Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Communication?
Posted by Mike FastYesterday, I read the following from Morgan Ensberg from his chat at Sons of Sam Horn.
WTE: Does position in the batting order matter to you, or to most players? The best studies I know show that batter order actually has a pretty minimal impact on overall team performance -- so why is there always such a fuss made about who's hitting where in the lineup?Makes sense, no?
Ensberg: Position is not as important as a player knowing where they are going to hit everyday. When you move guys around all the time you have to make sure that you explain why you are moving them or they will think there is a problem. Every answer in baseball is clear communication.
So, is it wrong to get a little perverse kick out of reading these quotes from Eric Chavez today about the A's organization?
"I really don't know what the plan is for me right now," Chavez said Monday as the A's prepared to open the season against the visiting Mariners. "I'm not sure if I'm playing at first a little still. They haven't really told me anything."
Luckily, Monday's Opening Night lineup let him know he's the DH. Where he'll be Tuesday, or a week from now, is unknown.
"That's a really good question, because I just planned on Jack being the DH from the beginning and they were going to need me on the field," Chavez said. "So things have changed. I really don't know what they want me to do. I'll just kind of play it by ear and make adjustments as we go along. They know I can play in the field, I just don't know how much they want me there."
"Nobody's told me one thing," Chavez said.
Mike Fast is a Royals fan who enjoys investigating baseball questions using data of many sorts. He is a member of Complete Game Consulting. He welcomes comments via e-mail.