Sorry for the delay; NFH's game report just arrived at Batter's Box HQ via FedEx, in a torn manilla envelope:
We do not yet know if he escaped alive.
I was going to post this in yesterdays game report, but that plan got sidetracked. I think it is still relevant.
I was thinking about the Barnett firing last night and I started thinking about coaches. When it comes to pitching coaches there are some big names and reputations. Leo Mazzone is king of the hill. Rick Peterson, Orel Hershiser, Bud Black and of course Mel Stottlemyre come to mind. Ray Miller is getting a lot of credit this year for the success of the Baltimore pitchers, but are there any hitting coaches with the same reputation? I know Mattingly is in New York, I don't know who is the hitting coach in Boston. In fact I couldn't tell you the name of any highly ranked hitting coaches. Don Baylor had a good reputation, as did Cito Gaston, but are there any new hot-shot hitting coaches? So how important is a hitting coach anyway?
I know Greg Myers was hitting .083 and that might be the reason for his departure. But his last game behind the plate was Ted Lilly's start against the Yankees when Lilly was bombed. Was there anything in the calling of that game that might have contributed to Myers departure?
John Gibbons appears to be channeling Bobby Cox. Some of the more senior bauxites might remember Bobby was an automatic platoon substituter. Gibbons appears to be the same, Schoeneweis to face the lefty; McDonald for Adams; Johnson for Catalanotto. Back in the eighties Cox was taken advantage of by some astute opposing managers, a fact that drove some fans, including yours truly, nuts. The opposing team would start a righty, bring in the lefty reliever in the sixth or seventh, get Bobby to make his changes and immediately bring in the righty to take back the platoon advantage. Last night I would have left Chulk in to face the weak hitting Alex Sanchez, rather than have Nick Green, who had three hits in Tampa's last game, face Schoeneweis. Now Gibby might have a good reason for making that switch, but it is the automatic platooning that I am not a fan of. I prefer a manager to keep the other manager guessing, if you are too predictable the other manager can make his moves with no risk.
I was thinking about the Barnett firing last night and I started thinking about coaches. When it comes to pitching coaches there are some big names and reputations. Leo Mazzone is king of the hill. Rick Peterson, Orel Hershiser, Bud Black and of course Mel Stottlemyre come to mind. Ray Miller is getting a lot of credit this year for the success of the Baltimore pitchers, but are there any hitting coaches with the same reputation? I know Mattingly is in New York, I don't know who is the hitting coach in Boston. In fact I couldn't tell you the name of any highly ranked hitting coaches. Don Baylor had a good reputation, as did Cito Gaston, but are there any new hot-shot hitting coaches? So how important is a hitting coach anyway?
I know Greg Myers was hitting .083 and that might be the reason for his departure. But his last game behind the plate was Ted Lilly's start against the Yankees when Lilly was bombed. Was there anything in the calling of that game that might have contributed to Myers departure?
John Gibbons appears to be channeling Bobby Cox. Some of the more senior bauxites might remember Bobby was an automatic platoon substituter. Gibbons appears to be the same, Schoeneweis to face the lefty; McDonald for Adams; Johnson for Catalanotto. Back in the eighties Cox was taken advantage of by some astute opposing managers, a fact that drove some fans, including yours truly, nuts. The opposing team would start a righty, bring in the lefty reliever in the sixth or seventh, get Bobby to make his changes and immediately bring in the righty to take back the platoon advantage. Last night I would have left Chulk in to face the weak hitting Alex Sanchez, rather than have Nick Green, who had three hits in Tampa's last game, face Schoeneweis. Now Gibby might have a good reason for making that switch, but it is the automatic platooning that I am not a fan of. I prefer a manager to keep the other manager guessing, if you are too predictable the other manager can make his moves with no risk.
In fact I couldn't tell you the name of any highly ranked hitting coaches. Don Baylor had a good reputation, as did Cito Gaston, but are there any new hot-shot hitting coaches?
Rudy Jaramillo is developing a cult following among Texas and ex-Ranger players. He almost got the Mets managing job.
One excellent hitting coach who doesn't get much press is Tommy McCraw, who is currently in Washington. He always has worked under Frank Robinson. McCraw's terrific; I think he's one of the main reasons that wherever F. Robby goes, his team's walks drawn spike way upward.
Hal McRae is another guy who gets good reviews as a hitting coach.
Hal McRae is another guy who gets good reviews as a hitting coach.
For your pondering pleasure, here are the hitting coaches currently employed in the majors:
Los Angeles Angels - Mickey Hatcher Houston - Gary Gaetti
Oakland - Dave Hudgens Atlanta - Terry Pendleton
Toronto - Mickey Brantley Milwaukee - Butch Wynegar
Chicago WS - Greg Walker St. Louis - Hal McRae
Tamjpa Bay - Lee Elia Chicago Cubs - Gene Clines
Cleveland - Eddie Murray Arizona - Mike Aldrete
Seattle - Don Baylor Los Angeles Dodgers - Tim Wallach
Baltimore - Terry Crowley San Francisco - Joe Lefebvre
Texas - Rudy Jaramillo Florida - Bill Robinson
Boston - Ron Jackson New York Mets - Rick Down
Kansas City - Jeff Pentland Washington - Tom McCraw
Detroit - Bruce Fields San Diego - Dave Magadan
Minnesota - Scott Ullger Philadelphia - Milt Thompson
New York Yankees - Don Mattingly Pittsburgh - Gerald Perry
Cincinnati - Chris Chambliss
Colorado - Duane Espy
Mostly a bunch of fringe players, along with one Hall of Famer and two other guys who won MVPs. I believe Pentland, in KC, is the guy who turned Sammy Sosa around in Chicago. And are there still any Charlie Lau disciples left, now that Walt Hriniak isn't with a ML team?
I think Tim Wallach is getting really good reviews in LA, as well. I've seen him mentioned a few times.
Yeah, everyone from Jim Tracy to Kevin Towers to 1,000 journalists is giving mad props to Wallach (once my favorite player) as the author of the terrific LA offense.