joejoesox

Steve Stone saying Gavin did not touch first base.

QUOTE (heirdog @ May 6, 2008 -> 02:54 PM) If players don't use the hitting coach, then the hitting coach is unnecessary. So either way, get rid of him. If players aren't going to him, then the position is not needed. If the players are going to him, then he hasn't been effective and should be replaced. And please don't tell me that Carlos Quentin is the only one that Walker is working with.... So if we don't need a hitting coach, get rid of him? What point does that serve, other than to free up about a few dollars that won't be significant enough to improve the ball club in any facet of the game. Knee-jerk.

Current MLB leaders (Strikeouts): 1 Johan Santana : 47 2 Javier Vazquez : 46 2 Jake Peavy : 46 4 Tim Lincecum : 45 also, his ERA is 3.30, 1.21 WHIP, .253 BAA, .301 OBA doing a great job so far, and I think Toby Hall has done a great job with our pitching staff this year as well, he's no longer appearing to be an instant out like he was last year

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 6, 2008 -> 02:41 PM) Well, let me reply to this with a simple question. How exactly can removing Greg Walker make this team worse? How exactly does taking one's job away, make this team better? I'll NEVER resort to that sort of tactic to remedy a situation unless that's the CLEAR solution to the problem. That's not the case here, I can't justify taking his job away from him because of this. Swisher came to this team and in spring training, the first person he went to for hitting advice was Jim Thome, not Greg Walker. That doesn't speak towards Walkers lack of knowledge, but more to the fact that Thome is an established hitter, HE is the one that goes to the plate and swings the bat, and has an established career. Just like when Frank went to Oakland, Swisher always followed him around getting advice on all the little nuances of hitting, not the A's hitting coach. But hey, it's not your job that's being lost right? So let's fire him. That's total Bull**** if you ask me

QUOTE (bigred3535 @ May 6, 2008 -> 02:22 PM) If the players are veterans who don't need coaching than why does every major league team have a hitting coach? That's such a simplistic and downright stupid way of putting things and I'm tired of Ozzie, reporters and fans saying that. If you've ever played a sport you know that a coach is there to tell players things that they can't see, because they are inside the slump and can't see their own swing or to gain a bigger perspective. They're supposed to be a trained set of eyes that can see what's wrong and attempt to help the players fix it. Walker clearly is not right for this team and a change needs to be made. Of course, a change won't be made...ever. This team is even more talented and frustrating to watch than last year's so far. You're tired of Ozzie, and reporters saying it, oh.. you mean Baseball People. Gotcha. I have no doubt that Walker has told a lot of these guys what they're doing wrong, but ultimately it's up to the players to translate that information in their at bats. And they're not doing it. If you think Greg Walker just trots around, not dissecting their swings/approaches vs certain pitchers, amongst other things that hitting coaches do, then he WOULDN'T have a job because that kind of lethargic non-coaching wouldn't be tolerated by this organization. Walk is telling these guys what's wrong, they're just not able to execute this information right now because they're MENTALLY slumping, they're psyching themselves out at the plate, it's that simiple really. The only person who's going to get these guys out of a slump is themselves. Firing Walker is a knee-jerk reaction because your angry that you are helpless and can't do anything about these guys' poor performances, and only they can. Your lack of control of the situation is leading to this mob-mentality on firing him. Just my $.02

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ May 6, 2008 -> 07:51 AM) It is probably time to part ways with Walker. The offense has been bad and wasting good outings by the pitching staff. This is two years in a row where we slumped out of the gate offensively and pretty poorly. We need a new approach, fresh blood to come in to reassess things. As far as roster moves, there is no one in AAA that is going to make enough impact to warrant cutting someone lose. If there is a move made I hope that it is a trade of some type to bring in a everyday 2B that can lead off. yeah, the players are obviously not to be held accountable for their poor performance. lol @ blaming the hitting coach for guys that are slumping, that've been in the league for 10+ years i don't care who your hitting coach is, it's the players that have to translate that coaching to the field, and these guys aren't doing it, their poor performance right now is obviously mental as they're pressing too much *because* of the slump, it's most likely making it worse. it has nothing to do with Greg Walker, ffs.

the mob is angry, one MUST be sacrificed!

"we can only hope" speak for yourself, sir.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 5, 2008 -> 09:39 AM) We will win by 6 runs today so Iam not worried about the situation at all. are the bluejays going to cross homeplate backwards 5 times after we hit a solo shot?

darn, 1-2-3.

i see some damage done by the sox this inning after that 1-2-3 by contreras (and i'm not talking about damage to their stats lol)

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 4, 2008 -> 12:12 PM) LOL, Quentin is just a beanball magnet. I didnt see it live, Im watching gameday. Hopefully it wasnt too painful it was thrown right at him, not much he could've done.

nice job paulie, maybe this is the game where we start to turn it around? i don't expect the whole lineup to start hitting at once but all it takes is one or two guys to get it started, swisher looked like he really saw the ball well in that second at bat, same with Jim and Paulie

nice job jim, slightly beats the shift by going to right center with a single, lets extend this inning

terrible approach by Cabrera, but we get a break w/ an E6

cancel the post-game show!

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 4, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) Im sure you will be happy to be right about that too probably not as happy as you appear to be

it's only a matter of time before this team gets no-hit this year.

And this ballgame is ovah! 3-0 jays. edit: 4-0, lol

Fire Don Cooper, he's obviously the reason Contreras is struggling right now.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 4, 2008 -> 06:01 AM) Sure you go through bad habits and slumps... but if your worth a damn and know anything about baseball, you wouldn't need a hitting coach to get you out of said slump. A hitting coach pretty much gives advice, but that, most of the time, doesn't work. It is dependent on the player to fix it himself. so what's your arguement then? fire walker because he's not needed, or fire walker because the guys who, in your words "Don't need a hitting coach" are slumping?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 3, 2008 -> 09:02 PM) Mike Scoscia is also the best manager in the majors...regardless of who their GM is or what team he puts on the field, Scoscia takes it and makes it work every year. i can't disagree with this

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 3, 2008 -> 10:42 PM) Also, you saying someone like Quentin needs a hitting coach is assinine. Quentin has been a great hitter his whole life, and everything you see from him is due to his incredible work ethic and talent. BA on the otherhand needs to get some talent in the hitting department. Assinine? That's ridiculous, has been a great hitter his whole life? Yeah, he's got a TON of major league experience in his combined 1 season of major league at bats, there's no possible way that in his young age, he could develop a bad habit and actually NEED someone to help him make adjustments and get his swing back. Your whole post is ridiculous, no offense. The fact is, he's a young player and young players aren't veterans and haven't been through the ups and downs that go along with helping someone become an established hitter with few weaknesses.

firing walker won't do sh**, please stop rehashing this old and useless idea because the guys on the team that might actually NEED a hitting coach (Quentin and BA) are actually hitting PRETTY DAMN WELL so far, the VETS whom have grooved swings and established approaches at the plate, are the ones who have their heads up their asses now, you can ask yourself why did we HIRE walker in the first place, which is a valid question to a point, but to fire him is pointless and only serves to make yourself feel better because of how this team is making YOU feel by their constant losing, you want someone to play scape goat because your feelings are hurt

The Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Oakland A's all say Hello! Not saying that's the only reason, but it's a huge reason. Those 3 teams are never contenders except for 2006 when Oakland made the playoffs