"I'm not a believer in working a pitcher to take a walk," Bosley said. "I believe you've got to know the pitcher, and get a pitch you can drive. If you get an 0-0 pitch you can drive, you've got to jump on it."

This is from Bosley. There's an article on the official site about how he evidently wants to be more aggressive than Hurdle was last year. I really liked the idea that seeing a lot of pitches helps tire the pitcher and makes it more likely the team will get to him even if someone gets a "quality out" as I believe Hurdle calls them.

Talk like this makes me nervous. We went to the World Series on Hurdle's hitting philosophy, in part anyways. Are we now making a turn away from that make the pitcher work and see more pitches philosophy?

Maybe Bosley really is looking for a middle road between Jaramillo's approach and Hurdle's, but this sort of talk about not working the pitcher for a walk is making me damn nervous. Further, talk about how last year Josh Hamilton was taking hits instead of hitting home runs makes me damn nervous too. Josh broke out last year to play to his potential and it was partly due to Hurdle's coaching, and that need not be messed with.

We had Jaramillo for a damn long time in Texas and we went to zero World Series. We had Hurdle for one year and we went to the Series. I realize there are many factors, but at this point I'm more inclined to go with the Hurdle approach than something more aggressive. It seems like it is not so much about how many runs you get over the course of a season as much as it is about the in game situations in which you get them. If three guys hit solo shots because they were being aggressive but you needed 5 or 6 runs to win the game: what good did being aggressive do you? I think Hurdle's point is that you need to wear the pitcher down so you can get to him for more runs as a team rather than scattering bigger hits that don't tire the pitcher out as much. Quality outs, taking pitches, and wearing the pitcher down are crucial to getting to a guy late in the game.

What sayest thou?

The first intra-squad game is this afternoon. Don't you think we should pump the brakes on freaking out?

I hope he doesn't try to apply this philosophy universally. I'm not a big fan of taking 3 and 0 fastballs over the heart of the plate, but guys like Murphy and Moreland are really good at making pitchers throw tons of pitches, and that means getting to the bullpen quicker, and thats where Josh and Nelly and the big bats make most of their money.

I'm less interested in a hitting coach's press clippings than in the approach we see from the hitters once the games start counting. I thing you need to let the big dogs eat. Josh and Nellie, and Napoli against lefties, and to lesser extent Kinsler and Beltre should NOT be passing up a piped fastball or hanging curve regardless of the count and in-game situation. Everyone else needs to exhibit some patience with the PAs they get.

Im more damn excited than I am damn nervous.

Well, at least he called Hurdle, which means that he is willing to listen to others.
I think trying to change the team philosophy on hitting would be a mistake.
He is Wash's guy, so he may be ok.... some of our hitters can use a little tweaking and fine tuning.
Hopefully he can help out Chris Davis, Borbon and some of the other youngsters.
Joe, I think this team is going to be a hell of a hitting club, even with you as hitting coach :)
So just sit back and enjoy !!

Who knows?

Sometimes thinking too much is bad. Remember Chris Davis when he first came up, hacking away at pitches and going for it? He was never able to adjust when pitchers stopped throwing good stuff to him, and it seems that a lot of that has been mental, or a "block" about when to look and when to swing. I say that because he seems to do just fine when the pressure is off and no one is watching him (AAA).

So maybe this new guy will be a good thing. Like I said, who knows?

The more I think about it... " If you get an 0-0 pitch you can drive, you've got to jump on it."... that's not really all that radical an idea.

I think they were a little too conservative with how they handled Elvis last year. He was clearly in take-until-you-have-a-strike mode most of the year, and I know his primary job was to get on base so the big guys would knock him in; but long term, he's probably a #2 hitter, and he's got to develop a more aggressive approach. Elvis isn't David Eckstien, he's got the build and the swing to make good contact, so ZERO homers just reeks of being too cautious.

Disipline will always be "The Factor"~
Do you think Boz is going to pull one by the ear
and back into the dugout, for working a pitcher?
No, he won't mess with a .360 hitter going opposite.
It's all about 'getting your pitch'. Dicipline prevails.
By the way... No toe tap, with the Boz.
Maybe he can 'Adjust' CD into maturity? sigh

Just got through checking Bosley's hitting #s, and they're underwhelming to say the least, but apparently, there isn't much correlation between good hitting as a player and being a good coach later. Some of the "similar batters" to him were Whitey Herzog and Terry Francona.

To me, the biggest project he has is Julio Borbon, so Bosley being a lefty hitter might help. If Julio finds his Mojo, that keeps Josh out of center and Elvis out of the leadoff spot, so Elvis can swing away a little more. OTher than that, leave well enough alone with the big bats. Just make sure they don't develop bad habits.

He doesn't have to mess with Nellie. Holy hell, he actually put a trademark imprint on this ball!!!

http://plixi.com/p/79681046

I think you can get more home runs and doubles and maybe more runs over the course of a season with an aggressive hitting approach. But the question you have to ask yourself, I think, is, what is the manner in which you are getting these runs? A pitcher can give up a few home runs and doubles that translate to a few runs, make adjustments, and stay to pitch late in the game with a quality start or close to it because they were not forced to increase their pitch account on account of the aggressiveness of the opposing hitters. This leads to the pitcher staying longer and a lesser likelihood that you get to the bullpen. I think it also makes it less likely that you get the runs you need to win the game. The one thing that may go up over the course of the season with this approach is the numbers of your big hitters as well as your runs numbers in general. But its not so much how many runs you get over the course of the season as much as it is about how many runs you got when you needed them. Were you able to manufacture runs in such a way that ran the starter out of the game? Were you able to get on base to rattle him? Were you able to threaten him with speed, good base running, and situational hitting? My observation is this: aggressiveness may yield more runs but are those runs scored in such a way that allows the team to get to the pitcher and thus for the team to win? Maybe what Scooby said is a good balance, you let your big dogs eat and you tell everyone else to be more patient and to work the pitcher more.

Adam,

Pat yourself on the back and say "I am so excited, I am so excited."

Isn't it pretty universal to any hitting philosophy or approach to get a pitch you can drive and drive it? Just because Bosley doesn't use the same verbiage as Hurdle doesn't mean he is trying to turn everyone into Vlad.

Besides, it's not like the Clint Hurdle Era was some unprecedented success offensively. The team scored exactly 3 runs more than they did in 2009 (with its 700 Salty/Davis PAs) and outscored exactly none of Rudy's other offenses over the prior decade and a half....

Pull T is right...

There were some stretches last season that the offense just killed this team. Most of the same guys, and most of them are not 1st year players - they already have a routine and a method.

The one guy I'm interested in - as some of you have said - is Borbon. It would be a huge gift if he can turn into a real leadoff guy this season.

Josh isn't who I think was negatively affected by Hurdle. He obviously improved his plate discipline and helped him get rid of the toe tap. But a big strong kid like Elvis ended up with well over 700 PAs and had 15 doubles and zero HRs. That's pretty pathetic.

I've also mentioned before how during the WS, there were a few Giants pitchers who really handcuffed our hitters by throwing high heat that tailed inside. Hurdle's preaching to let the ball get in deep before pulling the trigger seemed to contribute to the total helplessness the Good Guys experienced. I'm obviously no expert, but I believe the way to handle a ball moving in on your fists is to get the bat head out into the hitting area earlier and meet the ball prior to it getting into your kitchen.

Bosley seems to be advocating pulling the ball with power. Sure we'll probably find our hitters will get a little more aggressive and lose some OBP points, but I'd think the talent we have might make the most of the strategy and get a lot more extra base hits.

Anyone who wondered how Kinsler would respond to Bosley's coaching may have gotten a preview yesterday ...