The Search For A Hitting Coach
Rusty Greer acknowledges an adoring audience during his Texas Rangers Hall of Fame induction speech on August 11th, 2009.If you take a step back and really think about it for a second, the fact that so much attention is being directed towards a non-player and non-managerial position -- that being the hotly discussed Texas Rangers hitting coach vacancy -- is, to some extent, a needless overreaction. Whatever. I'm as guilty of engaging in the commotion as the next person, if not guiltier, but it's an indication that people (a) realize the offense's shortcomings were the real dagger to the heart of the 2009 Rangers, and (b) actually care about seeing the offense improve, which is obviously preferable to the alternative -- apathy.
What strikes me as interesting about the latest development on this unsettled coaching front is that Triple-A Oklahoma City hitting instructor Scott Coolbaugh will reportedly not be interviewed by the Rangers, who seem to be leaning towards established major league coaching entities (Thad Bosley, Carney Lansford, Clint Hurdle and Gerald Perry) but have also included the long-idolized Rusty Greer.within the pool of candidates.
Coolbaugh had seemingly emerged as the logical successor to Rudy Jaramillo, in the sense that (a) he has patiently paid his dues as a high-level minor league coach within the organization over several years and (b) has played a key role in the offensive development and maintenance of Elvis Andrus, Julio Borbon and Chris Davis. To what we can attribute his exclusion from the interviewing process is really anybody's guess right now, but the perception seems to exist that he's a "disciple" of Jaramillo and his core offensive philosophy; if true, the reasons why Texas would search elsewhere are self-explanatory.
Greer, meanwhile, has amassed no professional coaching experience to my knowledge, representing a stark contrast against those aforementioned names and kindling speculation that nostalgic forces are at work within the front office. His name and local popularity alone likely guarantees some degree of special consideration, but this seems to be one of those opaque-shaded situations where faith that the most qualified candidate will be selected needs to be invested in management. And if, by this point, you can't share that faith, then you're probably just about ready to see new ownership make some sweeping personnel changes.
Just sayin'.
9 Comments | in Analysis, The Off-Season
Reader Comments (9)
I'm sorry that SCool's no longer in. I like EG's idea of him AND Rusty: perhaps he's "out" of consideration because he's agreed to be that out-of-uniform 2nd guy already.
Otherwise didn't Gerald Perry have some Nolan ties, and get some strong recs for the bench coach job last year?
I don't know anything at all about Hurdle as an instructor, so I have no opinion on his candidacy. The other 3 outsiders are retreads who've not shown a modicum of the results that Jaramillo had. Would be a step backward, ostensibly for preference of that change in philosophy, in my view. Just silly.
Coolbaugh is the bloggy blog fair haired boy. His supporters essentially cite as his right to ascension his implied role in Chris Davis successful adjustments on the farm. Mighty thin, and I will submit those same patrons for his hire now will themselves hold him under the bus tires the moment an Andrus or Borbon or Cruz go through an extended slump. Needs more skins.
Greer. Intriguing. I'm not one for nostalgia, but this maight be the best fit here. In Texas. Huge cred, proven communicator, controlled ego, good age at which to communicate with this group, links to Ranger playoff teams. Would be a bold and creative call.
I'm ultimately good with whatever they do but surely some guys make more sense than others.
If we thought our offense was bad, then what does that make the Giants' offense? A crime against humanity? Why would we consider hiring Carney Lansford? Perhaps we believe that their hitting challenges were the result of bad players and ours were caused by Rudy. I don't buy it. I can't really comment on the other guys outside of Rusty. I think there's a small possibility that Hicks might push for Rusty with the thought that he's the only candidate who just might put a few extra butts in the seats.
Oh and Rusty did lead the Hardline to a double digit comeback against the Musers in the Ticket's Great Game this year, so he does have a little coaching experience.
I am under the impression that Scott Coolbaugh is well enough known by the organization that he doesn't need an "interview." Also, if he's merely an extension of Jaramillo, how in the world did Chris Davis reinvent his stroke under Scott when he couldn't hit the side of a barn under Rudy? hmmm....
Rusty, Rusty, Rusty! Former team members loved his attitude, and his humble hit behind the runner or draw the walk, and let the next guy gain the fame of winning it. Sure, the next guy was Juan, but we need more hitters on this team with the mindset of prolonging the rally, and not trying to get all the glory of the game winner himself every game. Hire Rusty now!
I just ask for a hitting coach who can help clarify the rules: You don't HAVE to swing the bat at every pitch.
Question for anyone who has an opinion...
We were told that Rudy declined the contract that was offered. We were told it had merit/results/performance clauses attached to it.
Did Rudy decline the contract due to the contract itself, or because he may not have thought he could meet the merit/results/performance clauses in the contract with the players he had to work with?
In other words, did Rudy "move on" because of the contract or the players?
Did Rudy think there was no way he could meet the contract with successful results because of the players?
Just asking.
Rudy's got a big ego, and enjoyed all those years where everyone bowed down to him as the God of Hitting. Remember last off season even Francoeur came to Rudy for advice. So I imagine the public lashing he took this year for the first time ever played a big part of the seeming ease with which he took his exit.
Here's a question - how much of what hitting coaches do even matters at all? How much of it is player skill, experience, and confidence? Very few players are consistent in their hitting, at least with batting average. It is quite common to see a guy hit .250 one year and .290 the next, or to fall from .300 to .220 in one season. How much of that should be attributed to the coach, and how much of that is just confidence, skill, and other factors?