Why no talk of firing Presley?

[JTrea81]

When you have instruction like this, there's no wonder why your bats are going cold with RISP nor getting on base:

Several hitters said this week they would not change their pregame and in-game approaches, since it had worked so well for them for most of this season. Presley agrees that is the way the players should feel.

"We are too good hitting of a ballclub to change what we do," Presley said. "We just have to be a little more selective when we get guys in scoring position. Like J.J. Hardy two nights ago, he was 1-2 (on the count) he gets a big base hit and gets us back in the game. That's a big at-bat.

"We had a meeting a few days ago and I reminded them that up to a week ago, 'Hey, we were probably the best hitting club with runners in scoring position in baseball. That's out of 30 clubs.' We've run into some good arms here. It's not going to be just this week. That is baseball."

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2013/07/os-jim-presley-on-the-hitters-approach-and-working-counts.html

That was Presley after the Orioles' win on July 11th.

The Orioles in July hit .240/.293/.389/.681 as a team.

Their OBP was the second worst in baseball that month. This month they've rebounded to a .777 OPS, but their OBP continues to be dismal at .315, good enough for only 20th in MLB.

To have a hitting coach recommend not changing your approach when your approach has failed for a month is not somebody you want advising your hitters.

OBP and RISP have plagued this club since Presley's arrival with Showalter. The bats have power, but if there is no power, this club can't get on base to manufacture runs, and when some power does show up - it's in the form of a solo HR. Solo HRs are great, but not so great when you have 3-4 runs to make up and not a lot of time to do it in.

The Orioles have won an overwhelming majority of their games when they score 4 runs or more. And the opposite is true as they've lost an overwhelming number of games when they score less than 4 runs with an example of today's start.

Our pitching staff is not good enough to win games with only 1-3 runs of support, and that falls on Jim Presley to take advantage of that power by make sure the hitters are putting ducks on the pond and staying selective enough to get the mistake pitch to cash the runners in.

I'm not sure if this trend of poor OBP and not hitting with RISP will continue, but if it does and the Orioles miss the playoffs as a result, one of the first things that needs to happen is the hitting coach needs to be replaced. Presley isn't Crowley - with a long standing organizational tie, and plenty of teams have fired hitting coaches with positive results, the most recent example being the Kansas City Royals.

I'd love to see him replaced right now to try to turn this offense around, but I don't see that happening.

What we do know is that the Orioles approach at the plate is holding them back, and they have far too many bats that can do damage to not get enough men on base. And because of that poor OBP, they have to cash in the runs when they have the opportunity. A single or double can work just as well as the HR.

It's Jim Presley's job to coach the hitters for success and so far he's not doing it and the Orioles have too much at stake to let that happen.

[Ommaculate]

I doubt this happens for the simple fact Chris Davis is a monster. Markakis is extremely troubling though. I don't know what happened to him.

[JTrea81]

I doubt this happens for the simple fact Chris Davis is a monster. Markakis is extremely troubling though. I don't know what happened to him.

Manny Machado's performance is what is worrying me. He's not going to be Alex Rodriguez, or Alex Gonzalez for that matter if he keeps swinging away at everything.

[Can_of_corn]

How long did Crow stay?

What's Buck biggest weakness as a manager?

Presley is going nowhere.

[Ommaculate]

Manny Machado's performance is what is worrying me. He's not going to be Alex Rodriguez, or Alex Gonzalez for that matter if he keeps swinging away at everything.

That's true Machado seems to be regressing but he is so young. Has a contending team ever fired the hitting coach? It's not going to happen. Please find one example of it ever happening before.

[Ripken]

I keep hearing people in the org talk about improving team obp but I don't see anyone taking action to that end. Presley is a good hitting coach, he's partly responsible for Cabrera and Davis having monster seasons, but his "aggressive" approach seems like it could be a problem.

[Ommaculate]

I keep hearing people in the org talk about improving team obp but I don't see anyone taking action to that end. Presley is a good hitting coach, he's partly responsible for Cabrera and Davis having monster seasons, but his "aggressive" approach seems like it could be a problem.

Crow had the same approach. Crow might as well still be the hitting coach. It seems the philosophy is the same.

[ledzepp8]

The Orioles are 2nd in the AL with an 800 OPS with runners on.

The Orioles are 2nd in the AL with an 787 OPS with RISP.

The Orioles are 7th in the AL with a 718 OPS with RISP and 2 outs, middle of the pack but still above average for the AL.

The Orioles are 8th in the AL with a 743 OPS with the bases loaded, middle of the pack but still above average for the AL.

Could the offense be improved? Sure. Could the OBP be improved? Sure. Are you part of a pretty small minority that is unhappy with an offense that is 3rd in the AL with a 756 OPS, has hit the most HRs with 153, and has scored the 3rd most runs with 546? Sure.

[JTrea81]

That's true Machado seems to be regressing but he is so young. Has a contending team ever fired the hitting coach? It's not going to happen. Please find one example of it ever happening before.

It's happened a bunch in baseball before and those teams usually do better after they fire the coach accrording to this article from 2007:

From 2001 through last year, 14 teams changed hitting coaches in-season. Under the new men, those squads' batting averages were 15 points higher, they scored 0.42 more runs per game, hit 0.13 more homers per game and posted winning percentages 41 points higher than before the switches.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/hitting-coaches-impact-article-1.267854#ixzz2bcJ6KR9o

[El Gordo]

Most players get to the ML by developing an approach that maximizes their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses. Few players have the talent to change their approach and they shouldn't. It is ridiculous to expect a hitting coach to alter the approaches of players who have been starters in the big leagues for years. Maybe a gut like Manny or Henry who are just getting here, but not many others. This team is pretty much what it is offensively. If you want better OBP you need to get different players.

[Ommaculate]

It's happened a bunch in baseball before and those teams usually do better after they fire the coach accrording to this article from 2007:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/hitting-coaches-impact-article-1.267854#ixzz2bcJ6KR9o

You have convinced me. I'm on board. Fire Presley! Should you or I make the Fire Presley facebook page?

[EagleOriole]

Absurd...the Nationals fired their hitting coach because they were 28th in runs scored with 428 runs. We are 4th in the league with 546 runs scored. Just absurd.

[Can_of_corn]

It's happened a bunch in baseball before and those teams usually do better after they fire the coach accrording to this article from 2007:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/hitting-coaches-impact-article-1.267854#ixzz2bcJ6KR9o

Six year sample?

You know that is the blink of a Mayfly's eye for baseball right?

Of course the "study" is flawed anyway since a team that fires it's hitting coach is liable to be performing poorly and a poorly performing squad is more likely to improve then a well performing squad.

[JTrea81]

The Orioles are 2nd in the AL with an 800 OPS with runners on.

The Orioles are 2nd in the AL with an 787 OPS with RISP.

The Orioles are 7th in the AL with a 718 OPS with RISP and 2 outs, middle of the pack but still above average for the AL.

The Orioles are 8th in the AL with a 743 OPS with the bases loaded, middle of the pack but still above average for the AL.

Could the offense be improved? Sure. Could the OBP be improved? Sure. Are you part of a pretty small minority that is unhappy with an offense that is 3rd in the AL with a 756 OPS, has hit the most HRs with 153, and has scored the 3rd most runs with 546? Sure.

A lot of those stats were put up before the AS Break.

The team has regressed quite significantly.

[Can_of_corn]

A lot of those stats were put up before the AS Break.

The team has regressed quite significantly.

Of course that regression could not have been inevitable right? It is perfectly reasonable for Davis to break the AL HR record the same year Machado sets a new doubles record.