Sigh . Management just never learns. This is a train wreck unfolding before our eyes. Like Thundercats said I have no faith in Avila.

Wonder how Bull Durham feels about this? That guy has been passed over, time and time again. Well, I suppose Mike Hessman could always bale us out... I don't think hitting coach's are gonna make the Tigers stop swinging at bad pitch's anyway.

Not overly excited, but at least Rod can say legendary Lloyd a few times a game again now.

Lloyd's in place to replace Brad and Leon will replace Lloyd.

And Pee Wee Herman is in place to replace Al.

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2021/10/20/j-d-martinez-was-right/
J. D. MARTINEZ WAS RIGHT.
Totally Tigers

What do the Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, Braves, Astros and Cardinals all have in common other than being playoff teams this year?

They hit the fewest ground balls in MLB (around 40%) and it?s a key to success. A level of success that allows you to play October baseball.

Baseball is constantly changing and adapting. And in order to understand and appreciate it, we need to be willing to embrace changes to the game that are supported by results and mountains of data.

Teams employ dozens of analysts who have all majored in sports statistics and have access to the best computers and software imaginable. So when they run programs and video of players through super computers, they are going to get detailed information that drives what teams do. These organizations then put these strategies into play and carefully watch the results.

Because of this, the old rule of hitting hard grounders back up the middle are ?loooong gone? as Ernie would say. Statistics now show that hitting ground balls is the worst kind of contact. Much of the reason is attributed to the defensive shift which now makes hitting grounders easy outs. Avoiding them, as do the teams listed above, are crucial to winning.

In other words, successful teams focus on hitting the ball in the air.

Look no further than the success story of J. D. Martinez who worked with independent hitting coaches Craig Wallenbrock and Robert Van Scoyoc. They overhauled his swing completely in order to generate more lift. J. D. is now considered one of MLB?s premier hitters.

Both coaches, btw, now work for the Dodgers.

But it?s not enough to simply get the ball in the air. It has to be hit hard either in a line or in the air.

The stats back all of this up. Players have a .241 BA and .266 slugging percentage when hitting ground balls. Balls in the air have generated a .399 BA and .782 slugging percentage. The latter also generates much more run production......

There was a reason why they ranked last in almost every offensive (and it truly was!) category before this year.

Lloyd McClendon, their former hitting coach, believed in swinging down on the ball to create backspin ? a theory roundly disputed by most hitting coaches. In effect, he was teaching players to level their swings, instead of helping them arch their swings. The exact opposite of what almost every other team was teaching.

So it?s no surprise that an increasing number of Tiger players were going outside the organization to hire their own hitting coaches.

Analysts point to how the Tigers? hitters were messed up and set back in their development due to Lloyd?s coaching.

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2022/01/30/monday-musings-14/
MONDAY MUSINGS.
Totally Tigers

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2022/11/02/and-then-there-was-one/
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE.
Totally Tigers

Lloyd McClendon had more lives than a cat. And it?s perfect proof that it?s not always what you know but who you know.
In this case, his close friend, Jim Leyland.