Oh wow, KW has made his first idiotic statement IMHO. If a coach is not getting through to his players, it's because they're tuning him out. If they are tuning him out, that means he is unable to perform his job.

 

He did talk openly about a coaching staff that did draw some heat this year, however, specifically Walker.

"Listen, he's doing everything he can to get the hitters in a proper mindset, the proper hitting position, to have success,'' Williams said. "We give them information from advanced scouting, we have video capabilities to where the guys study not only their swing, but the opposition's pitcher. I've had conversation after conversation with Greg in terms of what he's teaching, how he's teaching it, he's open-minded to using the rest of the coaching staff, who are accomplished hitting guys in their own right, Harold Baines and Joey Cora and Ozzie as well as his input. So it's not a one-guy thing. I don't think you can put it on one guy.

 

That really stuck out to me the most though.

 

 

Pitching coaches tend to be A LOT more important than hitting coaches. People like Coop, Dave Duncan, and Leo Mazzone have gotten A LOT out of pitchers who aren't all that great. Far fewer hitting coaches have had that the impact that these guys have.

Leo Mazzone can't find a job.

Leo Mazzone can't find a job.

Can't find or doesn't want?

Leo Mazzone can't find a job.

Nor can Rick Peterson.

Another year of August/September hitting slumps. What's it now? 6 years straight?

 

 

More like June, this is the arrogance of KW, KW knows Walker has not done the job but he is so much smarter than anyone else just ask him. Walker as hitting coach has been a problem since June 2006 this team is in a 3 and a half year funk. KW had no trouble making sure Tim Raines was shown the door when they said he was not doing the job. Walker having a seizure on the field in the 80's should not mean lifelong employment by JR! Hey I am not afraid to say it, his actual job performance surely is not why he is still employed as the hitting coach.

Edited September 24, 200916 yr by Soxfest

More like June, this is the arrogance of KW, KW knows Walker has not done the job but he is so much smarter than anyone else just ask him. Walker as hitting coach has been a problem since June 2006 this team is in a 3 and a half year funk. KW had no trouble making sure Tim Raines was shown the door when they said he was not doing the job. Walker having a seizure on the field in the 80's should not mean lifelong employment by JR! Hey I am not afraid to say it, his actual job performance surely is not why he is still employed as the hitting coach.

 

Perfectly stated. Raines was shown the door and probably did more than any other coaches not named Razor Shines or Joey Cora.

Hitting coaches have not been around the game of baseball for as long as they have because they serve no purpose. This likely will never be instilled as i have to mention it every couple weeks just to have it skipped right on by. Pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and even bullpen coaches all serve absolutely vital roles, far deeper than anyone here is willing to put the time in to comprehend.

 

Post 56 was by far the most well thought out arguement i have ever seen on this subject since, well, since ever.

If you feel like it's time for a change of pace, hold that opinion. But you cant really say you KNOW walker is the reason for certain failures.

 

Great post. Walker may be the best in the world. We just don't know.

I wouldn't mind a switch for change of pace sake, but I don't care if he returns, either. I'd say we could use some change. I still say he should coach third next year and promote some other hitting coach just to please the masses.

Hitting coaches have not been around the game of baseball for as long as they have because they serve no purpose. This likely will never be instilled as i have to mention it every couple weeks just to have it skipped right on by. Pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and even bullpen coaches all serve absolutely vital roles, far deeper than anyone here is willing to put the time in to comprehend.

 

Post 56 was by far the most well thought out arguement i have ever seen on this subject since, well, since ever.

Am I misreading your post? Or is that a typo? Hitting coaches "serve no purpose" but "serve a vital role" is what I'm referring to.

Am I misreading your post? Or is that a typo? Hitting coaches "serve no purpose" but "serve a vital role" is what I'm referring to.

He is basically saying there is a reason hitting coaches have been around as long as they have.

Am I misreading your post?

 

Yes.

Am I misreading your post? Or is that a typo? Hitting coaches "serve no purpose" but "serve a vital role" is what I'm referring to.

 

It's technically a double negative, making it a positive.

 

Hitting coaches have not been around the game of baseball for as long as they have because they serve no purpose.

 

Taking out the "not" and "no," it states "Hitting coaches have been around the game of baseball for as long as they have because they serve purpose."

 

And it's very true. Jermaine Dye resurrected his career in Chicago. Paul Konerko has bounced around, but he's come back to putting up numbers virtually every year after a struggle. Scott Podsednik has hit .300 this year in the AL when he could barely hit in Colorado of all places. Carlos Quentin had an absolutely fantastic season last year before he went down with an injury. And I seem to recall that prior to the 2006 season, Walker was in Crede's ear all offseason preparing him for the season, and Crede had the best year of his career.

 

There have been failures throughout his tenure, and I imagine that Walker stresses power when he coaches. When you do that, players have a tendency to pull off the ball trying to hit the s*** out of it. If a coach stresses making solid contact or hitting for line drives, there will be times that is all they will do, and they will go through ruts where they roll over balls, or hit weak ground balls, or maybe get a single here or there, and get 7 hits and score maybe 1 or 2 runs. This is the Twins philosophy. It's killed the Sox over the past 5 years, but part of that has to do with some dude named Mauer and his career .328/.407/.486/.893. When that offense is hot, they can put up runs in bunches - any offense can. When it gets cold, it is not a pretty sight to see - no offense is.

Wait, am the I the only one who is noticing the worst part of all?

 

No defense coach was hired.

Wait, am the I the only one who is noticing the worst part of all?

 

No defense coach was hired.

For one thing, Cora actually serves as the infield defense coach. Second, I don't think the team ever has a plainly "defense coach". Third, the season isn't even over yet, let alone are we starting spring training, so let's see what happens.

 

I don't need a legitimate reason not to want Walker around. I hate his face, I hate his name, and whenever he talks I black out because my mind can't comprehend his redneck dialect.

 

Get rid of him.

 

SSI also seems to dislike him, so that's the only reason I need.

Just another of your great posts - it's times like these that you add so much to this forum.

So what I've learned from reading this thread is that hitting coaches pretty much have no impact on a team, they get paid a lot of money to just sit around, if players don't listen to them who cares, and unless they commit some sort of felony on their day off they should never be fired.

So what I've learned from reading this thread is that hitting coaches pretty much have no impact on a team, they get paid a lot of money to just sit around, if players don't listen to them who cares, and unless they commit some sort of felony on their day off they should never be fired.

 

I think if you're going to call for Walker's head you better call for Ozzie's as well. The causal link between coach and team performance is tenuous. I think there are other factors one must take into consideration. That being said, this is the first time in Ozzie's tenure that I have begun to consider the team without him as a manager.

I think if you're going to call for Walker's head you better call for Ozzie's as well. The causal link between coach and team performance is tenuous. I think there are other factors one must take into consideration. That being said, this is the first time in Ozzie's tenure that I have begun to consider the team without him as a manager.

 

I'd bet that 9 out of 10 organizations would have fired their hitting coach after several consecutive seasons of abysmal August and Septembers.

I'd bet that 9 out of 10 organizations would have fired their hitting coach after several consecutive seasons of abysmal August and Septembers.

That may be true. How many organizations out of 10 do you think would have fired Ozzie by now, for the team's performance as well as the comments he has made in the media?

That may be true. How many organizations out of 10 do you think would have fired Ozzie by now, for the team's performance as well as the comments he has made in the media?

 

Perhaps half.

I'd bet that 9 out of 10 organizations would have fired their hitting coach after several consecutive seasons of abysmal August and Septembers.

 

If a team hits from April through July, how is it Walker's fault that they don't hit in August and September? That sounds more like an age problem than a hitting coach problem.

 

If a team hits from April through July, how is it Walker's fault that they don't hit in August and September? That sounds more like an age problem than a hitting coach problem.

I knew it. You ARE Greg Walker.

Perhaps half.

 

I'd be willing to bet it is a higher number than that...

I knew it. You ARE Greg Walker.

 

No, I'm not trying to defend Walker. It's a serious question. Doesn't the age of the middle of our lineup seem like a more plausible reason for a consistent decline in production at the end of every year?