The Giants have an abundance of hitters who can hit RHP but not so well against LHP. Fred Lewis, Dan Ortmeier, even Nate Schierholtz has had some problems with LHP in the past, though he was good this year. Well, what does one of the best hitters ever do to prepare to hit against LHP?
Barry Bonds has his own LHP come to the park with him and on road trips to throw to him and keep him sharp, because that's a major problem why they are not able to handle LHP, they don't face them that often. Why don't the Giants pay someone to do likewise for their prospects, both in the minors and in the majors?
Perhaps one per team, with maybe two for the major league team, to mix it up plus the guy has got to tire out at some point, so you have at least two to handle the guys having problems hitting lefties. It seems to me that it should not cost that much to implement, maybe $100K per MLB thrower, $50K per minor league thrower. It would be a way for some to stay involved with professional baseball when their playing days are over, and that's not bad money for half a year's work.
Also, the guy who pitches to Bonds is also allowed to throw whatever he feels like, just to keep it real. That would be good to implement as well. Just a thought...
On an unrelated topic, I thought you might enjoy this anaysis I fond from a Sporting News article. Here's the excerpt:
ReplyDelete"The San Francisco Giants should be tried for grand larceny after taking Andrew D'Alessio in the 19th round of this year's June amateur draft. The best hitter I saw in the Arizona Rookie League, D'Alessio showed exceptional ability and polish at the plate. D'Alessio mauls anything inside, yet he is able to use the whole field and drive pitches out of the park the opposite way. He also demonstrated above-average plate discipline and good pitch recognition.
While his defense needs improvement, he should move quickly through the Giants' system. He'll have to prove he can hit advanced pitching, but as long as he can make adjustments along the way, he could turn out to be the steal of the draft."