The Twins Starters monthly BA reveals the big problem. INCONSISTENT/STREAKY!

[Twinfan & Dad]

What do you do when EVERY starter had at least 3 months of the season when their BA was in the 240's or worse. TAKE A LOOK BEFORE YOU RESPOND. Mauer 3 months, Dozier 4 months, Plouffe 3 months on and on and on. This works out to roughly 300 AB or half the season. We do not have 1 player who hits above 250 on a consistent basis. When teams individually are this INCONSISTENT you better have a pitching staff and defense that can keep you in ball games. Every team in baseball goes through rough stretches both pitching and hitting but bottom line when you can steal wins with pitching and defense you become a playoff team. Win the 2-1 and 3-2 games. GIVE US A NUMBER 1 STARTER! We have plenty of starting pitching to choose from and if we spend the dollars for a 1 pitcher (Greinke,Price,Zimmerman) maybe we can get back to the playoffs.

[Kwak]

 

What do you do when EVERY starter had at least 3 months of the season when their BA was in the 240's or worse. TAKE A LOOK BEFORE YOU RESPOND. Mauer 3 months, Dozier 4 months, Plouffe 3 months on and on and on. This works out to roughly 300 AB or half the season. We do not have 1 player who hits above 250 on a consistent basis. When teams individually are this INCONSISTENT you better have a pitching staff and defense that can keep you in ball games. Every team in baseball goes through rough stretches both pitching and hitting but bottom line when you can steal wins with pitching and defense you become a playoff team. Win the 2-1 and 3-2 games. GIVE US A NUMBER 1 STARTER! We have plenty of starting pitching to choose from and if we spend the dollars for a 1 pitcher (Greinke,Price,Zimmerman) maybe we can get back to the playoffs.

Or, get better hitters...?

[Willihammer]

Is anyone else annoyed by the word "consistency?" Of course players are inconsistent, its baseball. I doubt the Twins are any more or less consistent than anyone else.

 

That said, the Twins did rank 26th in batting average and 28th in OBP (18th in slugging). They need to be more productive on offense next year.

[Twinfan & Dad]

Check your other teams before you write!

[sane]

 

Is anyone else annoyed by the word "consistency?"

YES! and it's even more annoying when referring favorably to umpires.

If an umpire gets every call wrong,  that is not a good thing.

If a hitter strikes out all the time, he is consistent, but that is not a good thing!

If Bert Blyleven consistently says a player is consistent, it is annoying!

[Thrylos]

Batting Average?  Seriously?   How about RBIs and SBs.  Pretty sure those dropped too.

[Platoon]

And not to pile on, but the Twins hitters were CONSISTENT! They were consistently poor! As an aside, I have no problem with an umpire being termed consistent. I have done it, and if you are behind the plate, and call the same pitches the same way every time, you stay out of trouble. Even if you are "consistently" a little low. It's the moving target that gets you in trouble.

[Dantes929]

 

Or, get better hitters...?

Or have the hitters in there hit better.

[Dantes929]

BTW, please explain how you came up with the stats because a quick look at baseball reference shows Rosario, Escobar and Sano as being regulars.  Rosario and Sano had one month each batting under .250 and Escobar had 2.   Its actually more accurate to say EVERY starter had fewer than 3 months where they hit less than .250 except for Mauer, Dozier, Hunter, Suzuki, Plouffe and Hicks.   Less concerned with guys having months under .250 since baseball is pretty streaky and am even ok with the fact that only 5 guys had season long averages over .250.   That fact that the top hitter was under .270 underscores the poor OBP as a team.  .

[nicksaviking]

Batting average and semantics aside, I think the OP is perhaps trying to say the lineup isn't reliable. Maybe Plouffe was consistently average with consistently poor on-base skills and Mauer and Suzuki were consistently poor, but Dozier, Hicks and Hunter were certainly inconsistent.

 

Maybe inconsistent wasn't the right word, but I'm not sure how reliable the vets are.

[Twinfan & Dad]

My bad I forgot about Rosario starting the entire year. I did not include Sano and Escobar due to them only playing half season. My point was that when you have the majority of your lineup prone to month long struggles numerous times throughout a season your team will never be consistent in run production. Your post was more accurate. Bottom line our hitters left much to be desired.

[Kwak]

The premise of #1 starter to win win 2 runs while desirable has to be compared to "spending" the equivalent resources to improve the hitting.  Care must be exercised  in order to maintain defense/fielding effectiveness while upgrading the hitting.

 

 Other threads have claimed that the improvement in starting pitching [effectiveness] is the biggest factor in the team's improvement in wins--but omits to include the overall team defense improvement (nearly all by the OF) as a factor.  We've seen the results of substandard OF defense despite better hitting and how negative is the outcome.  To conclude:  one star pitcher may not make as much of an improvement in "wins" as improvement in the hitting at several positions--for this Twins team.  However, when (if?) the hitting is improved, the addition of that #1 pitcher can make a huge difference compared to even better hitting.

[ckrolak]

 

What do you do when EVERY starter had at least 3 months of the season when their BA was in the 240's or worse. TAKE A LOOK BEFORE YOU RESPOND. Mauer 3 months, Dozier 4 months, Plouffe 3 months on and on and on. This works out to roughly 300 AB or half the season. We do not have 1 player who hits above 250 on a consistent basis. When teams individually are this INCONSISTENT you better have a pitching staff and defense that can keep you in ball games. Every team in baseball goes through rough stretches both pitching and hitting but bottom line when you can steal wins with pitching and defense you become a playoff team. Win the 2-1 and 3-2 games. GIVE US A NUMBER 1 STARTER! We have plenty of starting pitching to choose from and if we spend the dollars for a 1 pitcher (Greinke,Price,Zimmerman) maybe we can get back to the playoffs.

How about getting some players who can hit the damn ball.

[Dantes929]

 

The premise of #1 starter to win win 2 runs while desirable has to be compared to "spending" the equivalent resources to improve the hitting.  Care must be exercised  in order to maintain defense/fielding effectiveness while upgrading the hitting.

 

 Other threads have claimed that the improvement in starting pitching [effectiveness] is the biggest factor in the team's improvement in wins--but omits to include the overall team defense improvement (nearly all by the OF) as a factor.  We've seen the results of substandard OF defense despite better hitting and how negative is the outcome.  To conclude:  one star pitcher may not make as much of an improvement in "wins" as improvement in the hitting at several positions--for this Twins team.  However, when (if?) the hitting is improved, the addition of that #1 pitcher can make a huge difference compared to even better hitting.

While one player can make a difference the best path to improvement is usually to improve at more positions and make no mistake.  This can be done by current players getting better.   After the rather dismal 2007 many asked how the Twins can expect to get better when losing one of their best hitters and by far their best pitcher.   My answer was for more than 2 guys to step up and have better seasons.   This happened and 2008 was way better than 2007.   Of course not every year has a good likelihood of that happening.   2016 looks to me like a very good chance of improvement from within.   Santana for a full year.  May and Duffey and possibly Berrios into the rotation.   Escobar and Sano for a full year just to name a few possibilities.   Of course some guys may not pan out but if those that do outnumber those that don't the team will be better and hopefully the results as well.   Doesn't mean I wouldn't like improvement at catcher and the pen with different personnel but I can easily imagine a better year with the guys we have..   .

[sane]

I have no problem with an umpire being termed consistent. I have done it, and if you are behind the plate, and call the same pitches the same way every time, you stay out of trouble. Even if you are "consistently" a little low.

Except if the umpire consistently calls strikes on unreachable pitches. That makes the batter's situation consistently impossible and dangerously frustrating for the batters and just plain dangerous for the umpire.

[beckmt]

Another year will help the young players. Some (Rosario, Hicks, Buxton). Rest will have to hit more.

[Mike Sixel]

I've often wondered this.....

 

If a hitter gets a hit every game, is that better or worse than getting 2 hits one game, and none the next? That is, is it more important they hit every game, or that they get more hits in one game, but none in others? Which team wins more often?

 

And, sequencing matters to actual outcomes, not predicted ones.....hence the question.

[ashbury]

I've often wondered this.....

 

If a hitter gets a hit every game, is that better or worse than getting 2 hits one game, and none the next? That is, is it more important they hit every game, or that they get more hits in one game, but none in others? Which team wins more often?

 

And, sequencing matters to actual outcomes, not predicted ones.....hence the question.

I'm assuming you have in mind teams with hitters who operate independently of each other (otherwise your "inconsistent" team will get no-hit 50 or 100 or 120 times a year ). Also, that even the steady hitting team scatters its game's allotment of hits randomly through the game, otherwise you will have 9 innings of one-baserunner "rallies" and no runs except for homers.

 

Without applying any particular mathematical machinery or simulation software to this, and in a league like 2015 AL with an average R/G of 4.39 with Toronto at the top with 5.50 and Chicago at the bottom with 3.84, I'd guess this:

1. if you have Chicago's offense, you want to bunch your hits, and accept some games where several guys all have outages, since 0 runs isn't much worse than your par;
2. if you have Toronto's offense, you would like a steady production from each hitter, game after game, accentuating your built-in advantage, and not "waste" your hits in too many 17-3 blowout wins;
3. for an average offense (The Twins happened to be 4.30 R/G), I'm thinking it's close to a wash where it comes to wins, but maybe steady production is still a little better since one 17-3 blowout win is going to have to be balanced out by about 3 shutout losses.