Hunter needs to pick it up!

[Mitty]

Boy do we need Hunter to start hittng the ball or we will be in big trouble we all know what he can do out in the field but where the heck is his BAT!

[nofishfisherman]

Quote:

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but where the heck is his BAT!

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I'll tell you where his bat is. Its dragging behind him as he walks back to the dugout after striking out with runners in scoring position...again.

[Cicada]

I guess you can't teach discipline. He seems to get so caught up in the situation and can't take what they'll give him. Now he's at the point the pitchers know they don't have to give him anything. He'll get himself out. He swings like Puckett, but doesn't make contact like Puckett. Not to bring back old nightmares, but I saw Jaque Jones playing for the Cubs the other day. The batter before him walks on four pitches, no where near the strike zone and Jones swinigs at the first pitch (which was also out of the zone) Later, in the same game, he hit the game winning home run, so he's a hero. Just think what these guys could accomplish if they could learn how to hit. Drives me nuts.

[Jarrod32]

The hitters are all pushing...that is the problem. Rather than 'taking what they're being given', they try to make more happen. The Twins pitchers are struggling right now (though I do believe that will turn around), so the hitters are putting pressure on themselves to do too much. Then they struggle, so they put more pressure on themselves, and press harder yet...

I think that when the pitching gets straightened out, the hitters will be able to relax a bit more.

[Stratosman]

Last night perfect example, 1st and 3rd nobody out, strikeout, Morneau, strikeout, next batter, out. Nobody scores. We simply have no clutch hitting, and Hunter leads the pack.

[schweady]

Soon, he'll be meeting White on the interstate. Rondell is is slowly moving north on .I-50 and Torii is cruising south at full speed on .I-95! This afternoon's 0-5 'effort' by Hunter doesn't tell the half of it: 0-3 with 2 out leaving 4 runners in scoring position, total of 6 runners left aboard. (Could have been more, but his 2 other outs lead off the 2nd and 5th)

[Kayakr]

I happened to read your posts guys and saw your comments on Jacque Jones. I am a diehard Cub fan and was very dissapointed when the Cubs signed him. I can't say I know much about him, but I did see that he struck out a lot, including in crucial situations and his stats have declined over the past 3 years. Can anyone tell me their honest opinion of this guy? Is he going to bat under .250 and the numbers show, or can he hit near .300 ?? What is his deal and did you like him when he was on the Twins ?

Go Cubs

Go Twins

[NAPAFISH]

IMO

Very, Very streaky (not the naked kind) Seems to play better when confidence is high. I have read that he gets down on himself alot. A few years ago he spent the off-season working with Tony Gwynn. Tony said "Jones is a good hitter, he just needs to lay off the high cheese"

[Cicada]

Jones will drive you sbsolutely nuts. He has no discipline at the plate. He does swing hard and sometimes makes contact. Unfortunately, he thinks this is a good approach to hitting. If someone could drill, and I mean you'd have to beat this into him, what is a strike and that he only swing at those, he'd be very good. He advertises every hole in his swing in every at bat. I guess I think he has the talent to play the game at a very high level, but the brain gets in his way.

[Willy]

Jones is a .250-.270 type hitter that will hit right around 20 hr's and drive in around 60-70 runs a year. He is a good outfielder, but like said before, he is an easy out for alot of pitchers. He hits terribly against left-handed pitching especially and you don't have to throw him a strike to get him out. Walks are a rarity as he usually only goes 2-3 pitches into a count before either getting himself out or on-base. If you leave one in the middle of the plate, he will hit it hard. Swings at the first pitch 75% of the time whether it is in the strike zone or not. Has trouble with breaking pitches or anything off-speed for that matter. Good fastball hitter.

Decent player, but not an all-star or savior by any means.

[Flash]

Hunter needs to quit worrying about next year. His Mr. Nice Guy act is getting sickening. All he's trying to do is market himself to a big contract next year. He knows the Twins aren't going to sign him. Too many spots on Sports Center acting as the "Great Guy." He better start concentrating on Baseball or he will be on the AAA roster.

Flash

"Set the Hook"

[Mitty]

I will tell you what Gardy needs to do is play Hunter in center and D.H. for him a couple of games to show him his position isnt solidified the guy has always had a spot put a little freight into him and see if he comes around otherwise ya might as well trade and get something for him,what really drives me nuts is we could of had Thome.

[fishyguy]

You may only DH for the pitcher. You may not DH for a position player.

[Willy]

You positive about that? I think you could DH for a position player, then the pitcher would just have to hit. Not saying it's a good idea, but unless there is some rule I don't know about it would be okay.

[First Ice-Mike]

Mitty - You need to get off the Thome thing - He had a no-trade clause in his contract. He was able to pick where he wanted to go and he picked the defending World Champs. Not much Ryan could do if Thome had his mind set on the Sox.

FI

[bigbucks]

I haven't been able to read on here for several weeks, but I noticed that this topic suddenly got really quiet when Hunter got hot. He did what you guys said he needed to do.

Overall I'm still very frustrated with the Twins situational hitting, but I watch an awful lot of other teams that don't do a good job of it either.

[fishyguy]

Quote:

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You positive about that? I think you could DH for a position player, then the pitcher would just have to hit. Not saying it's a good idea, but unless there is some rule I don't know about it would be okay.

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I also have not been around for a while so sorry about the late response Willy, but yes, there is a rule that you may only DH for the pitcher in the MLB rule book.

Torii may always finish about 40 RBI's short of where he should be because of his overagressiveness at the plate but he will save 60 runs a year in the field. I say he should be in the lineup everyday.