Johnny Damon

quote:

---

Originally posted by bbscout:
IMO, he does have an ugly swing, but this year,(his 10th in the big leagues) he hit .304 with 35 doubles and 20 home runs. He scored 123 runs and drove in 94 from the lead off spot. The 37 million he has made so far in his career can buy lots of burgers.

Bonds IMO has a great swing, but he still came up short in the post season 5 times. He came through once.

---

Teach, I did not forget anything, but wanted to post the full post instead of the partial post that you posted.I know some people that know lots about baseball and the swing, but you are not one of them. The consistant themes in your posts is you trying to change the subject and answering questions with questions.

When your home computer gets fixed, show some clips of Damon swinging "straight down".

Since you feel that you know more than anyone else, tell me why Bonds has failed 5 times in the post season and succeeded only once? Tell me why Damon, who has an "ugly" swing, was hitting .311 lifetime in the post season?

"The only thing I am defending him from is the stupid comments in this thread."

What a crock!!!....Redbird, I honestly gave you more credit than this.....

You say pitch selection was Damon's problem?.......That's hilarious.....With the swing he was using, he couldn't have hit a slowpitch softball down the middle with a piece of plywood......

Redbird, you don't post often, and now, I see why.......

"I know some people that know lots about baseball and the swing, but you are not one of them."

Bbscout, your statement is a crock, too.......

For you to compare Damon to Bonds strips you of all common sense......Or, should I just say sense?......

I want people to picture this without laughing, if at all possible....Damon is intentionally walked....

Oh, and comparing yourself, and people you know, to Teacherman's knowledge on hitting is a joke, too.......There's no comparison......You're not even in the ballpark.....You're still telling people the hands swing the bat.....Get those hands strong?...Yeah right, Scout.......

Damon was in a bit of a slump and he knew it. He's got speed and he knows that when he's in a slump he can help the team by putting the ball on the ground and beating a few out especially when he's leading off. He probably did take a few downswings or level swings trying to hit ground balls.

He was starting to make better contact by game 7, there were runners on base and he turned on inside pitches. Just about everyone will be swinging up at contact when they turn on an inside pitch.

He can hit. There are a lot of people with pretty swings who have time to post on the internet because they can't hit.

Trying to hit ground balls in MLB is not a smart move.....It's a dumb thing to want to do.....

quote:

---

Originally posted by BlueDog:
"I know some people that know lots about baseball and the swing, but you are not one of them."

Bbscout, your statement is a crock, too.......

For you to compare Damon to Bonds strips you of all common sense......Or, should I just say sense?......

I want people to picture this without laughing, if at all possible....Damon is intentionally walked....

Oh, and comparing yourself, and people you know, to Teacherman's knowledge on hitting is a joke, too.......There's no comparison......You're not even in the ballpark.....You're still telling people the hands swing the bat.....Get those hands strong?...Yeah right, Scout.......

---

Bluedog, You are a crock......just like your pal. You never answer a question either. Who have you taught and where are they at? I know who Teacherman has taught, as I have seen the clips. I know that you think the hands are just along for the ride, which is a crock too. I have never seen you post clips.......are you afraid of what the response will be?

As far as Damon goes.......he hit the ball deep twice last night with the whole season on the line.Also, he did not even take BP before the game.

You keep your students hands weak Bluedog and they will hit just like you teach......weak.

Blue Dog,
One of the ways people get out of slumps so bad that they aren't making much contact is by trying to hit ground balls. Preferably this is done in BP and they are able to get back to a line drive stroke by game time. If not and you are mired in a slump and have good speed hitting ground balls can be a good strategy. If you have the kind of speed that Ichiro does hitting ground balls is a very good strategy.

Each hitter needs to take advantage of the talent they have and make the most of it. There are power hitters who by swinging on the plane of the pitch instead of uppercutting would simply reduce the number of home runs they hit without increasing their batting average enough to make up for the loss of home runs. There are rabbits who can do well hitting a mixture of line drives and ground balls and doing their best to avoid fly balls.

Different strokes for different folks.

Well, then, I suppose Damon should have tried to hit ground balls last night?.....Instead of the Grand Slam and the other homerun?

Damon did have an upswing on those homeruns.....They were definitely not ground ball swings....The clips are all over today to view.....Anyone who can't see this is blind....

One 325 foot home run does not make Damon a better player than Bonds.

Best in our lifetimes, fellows: BARRY BONDS...deal with it.

Bbscout, your opinion is not what I seek....I'm interested in an opinion from someone who is comparing Damon to Bonds?......I don't think so.....

Bluedog, You are true to form......won't answer a question, except with possibly another question. Who have you taught and where are they at?

Damon isn't trying to hit a ground ball.....


http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/gallery/index.jsp

Bluedog, Why are you picking on CADad? He is not a MLB scout or coach.

quote:

---

Originally posted by BeenthereIL:
One 325 foot home run does not make Damon a better player than Bonds.

Best in our lifetimes, fellows: BARRY BONDS...deal with it.

---

John, He hit two home runs and nobody said he was a better player than Bonds.

Goto, pictures of game 2, picyure number 5 is of Damon and his bat breaking, sure doesn't lool like a downward swing to me.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ps/y2004/gallery.jsp?view=bos_nyy

Good picture Glove.

Top half leaning forward (especially head) and the shoulders close to level.....Level swing with a ground ball result.......Let's call it like it really is, there, Glove Man.....Not a good swing.....

Your pal says he swings "straight down". This does not look like straight down to me.

Damon did swing straight down on down and in pitches.....So, Teacherman is correct.....

"Straight Down"? show the pics.As I recall, you also said that good MLB hitters don't make contact with their back foot off the ground. I now have about 20 clips of real good MLB hitters smoking balls with their back foot off the ground at impact.

"As I recall, you also said that good MLB hitters don't make contact with their back foot off the ground."

Scout, now, you're flat out lying.......Shame on you......

A lot of good hitters swing straight down to the low inside pitch. If they get around on it they are swinging up at contact and have a chance of going deep. If they don't get around on it they tend to hit ground balls.

The pitchers are hoping that they won't swing straight down to the ball and that they'll swing around and over the low inside pitch like Bellhorn did so often. It is a bit risky because even Bellhorn who struggle with the pitch most of the time will turn on it and drive it deep every now and then.

Scout, for lying, here's your curse....

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits....

quote:

---

posted September 09, 2004 05:05 PM
MLB hitters are leaning back and straighten their front leg at ball contact....If they lift their back foot for more than a fraction of a second, they would fall over backward....That is exactly why the back foot is only in the air for a fraction of a second.....

So, the fact is, when they lift their back foot, their weight is actually suspended in space until the back foot comes back down.....

If they didn't lean back, you would be right.....But, the fact is they do lean back which keeps their weight from shifting forward and allows them to sit on the back leg....

Another point, too.....You don't know if the back foot is in the air at ball contact....You're guessing it is.....Nobody can view a clip at that speed and say for sure....

Credentials are in the eye of the beholder..Words speak louder than credentials!
Posts: 358 | Location: Sunny South | Registered: December 30, 2002

---

This quote is found here:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=5316041581&f=8686003481&m=907109206&r=458103326#458103326

Having the Rightview Pro disc, it is easy to zero in on impact. In fact, you can stop the clip and it looks like the ball is stuck on the barrel of the bat. You don't have to guess if you use the right equipment. Have great shots of Beltran, Sweeney, Chipper, Sheffield, Vlad, Palmeiro and Edmonds with their back foot off the ground at impact.....don't have to guess. Have them from the front and from the back. Have a few from behind the catcher and some from the pitchers view too.

bbscout,
Back in that other discussion I said something about Aaron looking like he still had his front knee bent a bit at contact. Nikkio posted a clip that made me think I was probably wrong about that. Have you noticed in your clips if the hitters consistently had their front leg straightened at contact?

CADad, Yes, they all are straight at contact. You may see a guy have his front leg bent at contact, but it will be on a pitch that he was fooled on. When they arn't fooled it is a solid front leg. If not, you will most likely slide forward and many bad things can then happen.

My comment about not knowing for sure if the back foot was in the air at ball contact was about that one Aaron clip......While I have seen clips of MLB hitters with the back foot in the air at ball contact, my statement had nothing to do with any of those other clips.......Just the one Aaron clip....

So, Glove Man and Scout, watch what you say.....I will call you down on false statements......

quote:

---

Originally posted by Glove Man:

quote:

---

posted September 09, 2004 05:05 PM
MLB hitters are leaning back and straighten their front leg at ball contact....If they lift their back foot for more than a fraction of a second, they would fall over backward....That is exactly why the back foot is only in the air for a fraction of a second.....

So, the fact is, when they lift their back foot, their weight is actually suspended in space until the back foot comes back down.....

If they didn't lean back, you would be right.....But, the fact is they do lean back which keeps their weight from shifting forward and allows them to sit on the back leg....

Another point, too.....You don't know if the back foot is in the air at ball contact....You're guessing it is.....Nobody can view a clip at that speed and say for sure....

Credentials are in the eye of the beholder..Words speak louder than credentials!
Posts: 358 | Location: Sunny South | Registered: December 30, 2002

---

This quote is found here:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=5316041581&f=8686003481&m=907109206&r=458103326#458103326

---

I don't see Aaron's name in this post.

I see where it says "MLB hitters", and not "Hank Aaron", don't you Doug? Are we looking at the same thing? Is Hank Aaron the only MLB hitter? I also see where it says "they" that makes it plural as in more than one. I see "they", "them", and "their" in that little few paragraphs a total of 8 times. I do not see "Hank Aaron" in there once.

I see no false statements other than yours. Are you a relative of John Kerry? Flip-flop, flip-flop.

Congrats to Johnny Damon. All I know about him is that his swing worked best when it meant the most and he plays center field on the team that is going to the World Series as the representative from the American League.

In my book, that makes him a helluva player, one who has won me over -- completely!

quote:

---

Originally posted by KellerDad:

quote:

---

Originally posted by redbird5:
A couple of comments on Damon:

1. In one night, Damon hit 2 more MLB HRs than everyone on this board.

---

KellerDad,

I guess it would have been more accurate to say he has 2 more HRs than thos attacking him.

To attack a hitter on a couple of games is very short sighted.
I know for a fact that statement is false.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by BlueDog:
"The only thing I am defending him from is the stupid comments in this thread."

What a crock!!!....Redbird, I honestly gave you more credit than this.....

You say pitch selection was Damon's problem?.......That's hilarious.....With the swing he was using, he couldn't have hit a slowpitch softball down the middle with a piece of plywood......

Redbird, you don't post often, and now, I see why.......

---

How is it a crock?!?

You were the genius that said there was no pressure on Damon. That statement alone tells anyone all they need to know about you.

O.K. fellas...for your future intelligent discussions , feel free to use the following arguments I have found useful in the past (like, when I was 10 ):

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"I am rubber, you are glue...what bounces off me sticks to you!"

Oh, and one great response I hear from my teenage son and his friends...

"YOUR MOM!"

I only read the some of the first page and scanned the last, and it looks like a Damon topic turned into a BlueDog initiated argument on hitting technique. So to stay on topic, and I don't know if it was mentioned yet cause I never read all 8 pages, but how about the way Damon made up with that .059 by hitting 2 jacks, one for a grand slam and going 3-6 that game?

quote:

---

Originally posted by bbscout:
"Straight Down"? show the pics...

---

Because my computer was down I don't have the video........but I'm looking for it.........and you better hope I don't find it.

LMAO!!!! Thanks for the laugh DaddyBo!

quote:

---

and you better hope I don't find it.

---

MMMMMOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!

Gees...This thread has degenerated to typical "AOL chatroom mopery".

quote:

---

Damon did swing straight down on down and in pitches.....So, Teacherman is correct.....

---

I'd love to see your textbook rotational hack as a 2 strike 88 MPH slider dives at your rear foot.
You can compare clips of MLB hitters hitting main street fastballs and hanging breaking balls all you want, but when they see a virtually unhittable pitch they all look stupid sometimes.