Concentrate On What Stubbs Can Do....Dusty Baker Says

The question came up again today.  What can be done to cut down on Drew Stubbs strikeouts?

Dusty Baker would like to cut down on strikeouts not just Stubbs.  Baker has said when you strikeout you have zero chance.

With that said Baker full heartedly believes in the Reds top draft choice out of Texas.  Below is what Baker told a group of  media members this morning.

"It's just time, experience.  Most times when you're striking out a lot, you're taking a good pitch or you're swinging at a bad one or you're fouling off a pitch you should put in play.  Some of its concentration, some of its focus, some of it could be a visionary thing.  Who knows?  Everybody is different.  We're trying to find out.  Without beating a dead horse.  He knows it.  We know it. Everybody points out Stubbs but it ain't just Stubbs.  Bruce struck out 160 something  (158) times.  Heisey was on a pace for 150.  Joey (Votto) struck out 100 times (129). We've got some strike out guys.  Its just that Stubbs leads the band of K's right now.."

"Let's focus on what the kid can do.  All he hears about is strikeouts, you know what I mean, if somebody tells you you're crazy long enough, you start to think you're crazy.  We are trying to delete the negatives and concentrate on the positives.  I don't know why he didn't win the Gold Glove.  He's the best centerfielder in baseball or in our league.  I don't know of another centerfielder that can out throw him.  He has a high stolen base percentage.  This guys a potential 30-30 guy easy to me.  There's not many more talented guys around.  I hear the guys around the league talking about him 'oh man this dude can fly'. "

"He's got (the burden of) that dangerous word potential.  No matter what he does there's always more that potentially they think he can do.  How many years does he have in the big leagues a year and a half. (2 1/2)?
That's nothing.  He'll figure it out.  He's a smart kid man.  You watch him do that New York crossword puzzle.  That's a pretty good indicator to me.  Wasn't he an honor student too? (Twice named Academic All-American).  He'll figure it out.  Any body here got that tittle (Academic All-American)?  Anybody? John (Fay)?  Doc (Paul Daugherty) I know you got it. (No he does not).

Stubbs didn't work on anything different during the off season.

"I went home and cleared my head," Stubbs said.  "I tried not to think about it (striking out over 200 times) but I did."

So to Dusty's challenge of looking at the positives besides the defense mentioned above.

Stubbs established career highs in doubles, walks, and stolen bases.  He became the first Reds player to steal 40 bases since Deion Sanders did it in 1997.  He scored 92 runs.  Only four players in Reds history have stolen 40 or more bases and scored 100 or more runs in the same season. (Bob Bescher 2, Bobby Tolan, Joe Morgan 6 and Eric Davis the most recent, 1987).