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Our Hitting Coach

spiritof66

By spiritof66
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spiritof66 Hangout Grand Counsel

spiritof66

Posted
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I know very little about hitting coaches and their role on an MLB team (other than Charlie Lau and perhaps a couple of others). And I know very little about Scott Coolbaugh, except that he appears to converse with players during a game less and less intensively than some hitting coaches I've seen.

Here's what I do know. Our core offensive players are performing well, and in some cases extremely well: Manny, Davis, Jones (though his recent numbers aren't great, big peaks and valleys are what you're going to get with Adam), Schoop, and to a lesser extent the catchers.

Everyone else's performance since June has been below (or far below) my expectations, and I think the FO's and Buck's expectations: Parades, Hardy, Reimold, Lough, Flaherty (even if the expectation is modest), and the departed Snider and Parmelee. Pearce has had an awful year, but seemed to be heating up in July before hitting the DL. Parra is lining up to join the sub-expectations group, and Lake shows real potential for it.

In August, this group (including Parra and Lake) is hitting .129, with 1 HR and 6 RBI in 129 ABs, with an OBP of .213 (boosted by Parra's walks) and an SLG of.240. Other than Pearce, the highest OPS for a member of this group in July was Hardy's .624, and the highest so far in August is Parra's .646 (240 points below his OPS with the Brewers), followed by Hardy's .416. I can't bring myself to type the low OPSs. (The group numbers are my calculations and may be wrong, but of so they're close.)

It seems to me that the league has been slow to recognize how bad these guys are (and probably disbelieve it of Parra), but they seem to have caught up now.

Is this just bad luck, an unfortunate set of coincidences over a SSS? At some point, isn't this widespread failure on Coolbaugh, at least in part? I haven't seen, or heard Palmer et al. mention, any visible change in the hitting approach of any of those I've referred to. I would have thought that some of these guys -- like Snider, watching his MLB career slip away, or Flaherty -- would be eager if not desperate to try something different. While making changes of that sort might not be the answer for everybody, I would think it's likely that it would be worthwhile for somebody.

Would replacing Coolbaugh possibly do some good for even one or two of these guys? It's hard to imagine that it could make things worse.

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TINSTAAPP Perennial All-Star

TINSTAAPP

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I don't think Coolbaugh is the problem. I only disliked Presley because of how much players declined in plate discipline under his tutelage. In particular, JJ Hardy's decline in patience at the plate really stands out. He had a very respectable walk rate of 8.2% when he joined the Orioles. Under Presley, it went all the way down to 5.5%. Markakis' walk rate declined under Presley as well. Manny Machado's walk rate has skyrocketed after Presley's departure although that could just be the natural progression of a gifted young hitter.

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sportsfan8703 Hangout Grand Counsel

sportsfan8703

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We just need to face some truths as O's fans. Parades needs serious work. But there is talent there. I'd like to keep him around for the offseason. Hardy has lost his power because he now weighs 155lbs. I won a contest to meet him during BP. The guy probably can't support a higher weight because of his back issues. I'm fine with him being all glove. But the power isn't coming back. I doubt he can even lift weights with his back.

Machado, Schoop, and Joseph are all having career years. Davis and Jones are doing very well. If Scott Coolbaugh could just invent talent out of thin air, I'm sure he would've been an All Star. He got the most out of himself. So I think he knows what he's doing. You can only do so much with so little.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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The team's offensive stats are very similar to last year's, despite the loss of Cruz and Markakis. I'd say the offense overall has met or even slightly exceeded my expectations so far, even though you can certainly point to individuals who have struggled. So, I don't think the hitting coach is having any negative impact.

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El Gordo Hangout Grand Counsel

El Gordo

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Yes, because every year, regardless of who is in the job, we get at least one annual, fire the hitting coach thread.
Yep, every year. And every year it's made clear hitting coaches rarely have much effect good or bad. It's like firing your massage therapist.
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Tx Oriole Hangout Grand Counsel

Tx Oriole

Posted
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I know very little about hitting coaches and their role on an MLB team (other than Charlie Lau and perhaps a couple of others). And I know very little about Scott Coolbaugh, except that he appears to converse with players during a game less and less intensively than some hitting coaches I've seen.

Here's what I do know. Our core offensive players are performing well, and in some cases extremely well: Manny, Davis, Jones (though his recent numbers aren't great, big peaks and valleys are what you're going to get with Adam), Schoop, and to a lesser extent the catchers.

Everyone else's performance since June has been below (or far below) my expectations, and I think the FO's and Buck's expectations: Parades, Hardy, Reimold, Lough, Flaherty (even if the expectation is modest), and the departed Snider and Parmelee. Pearce has had an awful year, but seemed to be heating up in July before hitting the DL. Parra is lining up to join the sub-expectations group, and Lake shows real potential for it.

In August, this group (including Parra and Lake) is hitting .129, with 1 HR and 6 RBI in 129 ABs, with an OBP of .213 (boosted by Parra's walks) and an SLG of.240. Other than Pearce, the highest OPS for a member of this group in July was Hardy's .624, and the highest so far in August is Parra's .646 (240 points below his OPS with the Brewers), followed by Hardy's .416. I can't bring myself to type the low OPSs. (The group numbers are my calculations and may be wrong, but of so they're close.)

It seems to me that the league has been slow to recognize how bad these guys are (and probably disbelieve it of Parra), but they seem to have caught up now.

Is this just bad luck, an unfortunate set of coincidences over a SSS? At some point, isn't this widespread failure on Coolbaugh, at least in part? I haven't seen, or heard Palmer et al. mention, any visible change in the hitting approach of any of those I've referred to. I would have thought that some of these guys -- like Snider, watching his MLB career slip away, or Flaherty -- would be eager if not desperate to try something different. While making changes of that sort might not be the answer for everybody, I would think it's likely that it would be worthwhile for somebody.

Would replacing Coolbaugh possibly do some good for even one or two of these guys? It's hard to imagine that it could make things worse.

I don't think firing the hitting coach is going to help. If they fire Scott then who

takes his place?

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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Would replacing Coolbaugh possibly do some good for even one or two of these guys? It's hard to imagine that it could make things worse.

Over the last five years the Orioles have been 6th, 6th, 4th, 9th, and 7th in runs scored. The year they were 9th they were literally four runs from being above average. Yet every single solitary year we get someone who says that firing the hitting coach should be an option because "it's hard to imagine that it could make things worse." I think some posters have an inadequate imagination. You can't imagine a scenario that would encompass something like 70% of the league.

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