QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 8, 2013 -> 06:47 AM)
As I said when everyone wanted to blame Walker for the Sox not scoring runs, if you want a better offense, you better get better hitters. If one guy could make .230 guys with .600 OPS, .300 guys with .900 OPS, their contracts would be bigger than ARod's. A coach does make a difference, but not to the degree many around here seem to think. You could bring the greatest track coach of all time in, it isn't going to make Paulie faster, and it doesn't make him a crappy coach because Paulie didn't get faster. The same applies to hitters. There are limits.
People need to get off the notion that one guy makes that much difference. That one guy is going to ruin an entire team offensively. One thing to keep in mind, there are several guys who pay no attention to the hitting coach.
This I know to be true after a discussion I had once with Butch Hobson, a former player and hitting coach.
For me, blaming the hitting coach is a form of scapegoating and I'm as guilty as anyone. You want someone to blame, simple as that. It's red meat.
I just can't believe how long this slump has endured. People are turning on Rios for his recent woes, but I have to wonder how many good pitches he sees anymore now that teams know he's one of the few capable of doing damage in this lineup.