Incredible analysis. Makes the Padres look like chess players over the last couple days while much of the season they’ve looked like they’re playing checkers. Hoping Michael King can find his groove! Great to see Merrill heating up at the right time.
1) you hit on it with the Sheets / Jake comment but it bears repeating. Sheets bunting for a base hit at this point seems like a bad choice. Crone doing it makes lots of sense. Same with Fermin, Arraez, Merrill and maybe Tatis or even X, let alone Johnson, esp as a LHH.
2) the credible THREAT of doing it should have a benefit to at bats where they don’t bunt if the third baseman has to play in a suboptimal position. Bringing him in, moving him closer to third, etc, where he’d normally be positioned closer to SS, will likely increase the probability of getting a base hit, especially with a runner of first since the SS will be playing close to second base. But you need a credible threat so you have to do it “regularly.”
Incredible analysis. Makes the Padres look like chess players over the last couple days while much of the season they’ve looked like they’re playing checkers. Hoping Michael King can find his groove! Great to see Merrill heating up at the right time.
Excellent work, as usual. I greatly appreciate your efforts.
Two thoughts.
1) you hit on it with the Sheets / Jake comment but it bears repeating. Sheets bunting for a base hit at this point seems like a bad choice. Crone doing it makes lots of sense. Same with Fermin, Arraez, Merrill and maybe Tatis or even X, let alone Johnson, esp as a LHH.
2) the credible THREAT of doing it should have a benefit to at bats where they don’t bunt if the third baseman has to play in a suboptimal position. Bringing him in, moving him closer to third, etc, where he’d normally be positioned closer to SS, will likely increase the probability of getting a base hit, especially with a runner of first since the SS will be playing close to second base. But you need a credible threat so you have to do it “regularly.”