A Shift back to Old Ways?

[TheLeviathan]

Yesterday Randball observed the following in this story:

 

Here's the thing, though: through the first 23 gameshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png of the season, the Twins were leading the majors with 5.5 runs scored per game. They had walked 121 times, also best in the majors. It was a big part of the reason their offense was keeping the team afloat (12-11 record at that point) in spite of some pretty horrendous starting pitching.In the last 21 games, they've walked just 60 times.They're 11-10 in that time, but that's largely because their starting pitching has improved dramatically. They've scored 75 runs in those 21 games, an average of 3.57 per gamehttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png.

 

As the story notes, when Chris Parmelee got the call the team started to repeat some phrases we're used to hearing around here about "being aggressive" or has been jokingly dubbed "swing like a man!" And yet, the walks seem tied to our surprising early success scoring runs.

 

A few interesting notes: The Twins Zone% in April was 21st, in May so far it has been 2nd. They have increased their percentage of swings at pitches outside the zone since April also, but still remain second to last in the majors.

 

Is there a philosophical battle going on among the coaching staff or has the league simply read the scouting report and adjusted their approach to the Twins' offense?

[Hawkeye12]

I think the early walks were as much about the cold weather as anything else. That and teams finally started throwing strikes to get ahead. Last year we chased bad pitches consistently, so you could throw it anywhere and still get ahead. That changed, but the staring at strike three over and over and over is what has to change now.

[twinsnorth49]

I think the latter, last year it was pretty easy to get outs by making the Twins chase. Whether it's Bruno or Molly or perhaps both, the Twins are clearly trying a more disciplined approach, catching some teams unprepared early. Now that teams have had time to adjust we're seeing them attack the zone more.

 

It will be interesting to see how the Twins are able to adjust from here, a number of hitters simply have to start making better contact on hittable pitches.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Baseball is a game of adjustments. I have no doubt that opposing pitchers picked up on our walk heavy tendencies and started throwing more strikes. I also suspect that they started widening the zone a bit once hitters got used to it.

 

In Parms case, I think there's something to him needing to be a bit more aggressive. When he destroyed AAA, he was being aggressive, but he had a great OBP. When he came up, the OBP wasn't bad, but he was very timid. I think in his case, recognizing when you get a hittable pitch and 'swinging like a man' at it would be best for his career. I like walks, but there's still a balance between working the count and taking a good cut at a hittable pitch.

[Jerr]

It is about adjustments, now we will see how the Twin's hitters adjust:confused:

 

Happy to see they have been competitive.....so far;)

[Paul Pleiss]

Pitchers have adjusted. There aren't many bats in the Twins lineup to fear; no need to nibble at the edges and risk walking their patient hitters. Attack, attack, attack. Everyone so far is correct, the Twins hitters need to adjust. If more guys can't start making solid contact, pitchers will continue to challenge Mn hitters