern or hacking.

 

yesterday was the fisrt day that Boni has actually shown up. it was nice to see, would be great if he can continue.

 

most of all the problem is not mechanical. it's the hitters mind set when they get into the box. I think they need a hitting shrink and a very specific plan for every game. it's hard to have a team plan when the team is all over the place with problems. that is not the case cany longer. many of them are getting close and now it's time to go up with a plan of attack that doesn't consist of smacking the first pitch they say every AB.....

 

 

things are getting better, slowly but surely.

[CHRIS]

JPA just needs to lay off the pitches that are 6 inches off the plate and TAKE THE f***ING WALK BOZO!!..

 

Just mentioned this in the egregious thread. Couldn't believe the one AB where he kept fouling off the outside pitch. Of course Buck kept mentioning how he was "battling" Dempster. More accurately, he was "bailing him out".

[GD]

Lawrie's on pace for 20 home runs this season. Would have been a bit more if he wasn't injured. His power seems to be coming back, he's almost hit half as many as he did last year. Lawrie's career BABIP is .300 and right now it's .197. His line drive percent is down this year, but he has been hitting the ball hard when he hits liners. So the power in his swing still appears to be there. He just needs to up his line drive percent and that BABIP will also correct itself and he'll be a very good hitter by the end of the year.

 

Is it likely Lawrie's LD% will regress to his career norms? 9% seems really low for him.

[CHRIS]

I don't think Lawrie has looked great at the plate, but I do remember a few bullets hit right at guys. Hopefully that will even out a bit more.

[sachmo55]

Is it likely Lawrie's LD% will regress to his career norms? 9% seems really low for him.

 

Lawrie was brough up with a very short rehab stint, so I think its fair to assume he wasn't exactly rounded into game form before being called up.

 

In the 14 April games he played in, he was horrendous offensively,

 

So far in 11 games in may, he seems to be coming back to form a bit: 8.5% walk rate, 21% k-rate, and an 18% LD rate ... his .129 babip for the month is clearly unsustainably low

 

The Groundballs are still too high, but he's trending in the right direction

[Dude]

Probably because pitchers started throwing him less strikes and more fastballs since his rookie season.

[Stangstag]

He's hitting .150

 

Players always make adjustments so it looks like they're trying

 

Ban this guy please

[Tuco]

Lawrie has a boatload of talent but really needs to get on some OCD meds.

The constant hitch and circling of the bat pre pitcher windup is really hindering his ability to catch up to fastballs it seems.

[GD]

Lawrie was brough up with a very short rehab stint, so I think its fair to assume he wasn't exactly rounded into game form before being called up.

 

In the 14 April games he played in, he was horrendous offensively,

 

So far in 11 games in may, he seems to be coming back to form a bit: 8.5% walk rate, 21% k-rate, and an 18% LD rate ... his .129 babip for the month is clearly unsustainably low

 

The Groundballs are still too high, but he's trending in the right direction

 

That K% really concerns me, but aside from that, I like what I see

[Pete_7]

Lawrie last night compared to earlier this season

 

http://twitter.yfrog.com/gy5lywrj?sa=0

[mitchf]

I know it's weird, but I don't even view Lawrie as a concern at this point. The entire team outside of a few predictable hitters flat out suck. If Lawrie is going to suck, then so be it. Otherwise, chalk this season up as a lost year like everyone else will.