Morneau's New Approach

[nicksaviking]

Fox Sports had a nice article about our old pal. It talks about how his success is tied to his willingness, perhaps eagerness to now go the other way.

 

I found it linked to Fangraphs but here's the original link:

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/justin-morneau-hits-all-fields-power-more-swings-less-strikeouts-coors-field-target-field-062314

 

The last paragraph is a bit gut-wrenching though:

 

But now, his home park has helped him be a more complete hitter. He admitted that "there's no reason I couldn't have done this in Target Field," but is happy to make the change. As he said, "It's all part of the learning curve."

[nicksaviking]

I should add that it seems odd that he had to learn to try to use the whole field after leaving the team. The common perception is that the Twins preach this approach, though perhaps they are less preachy with their All-Star vets.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

But now, his home park has helped him be a more complete hitter. He admitted that "there's no reason I couldn't have done this in Target Field," but is happy to make the change. As he said, "It's all part of the learning curve."

 

Ouch. Sounds like he's admitting it wasn't so much concussion related but that he just benefitted from a change of scenery. Maybe the same with Phil Hughes this year.

[big dog]

Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you realize that you need to try new things. Getting traded for a PTBNL might be that bottom.

 

Or as a friend of mine said once as we were reading the sports pages (back when we had newspapers), you know your career isn't going the way you hoped when you are traded for a guy named Skeeter.

[old nurse]

Did Bruno and/or Gardenhire ask him to use all the fields?

[ScrapTheNickname]

Great article. Thanks for calling our attention to it.

 

It is s almost without a doubt psychologically uplifting for Morneau, or any hitter, to play in Colorado versus at Target Field ...

 

Colorado as a team is hitting .283 / .335 / .461 / .795 ... As a team they've scored the most runs in MLB, and they've given up the most runs ...

[nicksaviking]

There's a lot of room in the Colorado OF for the ball to land. You'd think that would help any stat using batted ball averages. Still, you'd think that same theory would hold for San Deigo and Seattle (until they brought the fences in) but it doesn't seem to.

[TwinsFan4Ever]

As well as Morneau is doing this year, we must keep in mind it is Colorado ( I live in Colorado ). Look what it did for Cuddyer last year, and as has been mentioned, it is also about the area of fair territory and how hard it is for defenses to cover the whole field. I mean I have always liked Michael but a batting champ? I love Justin and I wish he was still a Twin but I would arbitrarily equate this to hitting about .270 25/85 if he were in Minnesota over the course of a year. Numbers I would have taken and certainly dont have enough brain left for the day and time to come up with anything scientific. In his prime, Justin has always used a lot of the field, especially those 2-3 run doubles he seemed to have a knack for.

[curt1965]

Whatever the reasons, I am very happy about Justin's resurgence! He is probably my all-time favorite Twin: a class guy, dedicated to supporting charities in the Cities, and a role model to his teammates. A normal slide into 2nd base probably erased a historic season for him. As great as his MVP season was, that year had the potential for greatness. He never complained about the concussion issue: you could see him struggling and it hurt to watch at times. He stayed in the lineup when everyone else was hurting during one particular tough stretch. He always played hard (the Twins way). I'm looking forward to the day the Twins retire #33!

[Mike Sixel]

Always been a big fan of his, very happy he is having success.