Cubs manager Dale Sveum continues to tinker with Starlin Castro. He made some comments in regard to Castro's batter's box set up.
“We don’t want to be hit-chasers,” Sveum said. “We want him to be a
complete, full, prolific-type hitter. Those kind of three-run homers
happen more often because of the timing issues. Not just being worried
about hits, the OPS and all that comes into play with adjusting to
situations.”
“There are some inconsistencies, but it’s just a matter of getting
to another level,” Sveum said of his young shortstop. “He’s at one
level, but we want to get this 22-year-old kid to another level.”
“It’s one of those things you like to see, quiet all that down
because of the eye-hand coordination that he has,” Sveum said. “I think
that kind of stuff can happen more often without the leg kick and the
little hand gesture that he has in there too.”
The idea of "quieting" down Castro's movements in the batter's box really should not matter if he is in a hitter's position when the ball is thrown. Players will tell you that in their mechanics, they have certain "trigger" points to start their swing. In Anthony Rizzo's case, he bends his back backwards in a rigid stance, then slowly comes back into a hitting position. In Alfonso Soriano's case, he has a nervous hand jitter with the bat and a leg kick to snap his swing through the zone (and many cases miss sliders away in the dirt).
The fact that Castro hit a home run over the weekend by not doing a leg kick is not the reason to mess with his swing mechanics just for the sake of changing his routine. For the first two seasons, Castro's approach to the plate worked - - - he was a .300 contact hitter. In 2010, Castro hit .300 BA, 3 HR, 41 RBI, .347 OBP. In 2011, Castro hit .307, 10 HR, 66 RBI, .341 OBP. This season, Castro is hitting .282 BA, 13 HR, 75 RBI and .320 OBP. But now, the Cubs want Castro to be "more patient" at the plate.
Sveum said he now likes Castro batting lower in the order so he can be more "selective" in his pitches. If that is what Sveum said, what did he mean? In a batting order, the lead off man and number 2 hitters are supposed to be the most selective in order to draw walks or get pitches they can handle. When you are batting Castro in the 5th spot, that is an RBI slot in the line up. A player in that position is not being "selective," but to find a pitch in the zone to drive. Unless Sveum was really saying that that Castro must "adapt" to pitchers who would be more "selective" in their approach to him, especially with runners on base. A pitcher throwing to a clean up or 5th spot hitter will avoid throwing fastballs into a hitter's power zone. A pitcher is more likely to nibble at the edges to get a pitcher's count, and try to get the batter out with a slider or curve.
One would expect that a power hitter's batting average would be down, but his RBI totals would increase. Castro has always had a low walk ratio, because his approach has been a slash and contact hitter. To take away his "natural" swing dynamic in order to increase his OBP (in reality, walk totals), seems to be the wrong approach in Castro's case. If you want Castro to continue to hit, let him hit in the way he feels most comfortable.
