Jeff Branson instructs Gaby Sanchez during batting practice Monday. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
I, for one, blame Kate Upton.
I really don’t, of course, but play along.
See, for all her otherworldly gifts, the solar system’s most celebrated supermodel didn’t even bother showing Monday night at PNC Park to watch her boyfriend, the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, get flogged for five runs in one inning as the opening salvo of the Pirates’ 11-6 smackdown. Hence, the fair maiden provided no tangible distraction, no Yoko Ono effect on the pitcher who used to give up fewer runs in a month than he did in these 16 minutes.
No, the apparent culprit was Verlander’s “sore right shoulder,” as announced by the Detroit media relations a full hour and 11 minutes after he exited the game without any visible sign of, you know, a sore right shoulder. The Tigers added after the game that he’ll have an MRI on the shoulder, so the veracity remains to be seen.
Not to be cynical, but hey, maybe it was something else.
“We can hit,” Starling Marte told me afterward in almost defiant tone. “Look at all these guys, our guys, we can hit.”
Yeah, there is that, even if it seems to be escaping notice this summer: These Pirates can hit.
And no, I’m not just saying that because, on this night when Andrew McCutchen went on the disabled list and Neil Walker kept hovering on that same line, Travis Snider homered twice, Josh Harrison joined him with three hits, Ike Davis launched a shot of his own after Snider’s first, Russell Martin reached the second tier of bleachers, Marte lasered a bases-loaded triple off Verlander, and Jordy Mercer steadily chipped in two more hits.
Here, take a look at the broader picture of this offense, since it seems a reminder is in order following the weekend blahs against the Padres: With the outburst Monday night, the Pirates rank No. 3 in the National League with 501 runs, up from ninth a year ago. They rank No. 1 with a .334 on-base percentage, up from eighth. They rank fourth with 106 home runs, that one staying the same even with Pedro Alvarez’s issues. They rank No. 1 with 402 walks, up from seventh.
The name that’s most easily attached to all that is McCutchen’s, naturally, and that’s as it should be. An MVP raises all hands.
But the name I’d list next is that of Jeff Branson.
He’s the first-year hitting coach, having followed an overmatched Gregg Ritchie and an underachieving Jay Bell, and he’s been the biggest hit in the role since Don Long came along a few years back to make multimillionaires of Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and many others. That’s especially true among the players who climbed the system ladder with Branson, some of whom pushed for his promotion last fall when Bell left.
In spite of that popularity and his productivity to date, he has stayed out of the spotlight, which is probably why his work isn’t cited more often.
“Honestly, I won’t read what’s written about me, so you can write whatever you want,” Branson was telling me Monday afternoon after batting practice. “That’s just not me.”
OK, but here’s the thrust of it, anyway: He approached the Pirates’ hitters this past spring with an approach that was more philosophical than mechanical. As he described it one morning in Fort Myers, it was built on the idea that one at-bat leads to the next. They aren’t isolated. If one player works a deep count, the next benefits. If they all do it, starting pitchers get chased early. If starters are chased early in the first couple games of a series, the last game or two become easier.
I reminded Branson of that conversation Monday ….
It’s really no more complicated than that. He assists in the individual but insists on the collective.
Take Mercer as Exhibit A of the individual: He struggled immensely in the opening month, with a .167 average and one extra-base hit in 71 plate appearances. He’s now at .263, fifth-best among all National League shortstops, and is doing it with plenty of pop.
What did Branson change in Mercer’s mechanics?
“Nothing at all,” Branson said. “All that happened was that this player became comfortable that he belonged here and began swinging like he belonged here. With Jordy, it was all about believing.”
“One thing that those of us who have known Jeff for a lot of years can tell you is that he lets you be yourself when it comes to your stance, your swing,” Mercer said last night. “And what separates him from other hitting coaches is that he lets you do that, but he makes sure everyone’s got the same approach. Everyone can have different swings, different thoughts, but he wants everyone thinking about the same approach toward us winning that day’s game.”
And that approach?
“Wait for your pitch to take your swing.”
Even if it’s the first pitch?
“Why not?”
Exhibit A from the team standpoint, then, might as well be Pirates v. Verlander: The first four batters worked him for 19 pitches, including walks from Gregory Polanco and Davis. That’s when Marte came up and … yeah, he hacked at the first pitch for that huge triple.
Par for the course with Marte not showing patience, right?
Not so fast: Marte still doesn’t walk much, but the 3.86 pitches he sees per plate appearance are second on the team only to McCutchen’s 4.12. And right behind him in that category are two other guys who have never walked much, Walker at 3.8 and Mercer at 3.73.
That’s the pattern.
“I went up there, Verlander’s probably going to throw me offspeed inside, and I wasn’t waiting,” Marte said. “Slider. Over the plate. I liked the first pitch.”
The same principle applies, by the way, to what Snider was discussing in the column last week about players tossing their egos onto the pile. That’s the broader picture, but this is the payoff.
At any rate, let’s toss all this out and instead blame Ms. Upton, as any responsible subscription site would do for no reason beyond running the obligatory accompanying photo.
Or a brazenly obvious photo-shop, in this case …
There is a high likelihood we can get out of August in good shape. Excellent column and Jeff Branson has made a huge difference
Thank you big guy in the sky for holding off the rain
Demon Dachsy and the grandkids were in town, my great daughter in law is from Detroit, we had a wonderful time at the game.
DD will sign up on the site when he gets home. Life is good.
Please thank DD for me!
DK , great column. Hadn’t considered that angle, very insightful.
Any word on Gerrit Cole? Any truth to the ESPN report of four days on Baseball Tonight?
An even more terrific column than usual. I LOVED learning about Branson and his approach. As a dad/sometime assistant coach of high school player during club ball season, I wish more coaches would back off on the mechanical tweaking and focus on the approach like Branson does…
…It’s music to my ears to hear players talking about waiting for “their pitch” even if that happens to be the first pitch. Another pet peeve of mine is coaches who make EVERYONE take the first pitch, no matter what. Should be an automatic disqualifier for coaching HS ball.
Agree. As they say, Ghost, sometimes the best pitch you’ll see is the first pitch. I would say that pitch has a great chance of being something over the middle of the plate. If it is what you were looking for, and the count is 0-0, why not crush it?
Thanks, Ghost. These are fun. Been putting this concept together for a bit. Tonight seemed perfect to run it.
Absolutely great timing. After the San Diego series, a lot a fretting was going on about the Bucs offense. Thanks for neatly summarizing all progress Branson and the Bucs have made to this point. Tremendous difference between this year’s O and that of Bucs teams for some time.
The offense was great last night. Get Cutch and Walker back healthy, and I like our offense as well as any in the NL.
I could hardly believe it- I tuned in the 2nd inning assuming, based on Padres series, that the Bucs would be on for a tough night- instead they were blasting the ball.
That’s why they play the game, they say.
They also say it’s never a bad idea to run a Kate Upton photo.
So this is the reason for Verlander’s “sore shoulder” ??
Uh-huh.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/p600x600/10387067_761018510599792_361825898505659217_o.jpg
Holy tomatoes!!!
I bet you wouldn’t kick HER out of your pond!
Can’t get your link to load…
:sigh:
Her cup(s) runneth over, so to speak.
Well, if she jumps out a window after shooting Verlande in the gut, and his pitching career is over…. he can always be a hitter
I’d claim injury too if I could get Kate Upton to massage it.
Duh!
Well, with the Bucs much improved hitting this year, I guess we can safely assume that Jeff Branson is >>>>>> Jay Bell.
Now if the pitching could have a semblance of consistency …….
Oh yeah, and if the GM would give Hurdle the best 25 players on the roster (bullpen).
Yes, Plan. NH must pull off another August surprise. I nervously gave him a pass on 7/31, solely based on how he pulled things off last year on 8/31. But the players are more holding up their end of the bargain and deserve the bullpen help you cite. And before 8/31 this time.
Never got the fascination with Bell as a hitting coach. IIRC, he didn’t hit all that well until late in his career. Before, felt Bucs were doing too much guessing and not enough, see the ball, hit the ball at bats.
Plenty of kudos to Branson, but let’s not forget who gave him these players. 8 Pirates have walk rates above Major League average, only three of them were home grown. Seems clear that this is an organizational philosophy, and they’re finding players who fit.
NMR: That doesn’t fit the narrative. Please follow along.
I have a feeling Clint Hurdle had as much to do with Cutch and Walker not being placed on the DL as NH did. This Manager has a lot of input on his roster.
Wonderful column, DK. Personally, I have never been a fan of “swinging at the first pitch”. Make the pitcher work more & throw more pitches. I’d want to bang my head against a wall when batters would swing at the first pitch with runners on base & then get out. Refreshing!
I’d say 60% of first pitches are the best pitch you are going to see the entire at-bat. If you can drive the pitch swing at it.
Yes, indeed. Plus, if the pitcher gets ahead 0-1 after throwing you that strike you could have hit, the odds go up dramatically that all you ‘ll be left with is pitcher’s pitches to chase for the rest of the at bat. Gotta swing 1st pitch sometimes, just to keep the pitcher honest
Last night was fun & important! Tough weekend w/ SD…good opponent & pitcher…nice Monday crowd…Cutch on the DL…break out the bats… A really good start to this this long stretch. Try to keep this going tonight…and get good pitching.
if your going to photoshop Kate at least use a picture from the swimsuit issue!!
Great column. They are hitting better, but I still can’t get over that Neal and front office did nothing to help bench and bullpen. Watching Nix and Martinez is painful.
The revelation in this column for me was the change in Marte. Could feel him getting more selective, but 3.86 pitches per? Wow, that’s progress. Find myself wondering also if Polanco, who’s naturally selective, has rubbed off on Starling a little? Thanks, DK, another great one.
How do you shoot video and conduct an interview simultaneously??
Camera is pretty steady
and interview is smooth.
Ur not looking at notes… questions off the top of your head… pretty darn good.
That’s why he’s our “award winning” sports dude!
I haven’t scripted an interview in at least a decade. I don’t script anything. Kills the conversation.
I’m not very familiar with that stat, pitches per plate appearance. That’s an interesting one. Thanks for introducing me to it.
I had no intentions of the picture being good. I just wanted to be funny and first. It took less than a minute to do but provided hours of entertainment! Thanks for including it in your article and Twitter feed. Looking forward to using my subscription…John
Love that Branson lets them be themselves in regards to mechanics. Being a high school coach, I’ve never believed in the cookie cutter approach to hitting. Just look at Clemente’s swing. Modern hitting coaches would change him, imagine that. Good work Mr. Branson, keep it up.
I think Josh is the spark plug here for the hitting!!!! He reminds me a lot of Bill Madlock, They even wear the same #5
“He assists in the individual but insists on the collective.”
Perfectly worded sentence. Nice article.
Beautiful.
Funny, I was going to post a jibe about Mercer’s turnaround stemming from the Bucs drafting a slap hitting, bean pole of a SS in the first round, then remembered Jay Bell left and there was a new hitting coach. Boom, DK blows up my plans with a column.
Great timing and well said, Dejan.
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As a collective fanbase, it almost seems like this offense we’ve been yearning for has snuck up and surprised us.
Agreed, and that was well said too, NMR. Figured Jordy and Neil would be good for mid-infielders; we all crossed our fingers about Polanco’s arrival. But who dreamed Martin would rebound like this? Lunchbox would really drip with power? And Harrison??? Positively Kate Upton-like
You’re absolutely right in pointing out those individuals. I also think it may be the OBP-heavy approach that caused the surprise.
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Even now plenty of complaints come in about hitting with RISP, but what gets lost is that overall A LOT of guys end up in scoring position…
Even if a team isn’t particularly great at hitting them in, that still is going to translate to a bunch of runs.
Justin V has 5 years/$140M left? Cabrera is going to be paid long after he’s useful. I don’t get the “Dombrowski is a great GM” stuff. But, there has to be a middle ground between all the stupid long term contracts and basically already telling your fans you can’t afford Martin.
How awesome is that Robbie Ray – centerpiece of the Fister trade that induced the Great Tigers Bullpen Debate of 2014 – is starting tonight in Pittsburgh? I love baseball.
Great point, NMR.
DK Loved everything about the column EXCEPT the unwarranted shot at Verlander. I’m no Tigers fan, but the guy has thrown more pitches since 2009 than any one…and his stats AND velocity are down this year. He deserves the benefit of the doubt on this.
I agree. If I had to infer, I’d guess that DK wasn’t a fan of Verlander giving his team just one inning coming off a 19-inning game the night before. You’d like to see your guy take one for the team there even if he’s getting roughed up, but obviously injury changes that.
Great column and I hate to throw cold water on a nice story but Davis & Sanchez don’t seem to have benefitted from Branson. Not sure who said it – think it was a pitching coach when asked about his impact said “I helped 3, hurt 3 & the others didn’t hear a thing I said.
socialpolling_verb
Not sure what the point is. Do you think Branson hasn’t been doing a good job because of Ike (who hit a homer last night) and Sanchez? They got 11 runs last night, and DK cited a bunch of other measures that would indicate he’s doing a good job.
My point is that yes, Branson has done some good-but there are still pretty big offensive problems with this team. Ike was supposed to be “fixable” and is right at the Mendoza line. One HR does not mean he is fixed. 11 Runs after 5 in 3 games is nice-but lets not go crazy
And to be clear I think Branson has done a very good job overall and is an improvement [make that BIG improvement] over Jay Bell. I see some things in Martin and others that he probably has had some role in changing. Davis and Sanchez are killing this team-not Branson’s fault.
Last night’s game proved yet again something that I’ve believed for a long time – baseball is a confidence game. Hell, LIFE is a confidence game. You could see the confidence build as the guys dog piled on Verlander a little bit. And Pedro displays the other side of that coin.
Hitting is contagious. I have always found that to be the case at every level of baseball.
Loved the 20 questions answer from DK re: Russ extension. I’m supportive of NH, generally, because of where the team/org is now vs when he arrived. But, I try to stay objective. He didn’t get pen help at the break – huge mistake. Not liking the vibe he’s selling about Russ now.
I agree Jim, it was not encouraging when I listened to him talk about Martin’s pending contract situation. And when he said Tony Sanchez could fill the role, it made me almost angry.
How dare you laud the hitting coach! They exist only to be attacked by fanbases when teams aren’t hitting. When teams hit, it’s all due to the hitters’ talent and done in spite of the inept hitting coach.
Great article. Nice to see one of “them” get some love.
I’ve noticed that the hitting’s been inconsistent and that it’s come in fits and starts and the Bucs win because of a mostly light schedule. Otherwise. at least they’re still in the playoff hunt.