Shepkowski: Cubs Adopting ‘The Epstein Approach’ At The Plate

" (CBS) Many of us were taught back in Little League that the first pitch was the best you would see and to be ready to attack when you stepped in the batter’s box.

Some big leaguers like Josh Hamilton and Starlin Castro have had great success by swinging early in at-bats, but it’s safe to say Theo Epstein won’t ever be the Little League dad who has his team use this approach.

Epstein cited “philosophical differences” that led to the firing of Rudy Jaramillo on Tuesday, and it’s obvious the lack of taking pitches and working counts was a major part of those differences. The Cubs currently sit 27th in all of baseball, seeing 3.72 pitches per plate appearance. As a result, the Cubs rank 27th in on-base percentage, while taking the fourth fewest walks this season.

Do pitch counts and drawing walks necessarily mean wins? Not exactly, as the 28-35 Oakland Athletics currently lead baseball in pitches seen per plate appearance. In terms of philosophy, however, there’s no debating how valuable this number is when Epstein is running a team "

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