I never saw any adjustments to that end aside from McCann's going to left field on occasion and I think that was more him than Long Tex was going after low and outside pitches the whole season. His stance from the lift side was too open and it cost him and the team RBIs. If the Yankees thought that he was doing his job but the players themselves were failing he would still be the hitting coach. The best way to get a batter going in the right direction is pushing for a level swing with the idea of taking the pitcher's head off. Thats figuratively speaking of course but the back up the middle theory is the goal An upper cut swing is a guaranteed way to strike out excessively Susuki has been successful with that swing of his because he keeps the bat in the flight path of the ball. Its a bit like geometry. The pitch is rarely a straight line but the point of contact is decreased by that upper cut swing. A linear swing makes for more contact. The faster the swing the higher the chance that the contact propels the ball to the green in the outfield and in some cases ,to of the field With RISP a single is all you need to get runs on the board. If the ball rides the foul line in the outfield it usually good for at least a double and if the runner is fast maybe a triple. Thats what makes the game fun for your team as a fan. Learn from foul balls and previous at bats what the pitcher has and go from there.
