Whose head should be next to roll?

[caulfield12]

I wonder if anyone will pick an option other than Guillen or Walker...?

[BearSox]

Greg Walker... It amazes me how some people can say he is one of the best hitting coaches in baseball with a straight face.

[southsider2k5]

How can people not say the minor league people?

[caulfield12]

How can people not say the minor league people?

 

 

Because they are the most "under the radar" you can possibly get...and their firings don't satisfy the "bloodlust" of the average fan in Kankakee or Peoria that goes to one or two White Sox games per year and probably doesn't even know the starting line-up of the White Sox.

 

For instance, take Radcliff and Jim Rantz. WHO? Two huge reasons the Twins have finished ahead of the White Sox in four of the last five years with significantly smaller budgets.

 

We'd be much better off to double the salary of either of those guys and let them remake our scouting department (like Dayton Moore is doing in KC with Braves' network scouts) than paying millions to Cintron, Pods and Mackowiak.

 

http://www.citypages.com/databank/27/1346/article14739.asp

[aboz56]

I can't blame a hitting coach as I don't really think he has a lot to do with veteran players struggling. Now if we had all young guys and they weren't getting better, I could see blaming Walker.

 

Walker is simply not going to get established players like Konerko or Crede to change what they're doing or do something different. He isn't the one up there hitting lazy groundballs, swinging at crappy pitches and trying to swing for the fences. One could not possibly believe that Walker actually instructs these guys to go up there and have the mechanics they have. I'm sure he knows they are sucking and I'm sure they are aware of it. It's up to those guys to figure it out and get on track.

 

If I blame anyone on the coaching staff for our problems, it'd be Ozzie, not Greg Walker. Blaming Walker is the dumbest thing I read on this site on a daily basis.

[WCSox]

Greg Walker... It amazes me how some people can say he is one of the best hitting coaches in baseball with a straight face.

 

It amazes me even more than somebody thinks that we should trade Gio and Terrero.

 

But I agree about Walker. Not that I think that he's a terrible hitting coach but, as somebody pointed out here weeks ago, Walker's coaching style doesn't seem to be working with this group anymore. Fair or not, I think that he'll be the first casualty.

[caulfield12]

It amazes me even more than somebody thinks that we should trade Gio and Terrero.

 

But I agree about Walker. Not that I think that he's a terrible hitting coach but, as somebody pointed out here weeks ago, Walker's coaching style doesn't seem to be working with this group anymore. Fair or not, I think that he'll be the first casualty.

 

I'd like a list of all the times the managers have been fired and the new manager has kept the same hitting coach around on a permanent basis...it doesn't happen very often, and 90% of the time, the hitting coach is the sacrificial lamb before the manager.

[Flash Tizzle]

Because they are the most "under the radar" you can possibly get...and their firings don't satisfy the "bloodlust" of the average fan in Kankakee or Peoria that goes to one or two White Sox games per year and probably doesn't even know the starting line-up of the White Sox.

 

For instance, take Radcliff and Jim Rantz. WHO? Two huge reasons the Twins have finished ahead of the White Sox in four of the last five years with significantly smaller budgets.

 

We'd be much better off to double the salary of either of those guys and let them remake our scouting department (like Dayton Moore is doing in KC with Braves' network scouts) than paying millions to Cintron, Pods and Mackowiak.

 

http://www.citypages.com/databank/27/1346/article14739.asp

Even with all my critcism directed towards the organization's player development, I believe they've been under poor direction. Including Williams. This entire philosophy of "drafting safe players to perhaps trade them" is ridiculous, IMO. It shouldn't even enter the minds of scouts. First and foremost concern should be drafting to help the ballclub.

 

I'm just thankful Hahn finally realized the Lance Broadways and Kyle McCulloch of the worlds won't work any more in this league; in this division. Sure, they're good for anchoring a rotation as a #4/#5 position; but we already have a collection of pitchers who fit that mold.

 

That's why I believe it all begins June 7th. Either the beginning of the end, or an indication we have people who have changed their methods for identifying talent. We're going to need it in the following seasons.

Edited May 30, 2007 by Flash Tizzle

[santo=dorf]

umm....who was the first to roll?

[caulfield12]

Even with all my critcism directed towards the organization's player development, I believe they've been under poor direction. Including Williams. This entire philosophy of "drafting safe players to perhaps trade them" is ridiculous, IMO. It shouldn't even enter the minds of scouts. First and foremost concern should be drafting to help the ballclub.

 

I'm just thankful Hahn finally realized the Lance Broadways and Kyle McCulloch of the worlds won't work any more in this league; in this division. Sure, they're good for anchoring a rotation as a #4/#5 position; but we already have a collection of pitchers who fit that mold.

 

That's why I believe it all begins June 7th. Either the beginning of the end, or an indication we have people who have changed their methods for identifying talent. We're going to need it in the following seasons.

 

 

The White Sox, to me, have been very contradictory. They've taken a lot of "athletes" like Borchard, Chris Young, Josh Fields, Jason Dellaero, Brian Anderson, etc. Many of them haven't developed.

 

Drafting in the 20-30 spot, there aren't usually very many impact players available...or, I should say, it takes 10X more work to identify them in those spots as opposed to 1-10 or even 11-20.

 

Picks such as Ring, Broadway and McCullough fall into that "safe" category, college pitchers who are expected to at least make the majors but have limited upsides. Matt Ginter would be another example...although Danny Wright was the opposite from that draft, an inconsistent college pitcher with a "great arm" and lots of potential. Same thing for the likes of Rob Purvis, Brian West, Wyatt Allen, etc.

 

Actually, we've probably picked more "reaches" than we've had "safe" picks over the last 6-7 years.

[RockRaines]

none of the above.

[SoxAce]

none of the above.

 

Yea that.

[LosMediasBlancas]

I can't blame a hitting coach as I don't really think he has a lot to do with veteran players struggling. Now if we had all young guys and they weren't getting better, I could see blaming Walker.

 

Walker is simply not going to get established players like Konerko or Crede to change what they're doing or do something different. He isn't the one up there hitting lazy groundballs, swinging at crappy pitches and trying to swing for the fences. One could not possibly believe that Walker actually instructs these guys to go up there and have the mechanics they have. I'm sure he knows they are sucking and I'm sure they are aware of it. It's up to those guys to figure it out and get on track.

 

If I blame anyone on the coaching staff for our problems, it'd be Ozzie, not Greg Walker. Blaming Walker is the dumbest thing I read on this site on a daily basis.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong, you make some interesting points.

What IS a hitting coach's primary resposibility? If it's just or mostly to develop younger players, that's not much responsibility, is it?

What would need to happen with this offense for you to believe it might be time to try someone besides Walker?

[caulfield12]

I'm not saying you're wrong, you make some interesting points.

What IS a hitting coach's primary resposibility? If it's just or mostly to develop younger players, that's not much responsibility, is it?

What would need to happen with this offense for you to believe it might be time to try someone besides Walker?

 

 

In some ways, most young players are "coachable" unless they're just obstinate.

 

The best hitting coaches are the ones the veterans respect and whose ear the hitting coach can get into when he needs to deliver a message.

 

The White Sox tuned Gary Ward out. There's no sign they have done that to Walker...I think they genuinely like him and seem to respect him like the rest of the coaching staff, but it's just as difficult for me to blame Ozzie Guillen for their lack of hitting.

 

He's responsible for "motivating" them to hit? I don't think that's a manager's job.

 

If anything, Walker and KW are more responsible than Guillen. This is one of those debates that entrenched sides will never give in on...depending on your opinions of the various Sox coaches. I have the feeling our team ERA or bullpen ERA could be 5.00 for the season and many would still be defending Don Cooper, yet they don't similarly give Ozzie Guillen credit at all for the 05 season.

Edited May 30, 2007 by caulfield12

[aboz56]

I'm not saying you're wrong, you make some interesting points.

What IS a hitting coach's primary resposibility? If it's just or mostly to develop younger players, that's not much responsibility, is it?

What would need to happen with this offense for you to believe it might be time to try someone besides Walker?

I don't really think a hitting coach is all that important, that's basically my philosophy. From my perspective, he's there to help certain guys when they need it, but as far as performance goes, the responsibility is with the player to pick up the pieces and get on a roll. I cannot directly correlate the way the Sox are hitting to what Greg Walker is doing as a hitting coach. I've seen these guys fall into the same habits under other hitting coaches as well as with Walker. All Walker can do is suggest mechanicals flaws he sees to the player and try to offer advice. I think if you fire a hitting coach it's usually to shake things up when the club is struggling (ie you need a scapegoat). A new hitting coach is not going to come in and fix what's wrong with a guy like Konerko, who we are paying $13 million to hit .225.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Obviously Walker. It's sad that the only argument for him to keep his job is "It's all on the players". You know you're doing a pathetic job when it comes to that. And I must ask, if it really were all just on the players, what is the big deal about firing Walker? It couldn't hurt if that were indeed the case.

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

I will say none of the above because KW is going to go into 2004 stubborn ass "Be grateful what you got" mode.

[elrockinMT]

Nobody should be decapitated yet

[BigEdWalsh]

I kinda hate saying Greg Walker, but I did. I like the guy and liked him a lot as a player, but as someone else said I don't think his style fits the team. Adios amigo.