After nearly 4 seasons, maybe a Stubbs plate approach change!!!!!! John Fay reports:
Stubbs sits, tries change his approach
[h=6]09/07/12 at 4:52pm by
jfay[/h]Drew Stubbs was out of the lineup Friday. He’s been shelved — temporarily.
“I need Stubbs in center field,” Baker said. “He’s the center fielder. We’re giving him a couple of days to try to make some changes in his approach. Lack of ability is not the issue here. He has more ability than damn near anybody in the league.
“Let’s face, as much as they get on Stubbs, Stubbs is still one of the best center fielders in the league. That’s major part of your defense. We’ve just got to figure out a way to get him more productive offensively.
“As much as you hate to do it, like a parent some time, you’ve got to let them hit rock bottom. Then they’re open for any kind of suggestion.”
Stubbs has hit rock bottom. He’s 7-for-his-last-49 (.149) with 22 strikeouts. He hit .185 and struck out 42 times in 108 at-bats in August. His overall average is down to .199 versus right-handers.
Stubbs’ numbers have declined four straight years. His average has gone from .267 to .255 to .243 to .220.
But Baker, ever the loyalest, hasn’t given up on him.
“We’ll figure it,” Baker said. “We’ll help figure it out. Sometimes, you’ve got to figure it out things on your own. As cold as Stubbs has been — I don’t know how the heck he does it — he’s got 71 runs scored. And when he scores, we win. We’ve got to figure out a way for him to score some more. Then we’ll win some more.”
Baker pointed to a former Red as example of a player who suddenly got it.
“You don’t always figure it out when everyone wants you to figure it out,” Baker said. “Look at Edwin Encarnacion. He’s figured it out. It took him a couple of years, but he’s figured it out.”
Do you think the "new approach" will include more bunting?
