posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 5:15 AM
by
Jim
Three thoughts about three players
No. 1: If I'm facing Alexei Ramirez right now, I'm either throwing him a fastball out of the zone on the first pitch, or a get-me-over breaking ball.
I can't remember where I heard it or read it, but somebody compared Ramirez's swing to Torii Hunter with the way he uses his hands to get to high pitches (as evidenced by the last single in
this video). Another way that he's like Hunter is the way he jumps on first-pitch fastballs.
He did it at least three times today -- flying out to right field, singling to center and lining out hard to third. I didn't see the other at-bat that resulted in a strikeout.
It's the first pattern we can see with Ramirez. He did it on
his first spring training swing, nearly falling over in the process. On
the other video, he starts his day by shattering his bat and sending the barrel into shallow left field.
He's not undisciplined, because after he's down 0-1, he seems to ratchet it down a little. But that first pitch is going to be the first adjustment he sees, as we get to the point where major-league pitchers face him multiple times in one game.
No. 2: If I'm facing Brian Anderson now and forever, I'm either throwing low and away, or at the letters.
He's reaching base just about half the time, but he still looks like he's swinging a 42-ounce bat, and he still can't cover the outside corner well. Any breaking ball that dives outside gives him problems, and if a pitcher needs to give him something different to look at, a fastball that's just a little bit too high can do the trick.
No. 3: Brad Eldred looks like the Sox claimed him off waivers from the Gashouse Gorillas.
His torso makes the bat looks like a rolling pin.