POLL:Gordo, is he breaking out of that season long slump?

[Dick Allen]

Thome, Thomas, Rowand, Uribe for starters.

Thome was no better than he was in 2006 with the Sox and his spots were picked. Thomas was coming off an injury and was doing just fine under Greg Walker before he got hurt. Rowand had a contract year similar to his year in 2004, as did Uribe. Very similar to his year in 2004. Walker was the hitting coach then.

[caulfield12]

Thome, Thomas, Rowand, Uribe for starters.

 

 

Uribe got to the point where he was only a minor league invite to spring training with the Giants. After playing like the NL Rookie of the Year, his career was definitely on the brink....as we only had to give up utility man Aaron Miles to get a franchise-quality SS when he's right. Uribe has a big-time prospect and was heading for Angel Berroa territory in COL.

 

Rowand has arguably one of the five-ten worst contracts in baseball these days.

 

Thomas didn't sustain his success for long with TOR/OAK, and his average went way down as he sacrificed for power.

 

Thome was used very wisely, but he wasn't going to hold up for 500-600 AB's. And he certainly hasn't this year. We were one year too early parting with him, though.

[Dick Allen]

Beckham was no different than most every other rookie in his first few weeks with butterflies and still getting adjusted to the show- you know you should throw those first few weeks out because of that, but no, you'll conveniently use them to support your baseless opinion. His swing didn't change from the minute he came up to the end of the 2009 season, so let's quit the nonsense that Walker helped him out of his early rut which 90% of rookies go through if not 100%. The truth is once Walker got time to get inside his head he hasn't developed at nearly the rate we expected out of him.

 

I gotta believe that Gordon has gone through mental midget phases BECAUSE OF WALKER. Yes, coaches can get inside of young players heads. He clearly has the talent, but is getting in his own way, probably overwhelmed with mechanics etc versus just reacting and swinging the bat like he did when he came up in 2009.

 

But you're right, Walker is great, Ozzie makes all the right decisions, and Walker's record of track record of success in developing young talent is flawless. Politics may be a good future role for you or perhaps you can join Rongey on the post game show.

 

Regarding my employees, it is my responsibility to get the right people in the right spot and let them do their thing. When I miscalculate, I ADJUST AND MAKE CHANGES. But in a world where performance doesn't matter and you have a job for life (like working for the White Sox or being a Post Office Employee) then you can sit there and blame others for your failures and take no responsibility. Isn't that convenient. In my world, I am not afforded that luxury, as I actually have to deliver otherwise I'll be on the street. Too bad it's not the same for the White Sox or we might see a team that actually plays up to its ability and gives the fans what they deserve.

Using your criteria, if your employees aren't getting the job done, they shouldn't be fired, you should. Its your fault.

[lostfan]

Using your criteria, if your employees aren't getting the job done, they shouldn't be fired, you should. Its your fault.

a. well, actually, yeah. Except if we're talking about, say, a business owner, their business will just fail.

b. this criteria is pretty valid if we're talking about a supervisor with chronically underperforming employees compared to other supervisors.

[Dick Allen]

a. well, actually, yeah. Except if we're talking about, say, a business owner, their business will just fail.

b. this criteria is pretty valid if we're talking about a supervisor with chronically underperforming employees compared to other supervisors.

That doesn't apply in this situation. There really hasn't been chronically underperforming hitters.

[caulfield12]

That doesn't apply in this situation. There really hasn't been chronically underperforming hitters.

 

 

Except for Rios and possibly Beckham.

 

The jury's still out on what we actually have with Gordon. It's certainly not unusual for 24-25 year olds to have some struggles in the majors when they've had so little time developing in the minors.

[SoxAce]

Hitters who have excelled under Walker

 

Dye

Thome (for his age)

Lillibridge (well, for 2 months this year...compared with Braves) [too early to call]

Konerko [i'll give you that one, though he was still putting up .850+ OPS before Walker's hiring in 03, which ironically enough, was the same year Konerko had his worst year]

Quentin

Ramirez (compared to expectations upon signing)

Rowand (compared to most of the last 3-4 years, he had a couple of really good years in Philly when healthy) [one good year in Chicago and one in Philly, so it's a stretch to give you that one]

Crede [i always thought Crede should of been better with the bat than what he turned out to be]

Uribe

Pablo Ozuna [i don't know how you can count a 189 AB year, albeit one year at that, for a utility player as a change]

 

A better question would be who has left Walker and gotten significantly better as a hitter?

 

Swisher for sure. (though it wasn't hard to do that with his horrific year) We'll see what Dunn does if the sox wind up dealing him (if they can) next off-season. And no, I'm not as adamant about Walker as others here, but I'm not a fan of him as a hitting coach either (especially with young talent with Q being the exception, as their always is, to the rule)

Edited July 18, 2011 by SoxAce

[chisoxfan09]

Wow, this sure digressed into another Fire Walker thread. I get all the points but I was hoping just to keep it fun and concentrate on Gordo's stat line for the year. Oh well at least I tried.

[southsider2k5]

Wow, this sure digressed into another Fire Walker thread. I get all the points but I was hoping just to keep it fun and concentrate on Gordo's stat line for the year. Oh well at least I tried.

 

Anything to do with a hitter has to go back to Walker. Sad, but seemingly true.