Is Craig Counsell a new man?

by Cheeseandcorn on May 18, 2009 10:42 PM CDT Comment 21 comments

Heading into Monday night's game, Craig Counsell is batting an absurd .339/.432/.484. He's coming off a spring training in which he batted .388/.436/.531. The last time he was this hot for a comparable stretch of time was when he began 2006 batting .364/.435/.491.

Now, I know that in the long run, these stats are probably meaningless. Spring training stats are particularly worthless, and a monthlong hot streak is not enough of a sample size to make any sort of meaningful conclusions. That 2006 season? He finished at .255/.327/.347. This year, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Counsell went ahead and batted .210/.320/.300 the rest of the way.

The thing that gets me, though, is the fact that this hot streak has coincided with a complete retooling of his batting stance. Does that add anything different to the equation?

Honestly, I have no idea. I haven't been able to watch any Brewers games yet this year, so I've seen all of about three Counsell at-bats in 2009. Those of you who know these things: Has the new stance made any difference in the way Counsell is hitting the ball? Or is this just one of those random streaks that's just part of the game, even for such a historically awful hitter?

I'd love to hear what ideas you have.

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I'll bet...

he hits better than his career average the rest of the way, but I don’t think he’ll continue to challenge Braun for the team batting title.

It sounded like the stance adjustments are allowing him to go quicker from decision to making contact with the ball, so he’s not “going oppo” into the dugout every time up. So, he’s getting more balls in play.

What’s his BABIP anyway? I’d assume he’ll regress to league average there, and may fall off a bit in contact percentage as the season wears on. But I still think he’ll be better than he has been for several years.

by PagsBrewCrew on May 19, 2009 1:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

His BABIP right now is .356.

Career BABIP is .288.

So that’s not exactly a good sign.

by Cheeseandcorn on May 19, 2009 8:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

NO

With Rickie gone, that sample size will balloon and he will be hitting .220 again before you know it…

by Saberilliterate on May 19, 2009 6:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Steroid era is over. .220 is the new .320.

http://nohuddleoffense.blogspot.com

by No Huddle Offense on May 19, 2009 8:49 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He won't be able to play everyday...

With that knee injury that he’s been playing all season with, so that will factor into whether his BA goes up/down/stays the same. If only he had taken the surgery at the beginning of the year, he may be able to play everyday now that Weeks is done. Hindsight is 20/20 though.

by TheBurningRom on May 19, 2009 8:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Question about small sample sizes

I know luck plays heavily into small sample sizes. However, is it the ONLY factor. Or are some guys (Council this year, Kapler last year, etc.) simply able to thrive in roles that involve limited work?

http://nohuddleoffense.blogspot.com

by No Huddle Offense on May 19, 2009 8:51 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Counsell has had the same limited role for the last 2 years

I wouldn’t say he exactly thrived last year at the plate

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on May 19, 2009 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In theory, I suppose

Though I’ve never seen research on it.

The idea, which I’ve heard a lot regarding Rivera, is that limited p.t. prevents the player from being “overexposed.” That is, if he’s only getting 100 at-bats, opposing teams don’t know tendencies and don’t learn that, say, a slider low and away will get him out every time. In the case of Counsell and other vets, the argument could be that he’d wear down playing more frequently, so the limited p.t. allows him to stay healthier/fresher.

But there’s a lot of reasoning that goes the other way, too. We’re always hearing about how players need to play frequently to avoid getting rusty … so which is it? Lots of ABs to stay fresh, or few ABs to stay fresh? Also, guys like Counsell are going to get a lot of PH at-bats, and PH ABs tend to be against better pitchers (late-inning relievers in close games), so the average player is worse in PH appearances.

The one obvious way in which limited time is good is that it allows the manager to play platoons. If Counsell only plays against RH, for instance, his numbers are going to look better than if he played against RH and LH. Same is true of just about anybody.

Ultimately, your question is difficult to answer, because the data we have to test it is filled with … you guessed it: small (and thus luck-driven, and unreliable) sample sizes.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 19, 2009 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thank you, sir.

As always, I appreciate the education I get here. And I doubly appreciate that I can ask ill-informed questions and not be run out of here on a rail. Most sports-related sites (or any others I imagine) have regulars that are on such a high horse that anyone with less knowledge is unwelcome.

http://nohuddleoffense.blogspot.com

by No Huddle Offense on May 19, 2009 11:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Batting stance

I think the new batting stance was about 3 years overdue and the main reason for his success this year. He’s able to pull balls this year, something I rarely saw him do last year. I was always shocked he could hit at all out of his old stance.

by kingcharlesxii on May 19, 2009 9:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

He's commonly shown on tutorial videos with his old stance

They’ll show him and a bunch of guys that have different stances. Each of them finishes the same way.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on May 19, 2009 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

finish, yes

but how long does it take to get to finish from the first decision “I see a ball I’d like to swing at”?

by PagsBrewCrew on May 19, 2009 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just saying that batting stance is a very small portion of the swing

People made a big deal out of how weird his stance was. In actuality, his swing was the same as everyone else’s. You shouldn’t be that shocked that he could hit the ball from that stance. If he faced the catcher and did a 180° before crushing the ball down the line, then we should be amazed.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on May 19, 2009 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am amazed anytime I see CC crushing the ball… regardless of whether it is down the line or not.

by Saberilliterate on May 19, 2009 5:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree,

but he pretty much led the team in pull percentage last year. He pulled all his grounders to the right side. Pull for power, yeah, now he can do that.

Scored three times and detonated an indisputable in four visits to the batting box.

by Jordan M on May 19, 2009 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I feel like he's always been a pull hitter

It seems like his goal with every at bat is to walk or pull it down the first base line.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on May 19, 2009 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are rumors of him shaving by year end,

with additional plans to kiss a girl* by the end of next year’s spring training. So he’s on that path.

*The planning hasn’t reached the point of targeting a particular girl but a short list is being developed.

by Getting Yosted on May 19, 2009 12:27 PM CDT reply actions 2 recs

Jason Kendall is teaching him how to shave

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on May 19, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jason Kendall shaves with a bat and pine tar.

Ryan Braun: He loves it.

by SRB on May 19, 2009 1:32 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Gritty players don’t shave

by Saberilliterate on May 19, 2009 5:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Batting gloves

In addition to changing his stance, I noticed that he has begun wearing batting gloves this year.

That must be it…

Although, wearing batting gloves will definitely lower his KUG.

by cmow on May 19, 2009 1:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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