7 Comments »

krockies said:
Amazing how well he does not having the pressure of hitting in the two hole.
Jun. 15, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Mike said:
Doesn’t his improvement have more to do with his hand being less painful? After he was moved from the 2 to 7 spot, he went 2 for 15. Then he was pulled from the game with the injured hand and rested for a few games. He’s hit .385 since.
Tulo’s OPS in various spots in the order, career:

Overall .781 1440 PA's
8th .815 152 PA's
2nd .778 578 PA's
6th .776 181 PA's
7th .772 471 PA's

Jun. 15, 2009 at 1:43 pm

Karl said:
I think having Tulo hit 7th is a great spot for him right now. He has less to worry about in a small ball approach, i.e. drawing walks and trying to move guys over. I do believe having less pressure on him, has allowed him to succeed not to mention his ‘clean slate’ that Tracy gave him 17 games ago. As time goes by, perhaps he will slide into a 5 or 6 hitter, instead of a #2.
Jun. 15, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Townie said:
I’ve never thought Tulowitzki was a good selection for the 2 spot. His style just doesn’t fit that profile. He’s too aggressive, and you can’t really ask a guy to change his whole style just to fit into a role. I like him 5th or 6th, where he can be a run producer. His NL leading 6 sacrifice flies would support keeping in that area of the lineup.
Obviously ride Barmes while he’s hot in the 2 hole. Eventually I’d like to see Carlos Gonzalez slide in that spot.
Jun. 15, 2009 at 2:42 pm

Mike said:
Indeed, no need to change what is working. But Tulo’s career splits don’t show he has a problem in the 2 spot. And he was 2 for 15 under Tracy in the 7th spot until they took him out of the lineup to rest his hand.
Jun. 15, 2009 at 3:11 pm

krockies said:
Tulo’s #S are one thing but the two hole requires talents that he doesn’t have and I don’t believe ever will. Two need” to take pitches and work the count. I cannot think of a two hole hitter that has a big sweeping swing and consistently swings at pitches out of the strike zone. He doesn’t seem to be able to bunt all that well but that is not his nature. He is an rbi guy. how often has he taken a called third and He usually is swinging. When the lead off hitter gets on he shouldn’t have to steal 2nd in fear of being the front end of a dp.
Jun. 15, 2009 at 7:25 pm

Mike said:
Clint Barmes swings at a lot of balls out of the zone–he swings at 31% of pitches outside the zone vs. 24% career for Tulo (data is from Fangraphs).
Since a #2 hitter sees the 2nd most PA’s over the season, I say that most of all he needs to be a decent hitter. Ideally it’s a guy with a good OBP as well. The idea that one needs bat control, hit and run, bunt a lot type skills is a bit of an anachronism. Obviously, those skills (and speed) are useful, but not if it means giving a weak hitter more PA’s than your cleanup hitter.
As long as Barmes is hitting in the spot, why change. But Tulo walks more (4th most on the team per PA), works the count (3.93 pitches/PA this season), and has performed well there in the past. I see no reason why he couldn’t go back if needed. (Smith would be a more interesting choice still, but he appears to be the odd man out.)
Jun. 15, 2009 at 9:45 pm

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