Do we have a hitting coach (and what does he do?)

[fan_since79]

This offense...dreadful!

Terrible approaches at the plate.

Espinosa completely confused. Poor guy. Who's giving him advice?

Even Calhoun is struggling.

Trout is, of course, as reliable as always.

Pujols is trying to hit home runs since #600 is just around the corner. But can you stop pulling the ball so much?!

Okay, end of rant.

 

[DMVol]

Pitching isn't great but there is a reason (injuries)....offense is just bad, poor lineup outside of Trout....

[Angel Oracle]

Still, the hitters shouldn't be as bad as they have been.   This is a longggg slump, stretching back about a month.

First 8 games, 41 runs (5.1/game) = 826 runs over a full season.

Past 27 games, 94 runs (3.5/game) = 587 runs over a full season.

No Halos team has scored less than 600 runs, since maybe the 1992 season. 

[Angelsjunky]

#bringbackhatcher

[DMVol]

31 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Still, the hitters shouldn't be as bad as they have been.   This is a longggg slump, stretching back about a month.

First 8 games, 41 runs (5.1/game) = 826 runs over a full season.

Past 27 games, 94 runs (3.5/game) = 587 runs over a full season.

No Halos team has scored less than 600 runs, since maybe the 1992 season. 

I thought we'd be pretty so-so offensively after the team was constructed in the offseason---emphasis was more on defense w/ Espinosa, Maldanado, Maybin and Valbuena....but I didn't think we'd be this bad....

[Billy_Ball]

How about assistant Hitting Coach Paul Sorrento?

[fan_since79]

I wonder if Espinosa has been watching Pujols trying to hit home runs and that messed up his swing, which was already too big. Still, he managed to drive in 72 runs last year. This year he's been lucky just to make contact with the baseball. It's not a good sign when he's been late on a lot of fastballs. 

[fan_since79]

But what does the hitting coach really do?

And why do many of the hitters apparently not listen to him or implement his advice, because the basic approaches are awful.

Even bad hitters can improve somewhat with the proper mechanics, or am I just mistaken about this?

 

[Slegnaac]

More than anything else I suspect that being able to see and track the path of the ball is the key element of hitting.

Guessing at the path / location is not  going to produce consistent results.

Maybe time for some eye exams.

[fan_since79]

Who's our team optometrist?

 

[tdawg87]

The offense is great outside of about 8 guys.

[Rico]

6 hours ago, heRo said:

So by your logic, he doesn't get credit for the talented players, but gets all the blame for the lousy ones.  "Great call"

Pretty much.  Rule #1 of being a hitting coach is don't mess with what is working.  So whoever is our hitting coach has no reason to talk to Trout outside of, "Hey, good morning Mike."

[stormngt]

Fire Hatcher!

[mtangelsfan]

11 hours ago, ThomasSutpen said:

By the time he was named hitting coach, Trout had finished in the top-two in MVP voting three times, winning it once. Helen Keller could be the hitting coach and Trout would still be Trout. Pujols, meanwhile, isn't talented....but he used to be, only well before Dave Hansen was around. In Hansen's defense, if someone brought up the failures of Brandon Wood and Jeff Mathis in a discussion about him, I'd object to that, too.

Maybe our players just aren't very good.

Hansen was hitting coach last year when Calhoun was better so saying its on him for Calhoun struggling now is illogical.  

[Blarg]

11 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

Who's our team optometrist?

 

Dr. Feldman

[zenmaster]

The greatest hitting coach on the planet couldn't get me to hit, so our guy has an impossible task. 

[Jason]

There is quite a bit lacking in the talent department in this line up. Calhoun will be OK in the end and I don't think that any of us would be shocked to see a dramatic decline in numbers from Pujols. The only hitter in the lineup I think we will all be pleasantly surprised with is going to be Simmons but the rest of the bunch just suck at hitting. 

[thebloob]

Hitting coaches don't make hitters at this level.  Hitting coaches are supposed to help slumping hitters find what might be going wrong to turn things around.  Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening hence the question.   What is he doing?

[fan_since79]

7 hours ago, mtangelsfan said:

Maybe our players just aren't very good.

Hansen was hitting coach last year when Calhoun was better so saying its on him for Calhoun struggling now is illogical.  

Now I'm depressed. But I cannot argue your point.

 

[disarcina]

bring back Mickey Hatcher??

[TooCool]

Can you imagine if the hitting coaches job only involves making sure a player knows how to swing properly? Who cares if he can make contact or not, he's not the one swinging it!

[Angel Oracle]

3.3 runs/game over the past 29 games

Turrible hitting is no way to go through life, sons.

[nando714]

25 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

3.3 runs/game over the past 29 games

Turrible hitting is no way to go through life, sons.

They're just working through some things. Probably not seeing the ball coming out of their hand well...

[TroutField]

I'm sure it has to do with the Marine layer. But the numbers will be there at the end of the year, mang. 

[fan_since79]

3 hours ago, nando714 said:

They're just working through some things. Probably not seeing the ball coming out of their hand well...

"Gentlemen, this is a baseball bat and that is a baseball. Hit the ball with the bat."

Why so these guys forget the basic stuff when they come to Anaheim?