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by civ ollilavad
Not a very interesting Ocker and Brantley article. Sheldon never mentions On base pct which is probably the most importatn thing for a leadoff man; and secondly how often he gets himself in scoring position which can be by XB hits or by steals. Brantley needs plenty of work on both those requirements
Michael Brantley hopes to provide spark, and steals, from leadoff spot
GOODYEAR, Ariz.: Most American League teams don’t stress base stealing these days, the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels being obvious exceptions.
However, three of the five teams that won at least 90 games last year were among the top four in steals. The Rays were No. 1 with 155 steals (71 percent success rate), the New York Yankees were third with 147 steals (76 percent) and the Texas Rangers were fourth with 143 steals (76 percent). The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, the other two 90-plus win clubs, ranked ninth and 14th in stolen bases. The Tigers stole only 49 bases but were successful 71 percent of the time. Teams that fall below 70 percent are running themselves out of too many innings.
Among American League clubs, the Indians ranked 11th with 89 steals and were successful only 68 percent of the time. So should manager Manny Acta do more to emphasize the steal? Not necessarily. It’s difficult to imagine Travis Hafner and Shelley Duncan racing from base to base ahead of the throw.
On the other hand, Michael Brantley probably could run more than he has. In 2011 he stole 13 bases and was caught five times for a 72 percent success rate.
Brantley is one of the few Tribe players capable of stealing bases, but not right now. He left Monday’s game after his first at-bat with a tight right hamstring.
“It’s very mild,” Acta said. “We took him out as a precaution. He did it when he was running to first on a ground ball.”
Until his career was undermined by injuries, Grady Sizemore was a more lethal leadoff hitter because of his expertise as a base stealer. From 2005-2009, he stole 128 bases and succeeded 77 percent of the time. His best season was 2008, when he stole 38 bases and was thrown out only five times for a success rate of 88 percent.
Why was Sizemore so valuable as a base stealer? Because he put himself into scoring position with almost every steal (except steals of third). In 2008, he scored 101 runs. The previous year, when Sizemore stole 33 bases, he scored 118 runs. Stealing bases can be important, if the right players are doing the running.
Brantley thinks he can be one of those guys. “I look forward to putting pressure on the defense that way,” he said. “I have the green light with Manny.” That means it is up to Brantley when he wants to run and when he thinks he should hold his base — unless Acta takes off the green light, for whatever reason.
With Sizemore out for at least two more months following back surgery, Brantley will take his place in center and in the leadoff spot. Neither assignment is new to Brantley, who has spelled Sizemore after previous injuries.
“It doesn’t matter to me if I play left or center,” Brantley said. “My goal is to do what the organization tells me to do and do it the best I can. It’s just to feel comfortable in both places.”
Brantley also feels at home in the leadoff spot, although he has had mixed results. Last year he batted .224 in 76 at-bats leading off a game and .231 in 169 at-bats to start an inning. But as the first batter in the order, Brantley batted .278 and scored 49 runs in 349 at-bats.
For his career, Brantley has compiled similar kinds of numbers. Leading off a game, he has been a .212 hitter, .218 when he leads off an inning. But as the No. 1 hitter in the lineup, Brantley is batting .273.
“As a leadoff hitter, I have to set the table for the guys behind me,” he said. “And the pitcher has got to know I’m a threat to steal.”
It seems like Brantley has been a fixture with the Tribe for years, but he played his first big-league season last year and won’t be 25 until May. Put in that light, he did relatively well in 2011, batting .266 with 24 doubles, seven homers, 46 RBI, 64 runs in 451 at-bats.
Moreover, he didn’t play after Aug. 22, when he broke the hamate bone in his right hand and was forced to undergo surgery. “The hardest thing for me last year was not being able to finish the season,” Brantley said. “It was tough for me to just watch.”
Brantley is not a finished product. “Everybody [who leads off] wants a better on-base percentage and more steals, but I need to improve on everything,” he said. “A player always thinks he has a higher ceiling than anyone else thinks.
“I still feel like a young guy. I haven’t seen everything yet. Hopefully, I’ve just scratched the surface of what I can do. I feel like my teammates have taught me so much that I’m way above the curve at 24.”
