Comments on: A tale of two pitchers http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2004/09/tale-of-two-pitchersphp/ News, views, and analysis on the Detroit Tigers and baseball Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:06:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Justin http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2004/09/tale-of-two-pitchersphp/#comment-194 Justin Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://test.detroittigersweblog.com/2004/09/15/tale-of-two-pitchers.php/#comment-194 watching the coaches and players find the balance of teaching and helping a pitcher/hitter grow and completely f-ing up their head is one of the most interesting, and most overlooked, aspects of the game. i love it. <br> <br>brandon inge goes from super-prospect (for the tigers, anyway) to dogmeat, to productive player. omar infante does the same. while they have a skill set that they probably can't exceed (e.g., infante will never hit 40 homeruns, inge will never hit .400), how successfully they apply their talent (baring injury or catastrophe) is to be found in that negotiation between teaching and allowing instinct to flourish. <br> <br>as far as bonderman goes, color me excited because his scouting report has always said this is what he could do, unlike jason johnson and nate robertson. to be this succesful this early is very good for pitching prospects, especially if they (knock on wood) avoid injury. watching the coaches and players find the balance of teaching and helping a pitcher/hitter grow and completely f-ing up their head is one of the most interesting, and most overlooked, aspects of the game. i love it.

brandon inge goes from super-prospect (for the tigers, anyway) to dogmeat, to productive player. omar infante does the same. while they have a skill set that they probably can’t exceed (e.g., infante will never hit 40 homeruns, inge will never hit .400), how successfully they apply their talent (baring injury or catastrophe) is to be found in that negotiation between teaching and allowing instinct to flourish.

as far as bonderman goes, color me excited because his scouting report has always said this is what he could do, unlike jason johnson and nate robertson. to be this succesful this early is very good for pitching prospects, especially if they (knock on wood) avoid injury.

]]> By: billfer http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2004/09/tale-of-two-pitchersphp/#comment-195 billfer Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://test.detroittigersweblog.com/2004/09/15/tale-of-two-pitchers.php/#comment-195 While I mentioned the "not thinking" tongue in cheek, you are correct in that your observations about the coaching/player interactions. The topic deserves several posts to itself, and Brandon Inge and Bonderman would both make interesting case studies. Two other interesting case studies would be Franklyn German and Eric Munson. German has all the tools to be dominant, yet can't get people out at the major league level. And Munson, who the Tigers have totally destroyed with their handling of him. While I mentioned the “not thinking” tongue in cheek, you are correct in that your observations about the coaching/player interactions. The topic deserves several posts to itself, and Brandon Inge and Bonderman would both make interesting case studies. Two other interesting case studies would be Franklyn German and Eric Munson. German has all the tools to be dominant, yet can’t get people out at the major league level. And Munson, who the Tigers have totally destroyed with their handling of him.

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