I was just watching the Blue Jays-Angels game from yesterday (the first time in two weeks I've actually had the opportunity to sit down and do this...) and one thing jumped out at me that I really needed to talk about here: the lack of aggressiveness on the plate.

First inning, Shannon Stewart leads off the contest with a single that falls just in front of Vladimir Guerrero in right field.  The next batter is Marco Scutaro (.373 OBP!!), who swings on the first pitch, but he is late on it, fouls it off and finally flies out to Guerrero. 

One out.

Then it's Alex Rios' turn and the guy has struggling for a while; he's hitting around .260 and getting on base at a lowly .322 clip.  This is not good for the new millionaire.  First pitch is right down the drain, but he clearly had NO intention of swinging at it.

Why?

The next batter is Scott Rolen and he shows the same exact attitude toward the first pitch; right down the middle, but he might as well have kept his bat on his shoulder, with a clear understanding that he was letting it go, no matter what was offered to him by Jered Weaver.
 
This season, Weaver throws a strike 67% of the time on the first of an at-bat, a number that has been increasing each year since 2006.

My point here is that I'm wondering why hitters are so quick to dismiss the first pitch, when it's almost a given that a pitcher will try to take the lead in the count, especially on the first turn through the lineup. 

It's the same situation with a 3-1 count; why a hitter would not put in his mind that anything near the plate is fair game is beyond me.  If a hitter is not in a good stretch, that becomes of critical importance that he profits from such a favorable count to make good contact and create an opportunity on the field.  He should let the fielders make their mistakes or advance the runners.

Returning to the Blue Jays game, Matt Stairs then takes this approach and swings on the first pitch, an offering in the same exact location that Weaver threw to Rios and Rolen.  Stairs was right on it, but a bit under it, making it a souvenir for a fan behind the plate.

In an interview with minor leaguer A.J. Wideman for "Behind the Dish" magazine, I asked him about his experience with Team Canada at the last tournament for a spot on the 2008 Olympic Games, but more precisely what the other countries did differently compared to the American way of playing baseball.  The first answer was about the way hitters and pitchers approach the 3-2, 3-1 and 3-0 counts and how they were more aggressive, clearly taking advantage of a favorable opportunity for the man at the plate.  For pitchers, it was about keeping the hitters in their toes and throwing off-speed stuff when it was a fastball count.

I understand that certain situations call for taking a pitch and that swinging at all pitches thrown in pitcher's count would be stupid, but it's frustrating to see such opportunities wasted these days when some aggressiveness could mean the difference in a ball game.  Putting the ball in play brings an increased chance of an error or a hit and for the game to become predictable as it is now is baffling to me.