defending the slap

Question
Larry,
 Many teams these days start off their lineups with slappers. I play third base and I know from experience they are very hard to defend. I was wondering if you had any advice or tips on how to defend this hit a little better, so I have enough time to get a quick throw off. Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hello Megan

The key to defending a slap hitter is to position the first baseman about 3 feet behind the bag and slide the second baseman and right fielder forward. As a third baseman this gives you the opportunity to field the ball and make a quick throw to first base without waiting for someone to cover first base.  

The slap is a great offensive weapon, however if the slap hitter is one-dimensional, (i.e. everyone knows that she is going to either slap or bunt) this can be defended by bring in the outfielders and repositioning the infield like my example mentioned above.