When should Greg Walker be fired?

[sin city sox fan]

Fire his ass right away! Do it before he even changes into street clothes. Ban him from the ballpark and post his mugshot in the security office of the Cell. This man is a criminal for what he's done to our offense.

[joejoesox]

one of the worst threads on soxtalk, imo

[Jimbo's Drinker]

um, about a month ago.

[103 mph screwball]

2007

[flavum]

Ozzie is saying the players are at bat playing tight. I think that's a direct reflection of their hitting coaches' type A personality. Hitting coaches get fired all the time whether they deserve it or not. He needs to go, if nothing for a change.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Where are all the Walker defenders at? I don't see how anyone can come to his defense at this point.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Where are all the Walker defenders at?

 

There is no such thing. Even his "defenders" don't possibly believe he is any good. The best argument they have for him is that canning him won't make things any better (but not any worse).

 

At this point, it cannot hurt.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Buehrle>Wood

[NorthSideSox72]

Where are all the Walker defenders at? I don't see how anyone can come to his defense at this point.

I think he needs to go, but there are some valid reasons to defend him. For one, if you listen to some of the players that have improved under him like Konerko, they say he's been a huge help. For another, you have to look at the type of hitters the team has, and temper your expectations.

 

I don't think those carry enough weight against the many negatives against him, but, its not true to say there aren't reasons to defend him.

 

[JorgeFabregas]

He should be tried at the Hague!

[Lemon_44]

i've never called for his firing but the time seems to be right. The situational hitting is atrociuos and has been for awhile. But where i think the main concern is that all the young guys continue to struggle. Are any of them hitting over .250? Guys like Konerko, Dye,and Thome don't really need a hitting coach,maybe just some fine tuning every now and then. But none of the young players have really shown any improvemet in their approach or plate discipline. I know alot of that is on the players themselves but maybe a new voice,or new ideas, are something that could change things around. ESPN did a nice piece on Mattingly as a hitting coach. The main thing is the players believe, and trust,him. Walker has had about 4-5 years and it's pretty much been the same thing every year.If they're hitting the long ball, they're scoring.That's not too hard to coach that.When is the last time the Sox had a .300 hitter,much less multiple .300 hitters? Nobody over the last few years is popping into my head. I don't know why the Sox would expect anything to change if they keep him around. PLus, the team need a shakeup.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Lemon_44

[BearSox]

2007

[G&T]

There were 4 MLB players in the lineup today. Pods (for now), Aram, PK, and Dye. And the starter was not MLB caliber either. Whose fault is that? I don't care if Walker is fired, but these players aren't very good.

 

I should add though, that he should be fired because the minor league players don't have a clue when they come up. I have no clue what his philosophy in the minors is, but it doesn't work.

Edited June 7, 2009 by G&T

[The Ginger Kid]

If they fire Walker now the organization looks like a bunch of asssholes, especially Ozzie Guillen. They are playing SO bad all around that if you single out one guy - a guy who by all accounts is doing his job right now, despite the results - then you are nothing but a bunch of pusssies in my book, and that starts at the top. If Williams tried to fire Walker now (and I wanted him gone a LONG time ago) and Guillen didn't offer his resignation first, I would lose all respect for Guillen as a manager.

[Lemon_44]

If they fire Walker now the organization looks like a bunch of asssholes, especially Ozzie Guillen. They are playing SO bad all around that if you single out one guy - a guy who by all accounts is doing his job right now, despite the results - then you are nothing but a bunch of pusssies in my book, and that starts at the top. If Williams tried to fire Walker now (and I wanted him gone a LONG time ago) and Guillen didn't offer his resignation first, I would lose all respect for Guillen as a manager.

I don't get that. Ozzie shouldn't offer up his resignation at all. He has produced a winning ballclub every year but one. The weak link throughout the past few years has been situational hitting and scoring runs when the home run ball isn't working. That's on Walker,well mainly it's on the players but they aren't going anywhere. I'm not one for making a change just to make a change but we've seen pretty much the same thing for 4 years running and it doesn't seem to be improving. Look at this past week.The Sox were shut down by 4 rookie pitchers that have struggled against the rest of the league. That's been a trend for years as well.The Sox see a guy for the 1st time and they are clueless. You don't see the other teams getting consitiently shut down by rookies.It may happen every now and then but, with the Sox, it's happens almost every time. Is that coaching? I'm not sure,but i tend to lean that way since it isn't happening to other teams like it does with eth Sox. Ozzie says Walker is doing his job and working hard so it's tough to fire a guy like that but,in the end, you have to get results and they haven't been there.

[The Ginger Kid]

I don't get that. Ozzie shouldn't offer up his resignation at all. He has produced a winning ballclub every year but one. The weak link throughout the past few years has been situational hitting and scoring runs when the home run ball isn't working. That's on Walker,well mainly it's on the players but they aren't going anywhere. I'm not one for making a change just to make a change but we've seen pretty much the same thing for 4 years running and it doesn't seem to be improving. Look at this past week.The Sox were shut down by 4 rookie pitchers that have struggled against the rest of the league. That's been a trend for years as well.The Sox see a guy for the 1st time and they are clueless. You don't see the other teams getting consitiently shut down by rookies.It may happen every now and then but, with the Sox, it's happens almost every time. Is that coaching? I'm not sure,but i tend to lean that way since it isn't happening to other teams like it does with eth Sox. Ozzie says Walker is doing his job and working hard so it's tough to fire a guy like that but,in the end, you have to get results and they haven't been there.

I agree wholeheartedly. My point is that right now this team is playing so bad that to single out Walker is a joke. It's not just situational hitting that's a problem - it's all hitting. A couple of weeks ago their defense was atrocious - should Cora have been fired? A week ago the team was hitting well - should Walker have been fired then? Starting pitching has been terribly inconsistent. All I'm saying is now is not the time for the organization to start pointing fingers.

 

 

[GREEDY]

He needs to be fired.

 

There is no defending it.

 

You are either of the mentality that the hitting coach has very little to do with the performance of grown men, who have been hitting baseballs for a minimum of fifteen years. (If he doesn't matter why pay him? Or at the very least why not bring in someone else, if the hitting coach doesn't matter what can new blood hurt?)

 

Or

 

You believe that Walker does impact the team; and then clearly, his "all or nothing" approach needs to go.

 

I have read debates about Walker for years on WSI and they make me cringe. If I were KW I would only be interested in hiring some computer wiz kid that is up on all of the latest technology. If there is anything that professional baseball players might not be used to is utilizing the new technology.

[greg775]

here were 4 MLB players in the lineup today. Pods (for now), Aram, PK, and Dye. And the starter was not MLB caliber either. Whose fault is that? I don't care if Walker is fired, but these players aren't very good.

 

I should add though, that he should be fired because the minor league players don't have a clue when they come up. I have no clue what his philosophy in the minors is, but it doesn't work.

 

This is the best defense of Walker I've read.

We do have too many guys who are not big leaguers.

[G&T]

I agree wholeheartedly. My point is that right now this team is playing so bad that to single out Walker is a joke. It's not just situational hitting that's a problem - it's all hitting. A couple of weeks ago their defense was atrocious - should Cora have been fired? A week ago the team was hitting well - should Walker have been fired then? Starting pitching has been terribly inconsistent. All I'm saying is now is not the time for the organization to start pointing fingers.

 

I agree. And I reference my comments above. This failure is beyond the hitting coach.

[greg775]

The failure is beyond the hitting coach, but I did vote to can him only because we never seem to make such radical decisions during the season. This team needs a shakeup of some kind.

I would feel bad for Walker a bit, however, consider some of the stiffs he's had to go to war with.

[Texsox]

Stepping back for a moment, I believe coaches should be fired when players under-perform to their potential. Honestly, if we are looking for three or four .300 hitters among these guys, keep looking. I'm, not certain

 

A. Who is really available that could do better

 

and

 

B. If there is much better than could be done with these guys.

 

Fire him if you want, but I do not believe during the season is the right choice in time.

[Soxfest]

2007!

[whitesoxfan101]

He should have been fired late in the 2006 season, certainly in the 2007 season, and perhaps early in the 2008 season. It's absolutely amazing to me he has a job, but I'm convinced he will never be fired at this point. It's his job as long as he wants it, because if he hasn't been fired by now, he never will be. There is no defense of him, except the old "they are major league players, they should hit and figure it out themselves" line. And even that isn't a legitimate defense, since if it's true, there would be no hitting coaches anyways.

Edited June 8, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[BearSox]

I want some re-tooling on the coaching staff.

 

First one is easy, fire Walker.

 

Get rid of Ozzie Jr... AKA Joey Cora. I got nothing against Joey, but he seems to be basically Ozzie, and I'd like to see a differing view point in there. Plus, the work he's done with the infielders does not seem to be working out.

 

Jeff Cox needs to be moved from 3B. Too many times we've had runners either stray off for no reason, him making stupid decisions holding or sending runners, etc. I like Cox though and think he's a great guy to have around as an infielders coach or something.

 

Not loving Harold as the 1B coach. I loved it when we had Rock as the 1B coach though. I think the 1B should have a better idea about stealing bases and knowing the finer points of it. I would love to see Ricky Henderson at this spot, but I heard at the end of 07 with the Mets, he wasn't great in the clubhouse. However, I'd love to bring Ricky in as a roving minor league hitting and base running instructor, if he wouldn't fit in as a 1B coach. I wouldn't want to see Baines go though. Maybe move him back to bench coach or as an assistant hitting coach or something.

 

 

[shago]

I've been berated before for saying this, but lack of communication skills being vastly overstated (especially for someone who is already a coach), Harold Baines should be given a shot at hitting coach. Mattingly, as an example, is a great hitter, who was quiet in the clubhouse, and certainly seems to be doing something right out in LA... Walker can help Buddy down on the farm...

[kjshoe04]

He should have been gone seasons ago. At this point there is almost no reason to have the discussion. He's keeping his job. Ozzie and KW will say that Walker is great.