Come back, Marcus Giles
This is part one of a 2 part series analyzing Giles' swing click here for Part Two
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Manny Ramirez is firmly entrenched as my favorite hitter to watch. Cabrera is gaining. And then there is
a big group of others: Soriano, A-rod, Paul Konerko, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla, Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado, Jhonny Peralta, David Wright....a few others....and Marcus Giles.
The Marcus Giles of a couple years ago was 1a. to Manny in terms of who I wanted to see hit. He first caught my attention because of the aggressive swing that came out of his little body. He is listed at 5'8" 175#, but takes a serious hack. When I looked up his stats, the first thing I noticed was 38 2b's and 37 HR's in A ball. Impressive.
I saw him play in Buffalo while he was in AAA and he turned into a guy I wanted to model myself after. I didn't necessarily try to copy his swing, but I liked the fact that he was a small, 53rd round draft pick that turned himself into a big leaguer.
Fast forward to now, after a couple solid seasons in the big leagues, posting .916 and .826 OPS in 2003 and 2005 respectively, the wheels seem to have come off. The strikeouts have been going up and the average going down. He is walking more, which does more to suggest to me that there is something going on in his swing that isn't allowing him to produce what his ability has shown in the past.
Giles has always been a good opposite field hitter, but it seems over the past couple of years he has been "inside-outing" the ball much more frequently than I noticed watching him a couple years ago. This year, most noticeably, it has looked like he has had a more pronounced "lean" back towards the catcher as he completed his followed through.
While watching a game with my wife a week or so ago, I noted to her that it looked like Giles' weight was further back than usual and it did not look like he was getting his bat through the zone like he used to. He was falling away from the ball rather than turning/hitting through it.
I did some digging in my video files and I found two clips that show his swing from the same angle, pitch location and result (HR to left-center). Putting them side by side, here is what I got:
On the left is a Giles HR from early July 2006. The right side is a HR from September 2005.
You'll see I have made some markings on the clip, but the purpose was trying to identify on video what I felt I had been seeing as I watched Giles on TV and also at the few games I've been to this year.
I'll explain what the lines and numbers mean, how I made them, and the implication I believe the have for Giles' swing.
Major Observations
1. The first frame shows vertical lines - the first one is dropped down from his front shoulder and the second is going up from his front toe. What I wanted to do was try to somehow measure the distance between these points and see what I got. The program I used to make the clips displays your coordinates on the picture, like an X-Y axis. So the numbers between the lines drawn in the first frame are the "X" distance between the two lines. In terms of the picture, the lines on the left side are 60 units apart, while they are 54 units apart on the right.
This suggests the Giles is already starting off here with his upper body more towards his back foot
2. The second set of markings in frame 11 is to re-measure Giles' weight distribution. I dropped the first line straight down from the center of his helmet. The 2nd line goes up from the middle of his front foot. Before I even measured the "X" distance between the lines, what I noticed is how Giles' back side more directly under his head in the right side of the clip. Check out the difference in relation to the line drawn. Looking past the lines, Giles' has a much more pronounced backwards lean on the left. When I measured the distance between the lines, the difference was the same (6).
What I "saw" is backed up by the video. The difference is great enough to be seen with the naked eye, but even this simple form of measurement reinforces the observation.
3. In frame 14, I made a couple of angles in attempt to measure the actual difference in Giles' "lean". I had to put the file in another program which allowed me to insert the angle and it provides a measure of the angle created on the image. I made the lines go from front heel to middle of the helmet and front heel to back foot. The angle on the left came out to 66 degrees, as compared to 72 on the right.
This was just a way to quantify how much further back Giles' currently is
Implications
It goes back to the first frame. The current Giles' is not quite bringing his upper body along as he completes his stride - at least not like he used to. While hitters often work on "staying back", I don't think Giles had any issues with this in years past. If this change has been a result of trying to "stay back" on the ball longer, it isn't working...
And this is why. "Staying back" does not require a player to keep his weight over his back foot. High level players very commonly move aggressively into their front foot to establish a base of rotation that allows them to deliver the bat to the ball. Here is where I believe Giles' has done a better job in the past than what he is currently doing.
With more weight left towards his back side, Giles' is not rotating his body as effectively as he has. In the 12th frame, it is difficult to see the "Braves" logo on the front of his jersey, whereas it is more visible on the left.
I actually think he is more efficient with his arms in his current swing - getting the bat going later, turning the knob going into contact and also making contact deeper in the zone. But the rotation is not allowing the bat where it needs to be and the increased backwards lean creates a steeper swing plane that opens the door for uppercuts and more of a "looping" swing - both of which make it difficult to maintain his former batting average.
This slight change in weight distribution has seemingly made it more difficult for Giles to consistently get through the ball like he used to. With more weight back, he appears to pull back or "peel off" of the ball
I have heard a number of times on TV/radio that Giles' is just not responding well to the leadoff spot, but I have a difficult time believing a former all-star would be affected that much by moving up one spot in the order.
I for one am rooting for Giles and hope his numbers keep rising as they were going into the All-Star break. Maybe if he can carry his upper body along with him as he moves into footplant, he can turn back into the Marcus Giles' that is so much fun to watch!
________
Click here for Part 2
________________________
Manny Ramirez is firmly entrenched as my favorite hitter to watch. Cabrera is gaining. And then there is
a big group of others: Soriano, A-rod, Paul Konerko, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla, Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado, Jhonny Peralta, David Wright....a few others....and Marcus Giles.
The Marcus Giles of a couple years ago was 1a. to Manny in terms of who I wanted to see hit. He first caught my attention because of the aggressive swing that came out of his little body. He is listed at 5'8" 175#, but takes a serious hack. When I looked up his stats, the first thing I noticed was 38 2b's and 37 HR's in A ball. Impressive.
I saw him play in Buffalo while he was in AAA and he turned into a guy I wanted to model myself after. I didn't necessarily try to copy his swing, but I liked the fact that he was a small, 53rd round draft pick that turned himself into a big leaguer.
Fast forward to now, after a couple solid seasons in the big leagues, posting .916 and .826 OPS in 2003 and 2005 respectively, the wheels seem to have come off. The strikeouts have been going up and the average going down. He is walking more, which does more to suggest to me that there is something going on in his swing that isn't allowing him to produce what his ability has shown in the past.
Giles has always been a good opposite field hitter, but it seems over the past couple of years he has been "inside-outing" the ball much more frequently than I noticed watching him a couple years ago. This year, most noticeably, it has looked like he has had a more pronounced "lean" back towards the catcher as he completed his followed through.
While watching a game with my wife a week or so ago, I noted to her that it looked like Giles' weight was further back than usual and it did not look like he was getting his bat through the zone like he used to. He was falling away from the ball rather than turning/hitting through it.
I did some digging in my video files and I found two clips that show his swing from the same angle, pitch location and result (HR to left-center). Putting them side by side, here is what I got:
On the left is a Giles HR from early July 2006. The right side is a HR from September 2005.
You'll see I have made some markings on the clip, but the purpose was trying to identify on video what I felt I had been seeing as I watched Giles on TV and also at the few games I've been to this year.
I'll explain what the lines and numbers mean, how I made them, and the implication I believe the have for Giles' swing.
Major Observations
1. The first frame shows vertical lines - the first one is dropped down from his front shoulder and the second is going up from his front toe. What I wanted to do was try to somehow measure the distance between these points and see what I got. The program I used to make the clips displays your coordinates on the picture, like an X-Y axis. So the numbers between the lines drawn in the first frame are the "X" distance between the two lines. In terms of the picture, the lines on the left side are 60 units apart, while they are 54 units apart on the right.
This suggests the Giles is already starting off here with his upper body more towards his back foot
2. The second set of markings in frame 11 is to re-measure Giles' weight distribution. I dropped the first line straight down from the center of his helmet. The 2nd line goes up from the middle of his front foot. Before I even measured the "X" distance between the lines, what I noticed is how Giles' back side more directly under his head in the right side of the clip. Check out the difference in relation to the line drawn. Looking past the lines, Giles' has a much more pronounced backwards lean on the left. When I measured the distance between the lines, the difference was the same (6).
What I "saw" is backed up by the video. The difference is great enough to be seen with the naked eye, but even this simple form of measurement reinforces the observation.
3. In frame 14, I made a couple of angles in attempt to measure the actual difference in Giles' "lean". I had to put the file in another program which allowed me to insert the angle and it provides a measure of the angle created on the image. I made the lines go from front heel to middle of the helmet and front heel to back foot. The angle on the left came out to 66 degrees, as compared to 72 on the right.
This was just a way to quantify how much further back Giles' currently is
Implications
It goes back to the first frame. The current Giles' is not quite bringing his upper body along as he completes his stride - at least not like he used to. While hitters often work on "staying back", I don't think Giles had any issues with this in years past. If this change has been a result of trying to "stay back" on the ball longer, it isn't working...
And this is why. "Staying back" does not require a player to keep his weight over his back foot. High level players very commonly move aggressively into their front foot to establish a base of rotation that allows them to deliver the bat to the ball. Here is where I believe Giles' has done a better job in the past than what he is currently doing.
With more weight left towards his back side, Giles' is not rotating his body as effectively as he has. In the 12th frame, it is difficult to see the "Braves" logo on the front of his jersey, whereas it is more visible on the left.
I actually think he is more efficient with his arms in his current swing - getting the bat going later, turning the knob going into contact and also making contact deeper in the zone. But the rotation is not allowing the bat where it needs to be and the increased backwards lean creates a steeper swing plane that opens the door for uppercuts and more of a "looping" swing - both of which make it difficult to maintain his former batting average.
This slight change in weight distribution has seemingly made it more difficult for Giles to consistently get through the ball like he used to. With more weight back, he appears to pull back or "peel off" of the ball
I have heard a number of times on TV/radio that Giles' is just not responding well to the leadoff spot, but I have a difficult time believing a former all-star would be affected that much by moving up one spot in the order.
I for one am rooting for Giles and hope his numbers keep rising as they were going into the All-Star break. Maybe if he can carry his upper body along with him as he moves into footplant, he can turn back into the Marcus Giles' that is so much fun to watch!
________
Click here for Part 2
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I came across this link to a Braves Blog
Marcus Giles Mid-Season Player Assessment
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Posted on Thu Jul 13, 2006 at 08:19:20 AM EST
Atlanta Braves second baseman Marcus Giles was nice enough to give me a few minutes of his time last weekend to talk about his first half performance and what he's looking forward to in the second half.
Martin Gandy (Gandy): Marcus, how would you rate your performance in the first half?
Marcus Giles (Giles): I'd say as a team it was below average and personally it was worse than that. So, whatever grade you want to give it from there.
Gandy: What can you do to improve on your performance in the second half?
Giles: Just keep working hard and try to get back to the basics. Look at film and watch things of success instead of things of failure. [It's] always good to have a positive train of thought when you step in there.
Gandy: Are you watching more film?
Giles: No, not really. Instead of watching what you're doing wrong, maybe watch what you're doing right and try to capitalize on those things.
Gandy: Are you going back a couple of years and watching some old film?
Giles: No, not really. Just this year's hits and when you're feeling comfortable. It's mainly a mental thing, not a physical thing. And just keep it going and mainly just help turn this club around and give ourselves that chance at a playoff berth. I think the more we try to help ourselves win a championship the better off we'll be personally.
Gandy: What do you like most about this Braves team, and what do you like the least?
Giles: Oh shoot, I don't know. What kind of question is that? No comment.
Here is some bonus coverage from questions that were asked of Giles by reporters after Sunday's win over the Reds.
Reporter: Do you feel good about the way you guys are playing?
Giles: Absolutely, we'll take it. Good turnaround, good finish to the first half. It gives us something to look forward to going into the second half, gives us some momentum to work off of. You know, it's going to be an exciting second half definitely from the beginning. A couple of weeks ago when we were struggling I said don't count us out, and it still goes the same right now.
Reporter: Most encouraging, a bunch of you guys have long hitting streaks, everybody in the lineup is getting hot at the same time?
Giles: Absolutely, I think that's the key; one through three hitters getting on base, and the way Frenchy and Mac [Brian McCann] can drive in runs, that's just a bonus. We just need to keep going.
Reporter: Marcus for you, not just your hitting, but getting on base with the walks, you've got to feel good about that?
Giles: Absolutely, like I said, when Renie [Edgar Renteria] and I can go out there and set the table for Chip and Andruw, Frenchy and Mac and those guys who can really drive in runs it's only going to help us, and it's an example of it the last few games.
Reporter: The break is here, it's kind of tough to break up what's been going good here lately?
Giles: That's the only unfortunate thing about this break is to break up our hot streak right now, but that doesn't mean we can't keep it going and pick up where we left off in San Diego. But I know I'm looking forward to getting on a plane here in two hours.
Reporter: It's always been the top of the order that's kind of set the table for the rest of the guys, it's amazing how that's what's doing it again?
Giles: Yeah, it's just the whole key for us. The way our pitching has stepped up this last month, especially the bullpen, hats off to them they've pitched great this last month. It's imperative that Renie [Edgar Renteria] and I get on there and set the table for the big dogs behind us, it only can help us, and I think we showed that this series.
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This is some great stuff .....keep the entries going on the blog ...I've been teaching girls for years ,and I have a girl who leans back ( more than Giles ) , and her swing plane is way off , causing her to hit everthing with a ton of topspin on anything above knee high ....tough to fix so far...
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