Quote Originally Posted by Cajun90 View Post
_ V I think this is like an urban legend run amuck. Obviously our team has always been built around pitching but I think this idea that we are ONLY a "small ball" type club and that we don't let hitters hit has taken on a larger than life role.

When you see the stats below keep in mind that there are currently 296 teams playing Div 1 baseball.

Last year as a team we were ranked 44th in batting average and 16th in home runs per game. In 2005 we ranked 8th in batting average and 44th in home runs and in 2004 we ranked 10th in the country in home runs per game.

Sure there is some inconsistency from year to year but lets stop painting with such a broad brush.

I have no doubt that Tony plays his players and team to their strengths and to exploit the weaknesses of the opponent. Sometimes that is swinging for the fences and other times it is trying to manufacture just a couple of runs. Lafleur is going to try to bunt for a base hit because right now he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. By the way in his very limited action last year he batted .500. On the other hand no one expects Hawkins to be laying down the bunt for a base hit. My point is that I don't think we can pigeon hole this thing as nice and neatly as people would like to. It's a complicated problem belonging to a fairly simple game. _
I KNOW what Robes' philosophy is. He preaches it to any youth or HS coach who will listen to him. In the seasons we have hit well, we have done so in spite of the fact that we take too many 'hitters pitches'.

By the way, this is not a 'small ball' vs 'big ball' argument. It is an argument about which pitches we are allowed to hit, and how limiting hitters' ability to take advantage of 'mistake' pitches by always taking on certain counts and/or under certain conditions hurts their effectiveness as hitters. Whether you are trying to hit it out of the park, in the gap, on the ground behind the runner, or lay down a squeeze or sacrifice bunt the same hitting principles apply: it is easier to hit 'your pitch' than it is to hit the 'pitcher's pitch'; and anything that limits your ability to do so limits your effectiveness as a hitter.