Comments on: Dale Sveum wants Alfonso Soriano to use a smaller bat

By: sophiethegreatdane

sophiethegreatdane — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:50:23 +0000

F= ma is kind of the point of the article, no? If Soriano starts using a lighter bat, he will be able to accelerate it faster through the strike zone, not allowing pitches to get as deep as Dale Sveum thinks they are. The faster acceleration will result in the same force being applied to the ball.

Or the other way to look at it is, Soriano can only apply a certain amount of force to the bat. It appears to me that Sveum is saying he’s getting older, and maybe he’s not strong enough to accelerate the mass of the bat through the strike zone in time to hit fastballs effectively. If Alfsonso swings a lighter bat with the same force that he applies to a heavier bat, it will accelerate faster.

Two ways to look at the system, I suppose: from the bat’s perspective, or the batter’s perspective.

By: gmsingh

gmsingh — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:30:24 +0000

Cheap compared to Pujols.

By: gmsingh

gmsingh — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:29:32 +0000

In related news Sveum went to the pound and asked for the oldest dog they had so he could teach him new tricks.

By: toozie21

toozie21 — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:22:31 +0000

I think these is also an aspect of bat-to-weight ratio at play. Isn’t there a rule that ties bat length and weight together? If so, he may not be willing to give up a few inches (I know my wife wouldn’t like it if I did)!

By: ezthinking

ezthinking — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:17:19 +0000

The mass isn’t just the bat but also the person it’s attached too.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:57:06 +0000

So many of them use heavy bats, but increasing bat speed with a lighter bat would give the same amount of power that a slower, heavier bat would

Not necessarily. Force = mass x acceleration, so in order to generate the same amount of force using a lighter bat, the % decrease in mass would have to be inversely proportional to the % increase in acceleration.

By: baseballisboring

baseballisboring — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:43:06 +0000

I’ve thought of that too, but I’m sure a lot of coaches/players have also thought of it. I feel like it’d be something you saw more commonly if it didn’t mess with your timing or something.

By: hammyofdoom

hammyofdoom — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:14:48 +0000

We’ll have to see, but at this point I don’t think he has a choice. I suddenly had a flashback to Doug Mirabelli using David Ortiz’s bat for one at bat and having to go on the DL after, sprained his wrist haha.

By: cerowb

cerowb — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:14:17 +0000

If Alfonso Soriano homers today, he’ll be on pace to hit 5 home runs this season. Only about $50 million more to go before he goes away…

By: deadeyedesign23

deadeyedesign23 — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:01:51 +0000

God I can’t believe there are still 3 years left on that deal. This is what happens when you go all in and lose.

By: ptfu

ptfu — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:45:15 +0000

If Soriano’s not willing to use a lighter bat yet, maybe Sveum could get him to choke up in the interim. That should help and it will show Soriano a hint of what a smaller lighter bat could do.

Another option might be for Sveum to somehow talk Soriano into borrowing someone else’s (lighter) bat for a week. Baby steps to preserve an aging slugger’s pride.

By: hammyofdoom

hammyofdoom — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:19:34 +0000

I’ve thought about this before not just with Soriano but other aging sluggers in general. So many of them use heavy bats, but increasing bat speed with a lighter bat would give the same amount of power that a slower, heavier bat would but he’d be able actually swing that damn thing as he gets older. Even Ted Williams spoke about bat speed over bat weight. However I’m just a schmuck watching the game through a TV, maybe switching the weight of an implement he’s used for about two decades would screw’im up, but it couldn’t really hurt much could it? The dude’s batting .250 with zero power