Great he gets to bring in his buddy and by Liberty Media standards must be the cheapest one out there too. He keeps TP and gets rid of Hubby terrific way to get off to a fresh start Bobby , I mean Freddi guess we won’t see any difference.
Why don’t we just run a Tom Emanski instructional video on a loop in the dugout? That would save some money. What are those things, 29.99 plus shipping and handling? Get on the phone now!!!
Yeah Braves hired Freddy because he is just like Bobby, laid-back and let’s the players run the team. I wanted a new manager that was young and energetic. Instead we get an incarnation of Bobby. Bobby should have just stayed on if they were going to hire his clone. Why not hire Cal Ripken Jr or Tony Gwynn as manager ? They know what a winner is and how to hit and teach the Braves to hit. Freddy is about a zero.
A career .247 hitter who’s best year was at .275 – and that’s a hitting coach? And, no – he doesn’t have great power either. 135 total career homers and he never hit 30 in a season.
Aren’t hitting coaches supposed to be good hitters?
Rod, it appears that mediocrity is acceptable with Freddy & Wren. The Cardinals hire McGwire and Braves wanna hire Pressley… Ouch ! Give Cal Ripken Jr. a buzz , Wren…
Wouldn’t logic tell you that a hitting coach should have been a great hitter to be qualified to instruct other hitters ? So Pressley’s gonna teach them all to hit .240 like him ?
I don’t understand all the hating on TP. Yes, Atlanta had a bad year hitting this year. The greatest hitting coach in the world couldn’t do any better with that we had this year. Everyone keeps saying they wanted Baylor now, but truth be told, Atlanta didn’t have a tremendous hitting year when he was here. I agree, he is a good coach, but he didn’t do better than TP did here. Look at these numbers:
Baylor, 1999: Team Avg .266
Merv Rettenmund, 2000: Team Avg .271
TP, 2001-2010, Five Times Team Avg over .270 with a high of .284!
There was only one season where the team hit under .260, which was this year. Change should be good, but there is no reason to hate on TP!
TP was fantastic at sitting in the dugout eating 2 bags of sunflower seeds while Braves got shutout game after game. The stadium clean up guy hated TP.
Why doesn’t Freddy use his Marlins ties to hire either Andre Dawson or Gary Sheffield as hitting instructors / Those guys could rake. Presley ? I cracked a rib laughing…
Not sure that Presley is the answer but his .247 average means squat. There were a couple hitting coaches who both played for the Braves whose career averages were .253 and .255 respectively. Their names were Charlie Lau and Walt Hriniak. A third guy who’s also done pretty well, Rudy Jaramillo had a .258 MINOR LEAGUE average – never made it to the majors.
I guess Braves figure if a 53-60 Roger McDowell can be pitching coach then a .245 Presley can be hitting coach ? Just toss logic straight the hell out da window.
If I were manager, John Smoltz would be my pitching coach and Cal Ripken Jr. my hitting coach (assuming they would accept the jobs). Instead we get McDowell & Presley ? LMAO.
Horse, there is zero correlation between being a good major leauge hitter and being a good batting instructer. Of course don;t let logic get in the way of a good rant.
The Braves shoud hire that guy who turned two bench/utility players into all stars competing for a batting title. What was his name?
A lot of times, great players aren’t good coaches. Do you really think Pujols could teach batters to hit like him? No, because he has natural ability that allows him to do what he does. I’m sure this Presley guy has been a coach for a while and I’m sure Fredi saw something in him that he liked. Could be work ethic. Could be that he can relate to a lot of different groups well, etc. It takes WAY more to be a good hitting coach than simply being a good hitter. TP was a pretty good hitter and you guys hated him.
The good thing about these new coaches are that they are not ethed in stone line Bobby was. If we’re doing poorly, the front office would be able to replace them without it being a huge deal. They couldn’t do this with Bobby and his staff.
don’t know about the hitting coach, but if the braves can get prince fielder to play first and adrian beltre to play third, we won’t have to worry so much about hitting.
Dave Duncan may have never been a pitcher, but he was regarded as a very good defensive catcher and knew a lot about how to call a game and recognize when his battery mate had good or bad stuff. He caught Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman. It comes as no surprise he is one of the best pitching coaches in the game.
My fondest memory of Jim Presley was watching him make 3 errors in an inning in 1990 with 3,000 of my closest friends at the old stadium. I was in high school then so my memory could be failing me but that image has stuck with me for some reason – even if it never really happened. Time has a funny way of messing with what we recall and merging events so don’t crucify me if I’m wrong here.
Of course, this has nothing to do with his qualifications to be the HC, nor does his MLB batting record. And I don’t know enough about his work in FL to pass judgment at this point. But I am leery about the perception of Fredi using this as an opportunity to hire his buddies.
Horse With A Name: Honestly, I don’t even know what that means. Should I laugh, be angry, scratch head, or, as you put it, “sommin’ else”? (Love that homespun humor, by the way. Sommin’.)
It’s just like anything else: whatever hack you hire brings his own set of hacks with him. Maybe Fredi’s hacks will be as good as Bobby’s hacks. What I don’t get is putting Pendleton at first. Why don’t you just fire the man and let him preserve his dignity.
First of all, the man hasn’t been hired yet, only interviewed. And if he does get hired, give him a chance. I swear, reading this blog is like continuously reading “Chicken Little,” only that children’s book was more intelligent than most of the posts.
I’m not immediately excited about replacing Hubbard with Pendleton, or keeping Snitker at third either. But it’s our team, and we ought to respect what management decides to do and at least give it a CHANCE to work before we grab pitchforks and torches.
This is why Aristotle said true Democracy was the worst possible form of government, akin to “mob rule.” You people would DFA every hitter after an o-fer if you could.
Freddie is the head of the household…..he should be able to choose the staff that he can work with,emotionally and psychologically….Now, I would like to have Chipper as a hitting coach and his Father as a back up….Players would relate to Chipper, I believe.
What was Hubbard’s job? I’m sure Pendleton can yell, “BACK!” as good as Hubbard was. Wasn’t Hubbard also in charge of infield defense? How was that last year? Losing Hubbard is not a big deal at all.
To everyone who’s whining about every little move the organization makes; what’s your solution? Oh yeah, YOU DON”T HAVE ONE! You’re all clowns who have nothing to add but whining. Especially Horse with no Ideas.
Jeez, don’t you guys think Fredi is going to hire the guy he thinks is best for the job, if nothing else for self preservation? Why would he just go out and hire some friend?
I figured SMoltz still had delusions of the PGA tour. Well that and he hasn’t officaly retired from playing baseball.
Oh and your math is wrong you were 100% inaccurate because Smoltz wasn’t interested. In order for you to be 50% accurate he would have had to of been interested and turned down due to wanting more money than liberty was willing to pay. Oh and tell Smoltz isaid thanks for being an ass to my kid when he asked for an autograph.
All I know is people blame Terry Pendleton but if the players they sign couldn’t hit elswhere what makes people think Terry Pendleton could perform miracles with sorry ballplayers.Whoever they get to be the hitting coach can’t make sorry ballplayers hitters!!!
Braves Fan, every single player that was brought here last season hit considerably better where they came from than they did when they got here. I understand part of it is Turner Field, but not all of it. Alex Gonzalez had 20 HR at the AS break, it seemed like he had 19 total at the end of the season. Derrick Lee had 4 HR in three games before he came here, then Turned into Nate McLouth. Oh yeah, what about Nate McLouth?
I’m not saying TP doesn’t know how to hit. I AM saying during his tenure as hitting coach the players who didn’t respond and even regressed far outweighed those who did. Either he wasn’t helping, or they weren’t listening. Either way it was time for a change.
who cares who they hire? it’s not like the braves are gonna spend the money to bring in anybody who can hit anyway. they will either trade for some mediocre hitter who has flashed some limited occasional success at the plate (i.e. mcclouth, melky) or bring in a washed up veteran who can’t walk, much less hit (i.e. glaus, anderson)
no hitting coach is gonna be able to do much with either.
Playing the race card? Really? Do you not see that most of this board is asking for don baylor? I’m not sure if you know this, but, he is black! Heyward is black. Its hard to have a lot of african americans when there are only 5 percent blacks in all of mlb. Very ignorant comment
The Grinch, I agree it is time for a change, just for change sake. I don’t think it should all be blamed on TP, which was the point I was making. As far as Gonzalez goes, he was due to come back down to earth. He was having a career year up to the point he came to Atlanta. DLee had been struggling all year and was playing injured. Nate, God only knows what happened to him. I think it was more mental than physical. Maybe TP lost communication with the players, but can’t be totally blamed.
Here is a tad found about Coach Presley. It may be a year or so old, but it’s better than just guessing at what he has done. Sounds like a good coach to me.
COACHING CAREER
Enters his 21st season in professional baseball, 14th in Major League Baseball, and his fifth year as the Marlins hitting coach. Under Presley, the Marlins have set single-season club records in runs (790 in 2007), hits (1504 in 2007), doubles (340 in 2007), home runs (208 in 2008), RBI (749 in 2007), average (.268 in 2009), on-base percentage (.340 in 2009) and slugging percentage (.448 in 2007). Since 2006, the Fish rank third in the National League in sluggin percentage (.433) and fourth in home runs (750)..Prior to joining the Marlins in 2006, Presley spent five years as a hitting instructor in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, with the last three seasons at the Major League level…In 1999, the NL West Champion Diamondbacks boasted league highs with 908 runs scored and 865 RBI…In 1998, the Diamondbacks inaugural season, Presley joined Buck Showalter’s coaching staff as the hitting coach…a position he held through 2000…Spent one year as hitting coach with South Bend Silver Hawks (A) in 1997…Presley guided Lethbridge (R) to Pioneer League single-season records for home runs (88) and runs scored (637) as the hitting instructor in 1996
I’m glad Hubbard is gone. It’s the first base coach’s job to read pitchers and help his runners know when they should and shouldn’t run. Heck, even fast people on our team would get thrown out by 3 feet (Heyward comes to mind). Not to mention how poor our infield defense was last year. Maybe TP can up our SB success rate a little.
I don’t think it should all be blamed on TP either. There’s only so much a coach can do whether he’s good at it or not. It just seems like most people here are either “TP SUX!” or “Wren SUX” and I don’t beleive it’s that clear cut. I think the iniquity should be fairly evenly divided between mediocre hitters, a tough park to hit in, and a hitting coach who many if not most players don’t seem to be benefiting from for whatever reason. I ALSO think Wren is an astute GM and will bring in and develop more talent, and that current and future players will benefit from a fresh perspective whoever it may come from. I trust in management, and feel we’re on the rise.
New Era, thanks for the info on Presley. Sounds like a very good hitting coach to me. Hope he can help the Braves improve their offense and also work with players such as Nate, Gonzalez and Heyward who have talent, but can’t seem to consistently unleash it at the plate.
dave, that did sound mighty depressing didn’t it? perhaps a more positive spin.
ahem…
it doesn’t matter who they hire. wren is going to put together a team with a well balanced mix of cheap young power hitters approaching their prime and wirey low cost, no risk / high reward veterans that will once again have the braves contending for a playoff spot.
A life time 265 hitter as a hitting coach. So what is he going to do for the majority of players on this team who cannot hit? What a piece of crap this is going to be.
You should do a piece about what hitting/pitching coaches do on a dailey basis. I think then people could make a more informed decision about whether they think a particular person is better for that job.
I think most people think the value of a hitting coach is how well they hit when they were there. I mean would anyone pick Presley to go to the plate over Pendleton? No, but maybe Presley is a better TEACHER of hitting. I don’t think there is some formula that always works. Some great hitters couldn’t tell someone else how to get better (think of Manny) but Tony Gwynn would probably be the best hitting coach ever. And some guys who had trouble hitting as a pro was because of lack of physical ability, not the knowledge.
My personal opinion was that TP had done a fine job, but Wren was not enamored of him, otherwise he probably would have at least gotten an interview for the manager job. I think his friendship with Fredi is why he is still on staff, albeit not the hitting coach. In what world is first base coach/infield coach a position that has MORE influence on the game than hitting coach?
Why are peole pointing to Presley’s stats when deciding whether or not he can be an effective hitting coach? Did Tiger Woods review Butch Harmon’s PGA Tour record before hiring him as his swing coach? Of course not, that’s because being a coach has nothing to do with whether or not the coach can do it, but how effectively he can analyze, evaluate, and communicate with his “student”. Chipper will make a great hitting coach when he hangs up his spikes, but not because he’s a future HOFer and a great hitter, but because you can tell by what he says that he loves that aspect of the game: analyzing swings, working with the other players on fixing flaws, etc. He really seemed to get a kick out of seeing McLouth improve after he helped him iron out a few things in Sept. So, look back at what the Marlins did while Presley was there. Did they hit the ball well? Yes. Did they have a good approach at the plate? From what I saw, I’d say yes. If Fredi trusts him and thinks he will mesh well with the organization, then who are we to say he’s not the right guy for the job? I realize we are all bored and waiting for the WS to be over so the Hot Stove can heat up, but c’mon!
If TP was not any good as hitting coach why should he be first base coach? Why reward failure? I think Hubbard got screwed on this deal, I would have thought BC would have taken better care of such a loyal member of his former staff. At least offer him a position some place in the organization.
DOB, Thanks for your reply. I’ve enjoyed both Chip and Joe and look forward to the Braves games on TV here in Illinois. Also enjoy your articles and blogs. …and your sense of humor.
Great coaches do NOT have to be great players!!! Great players do NOT always make great coaches!! Larry Bird, Diego Maradona, Isaiah Thomas…. the list goes on and on. It has already been said. Do all the posters ignore any previous comment with common sense?
Why don’t we just hire “__fill in favorite player regardless of if they have ever coached, plan to ever coach, or even still interested in working__”
Braves even hire sorry hitters as broadcasters like Joe “Mendoza Line’ Simpson. Chip got his job because of grandpa and daddy. This whole MLB scene reeks of cronyism.
It might surprise you that Ripken or Eck might be interested in jobs if they were asked. But go ahead and sign Presley Braves. Its par for the sorry and ultra cheap course.
Freddy Gonzalez former Braves 3B coach now replaces Cox as Braves mgr.
Gonzalez hires former coaches he had with Marlins.
Chip Caray Braves announcer because dad was Braves announcer.
The toss’ em or keep ‘em poll is a great idea. I just hope Wren listens. Hinske,Infante,and Ross should be kept. Put the rest (D.Lee,McLouth,Glaus,Ankiel,KK,TP) on a space ship to Pluto…
316 comments Add your comment
dagnabit
October 27th, 2010
6:12 am
Andres Thomas? Talk about a blast from the past. A shortstop who couldn’t stop anything.
Rowland Office
October 27th, 2010
6:33 am
Mike A, yeah that mother shoving incident was the first thing I thought of too (he may have more Jerry Lee in him than Elvis).
That, and I think he was maybe the first Braves interviewed while walking into the team hotel, the day Murph was traded.
tim
October 27th, 2010
6:34 am
Great he gets to bring in his buddy and by Liberty Media standards must be the cheapest one out there too. He keeps TP and gets rid of Hubby terrific way to get off to a fresh start Bobby , I mean Freddi guess we won’t see any difference.
Duggo
October 27th, 2010
6:45 am
Why don’t we just run a Tom Emanski instructional video on a loop in the dugout? That would save some money. What are those things, 29.99 plus shipping and handling? Get on the phone now!!!
jdawg
October 27th, 2010
6:50 am
Not so sure ’bout that Birdman. Last I heard, Chipper had a chipped fingernail. He won’t be pushin’ any buttons on the DVD player for awhile.
Duggo
October 27th, 2010
7:10 am
Ha!!! Well, looks like someone beat me to that joke. Thanks jdawg.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
7:48 am
Yeah Braves hired Freddy because he is just like Bobby, laid-back and let’s the players run the team. I wanted a new manager that was young and energetic. Instead we get an incarnation of Bobby. Bobby should have just stayed on if they were going to hire his clone. Why not hire Cal Ripken Jr or Tony Gwynn as manager ? They know what a winner is and how to hit and teach the Braves to hit. Freddy is about a zero.
Rod
October 27th, 2010
7:48 am
Seriously?
Career he was at: .247 / 135 / 495
A career .247 hitter who’s best year was at .275 – and that’s a hitting coach? And, no – he doesn’t have great power either. 135 total career homers and he never hit 30 in a season.
Aren’t hitting coaches supposed to be good hitters?
Ocee
October 27th, 2010
7:49 am
We keep Pendleton and don’t keep Glenn Hubbard go figure.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
7:51 am
Freddy’s giving his Marlins buddies jobs. Why not interview and hire the best qualified person ? Cronyism rules baby !
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
7:54 am
Rod, it appears that mediocrity is acceptable with Freddy & Wren. The Cardinals hire McGwire and Braves wanna hire Pressley… Ouch ! Give Cal Ripken Jr. a buzz , Wren…
JobEasy
October 27th, 2010
7:55 am
I personally think they should just promote Rafael Belliard from roving minor league instructor to hitting coach.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
7:59 am
Wouldn’t logic tell you that a hitting coach should have been a great hitter to be qualified to instruct other hitters ? So Pressley’s gonna teach them all to hit .240 like him ?
puff
October 27th, 2010
7:59 am
Presley could hit. He was arrested for hitting his mother, if memory serves.
SavannahBraves Fan
October 27th, 2010
8:00 am
I don’t understand all the hating on TP. Yes, Atlanta had a bad year hitting this year. The greatest hitting coach in the world couldn’t do any better with that we had this year. Everyone keeps saying they wanted Baylor now, but truth be told, Atlanta didn’t have a tremendous hitting year when he was here. I agree, he is a good coach, but he didn’t do better than TP did here. Look at these numbers:
Baylor, 1999: Team Avg .266
Merv Rettenmund, 2000: Team Avg .271
TP, 2001-2010, Five Times Team Avg over .270 with a high of .284!
There was only one season where the team hit under .260, which was this year. Change should be good, but there is no reason to hate on TP!
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:01 am
Does DOB have naked photos of Tom Waits er sommin’ ?
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:03 am
TP was fantastic at sitting in the dugout eating 2 bags of sunflower seeds while Braves got shutout game after game. The stadium clean up guy hated TP.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:05 am
“Jamey Johnson on Leno tonight.”
And just who is this Jamey Johnson any way ?
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:06 am
If it were Randy Johnson maybe we sports fans would care about Leno.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:09 am
Why doesn’t Freddy use his Marlins ties to hire either Andre Dawson or Gary Sheffield as hitting instructors / Those guys could rake. Presley ? I cracked a rib laughing…
E-6
October 27th, 2010
8:10 am
Not sure that Presley is the answer but his .247 average means squat. There were a couple hitting coaches who both played for the Braves whose career averages were .253 and .255 respectively. Their names were Charlie Lau and Walt Hriniak. A third guy who’s also done pretty well, Rudy Jaramillo had a .258 MINOR LEAGUE average – never made it to the majors.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:11 am
I guess Braves figure if a 53-60 Roger McDowell can be pitching coach then a .245 Presley can be hitting coach ? Just toss logic straight the hell out da window.
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:12 am
.253 & .255 respectively ? What’s to be respected about being a crummy hitter ?
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:14 am
If a guy can’t sky dive how can he teach somebody else to sky dive ? There ya go…
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:16 am
Just let Kenshin Kawakami be the new pitching coach while you are hiring sorry hitting coaches…
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
8:19 am
If I were manager, John Smoltz would be my pitching coach and Cal Ripken Jr. my hitting coach (assuming they would accept the jobs). Instead we get McDowell & Presley ? LMAO.
SavannahBraves Fan
October 27th, 2010
8:35 am
You must be pretty bored Horse….either that or need a job
lefty fielder
October 27th, 2010
8:41 am
i think Horse should be banned for not knowing who jamey johnson is
jc
October 27th, 2010
8:45 am
nick esasky was considered but he kept getting dizzy and falling over during the interview.
Mike Jay
October 27th, 2010
8:50 am
Horse, there is zero correlation between being a good major leauge hitter and being a good batting instructer. Of course don;t let logic get in the way of a good rant.
The Braves shoud hire that guy who turned two bench/utility players into all stars competing for a batting title. What was his name?
Versiroth
October 27th, 2010
8:54 am
A lot of times, great players aren’t good coaches. Do you really think Pujols could teach batters to hit like him? No, because he has natural ability that allows him to do what he does. I’m sure this Presley guy has been a coach for a while and I’m sure Fredi saw something in him that he liked. Could be work ethic. Could be that he can relate to a lot of different groups well, etc. It takes WAY more to be a good hitting coach than simply being a good hitter. TP was a pretty good hitter and you guys hated him.
The good thing about these new coaches are that they are not ethed in stone line Bobby was. If we’re doing poorly, the front office would be able to replace them without it being a huge deal. They couldn’t do this with Bobby and his staff.
sid's bream
October 27th, 2010
9:00 am
i vote for brian mccann’s dad…
oh, you mean I don’t get a vote?
meh
October 27th, 2010
9:04 am
get “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas
just a long time braves fan
October 27th, 2010
9:10 am
don’t know about the hitting coach, but if the braves can get prince fielder to play first and adrian beltre to play third, we won’t have to worry so much about hitting.
beachcomber
October 27th, 2010
9:11 am
Good points by DOB, E-6 and Mike Jay. A career BA means little in selecting a good hitting coach.
Heisenberg
October 27th, 2010
9:16 am
Dave Duncan may have never been a pitcher, but he was regarded as a very good defensive catcher and knew a lot about how to call a game and recognize when his battery mate had good or bad stuff. He caught Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman. It comes as no surprise he is one of the best pitching coaches in the game.
Cecil34
October 27th, 2010
9:17 am
Remember fellas who owns the Braves…..
These type coaches fit the financial profile.
No Smoltz or Ripkin for us!
yogi2
October 27th, 2010
9:26 am
McLouse will make all hitting coaches look bad. The braves need better minor league hitting coaches.
Mike
October 27th, 2010
9:38 am
My fondest memory of Jim Presley was watching him make 3 errors in an inning in 1990 with 3,000 of my closest friends at the old stadium. I was in high school then so my memory could be failing me but that image has stuck with me for some reason – even if it never really happened. Time has a funny way of messing with what we recall and merging events so don’t crucify me if I’m wrong here.
Of course, this has nothing to do with his qualifications to be the HC, nor does his MLB batting record. And I don’t know enough about his work in FL to pass judgment at this point. But I am leery about the perception of Fredi using this as an opportunity to hire his buddies.
Mike Jay
October 27th, 2010
9:43 am
Hey Cecil,
I wasn’t aware that Smoltz and Ripken wanted to be coaches. Did you talk to them recently?
Jesse Stone
October 27th, 2010
9:45 am
Wasn’t Presley arrested in 1990 while with Braves for pushing his mother-in-law?
Chuck M.
October 27th, 2010
10:02 am
Hey you Guys,They have not hired the guy yet,Fredi still has a couple of candidates to interview,so hang on!
David O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
10:04 am
Horse With A Name: Honestly, I don’t even know what that means. Should I laugh, be angry, scratch head, or, as you put it, “sommin’ else”? (Love that homespun humor, by the way. Sommin’.)
o-me
October 27th, 2010
10:09 am
DOB, Horse ? is just being a smart a@@.
wesley
October 27th, 2010
10:11 am
Those Tom Emanski instructional videos are the key!! I mean they are endorsed by “super star Fred McGriff”
CARRAMROD
October 27th, 2010
10:12 am
DOB – Has anyone thought about going after the Crime Dog Fred McGriff as a possible hitting coach?
Casey
October 27th, 2010
10:16 am
It’s just like anything else: whatever hack you hire brings his own set of hacks with him. Maybe Fredi’s hacks will be as good as Bobby’s hacks. What I don’t get is putting Pendleton at first. Why don’t you just fire the man and let him preserve his dignity.
David O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
10:17 am
o-me: Got it. So just change the “smart” to another word and it’s perfect description.
The Grinch
October 27th, 2010
10:17 am
First of all, the man hasn’t been hired yet, only interviewed. And if he does get hired, give him a chance. I swear, reading this blog is like continuously reading “Chicken Little,” only that children’s book was more intelligent than most of the posts.
I’m not immediately excited about replacing Hubbard with Pendleton, or keeping Snitker at third either. But it’s our team, and we ought to respect what management decides to do and at least give it a CHANCE to work before we grab pitchforks and torches.
This is why Aristotle said true Democracy was the worst possible form of government, akin to “mob rule.” You people would DFA every hitter after an o-fer if you could.
ej
October 27th, 2010
10:17 am
Freddie is the head of the household…..he should be able to choose the staff that he can work with,emotionally and psychologically….Now, I would like to have Chipper as a hitting coach and his Father as a back up….Players would relate to Chipper, I believe.
Diamond Bill
October 27th, 2010
10:19 am
Well, at least we know that Horse wasn’t ridden through the desert.
Jesse Stone
October 27th, 2010
10:23 am
What was Hubbard’s job? I’m sure Pendleton can yell, “BACK!” as good as Hubbard was. Wasn’t Hubbard also in charge of infield defense? How was that last year? Losing Hubbard is not a big deal at all.
Chuck M.
October 27th, 2010
10:27 am
DOB You mean Jack!
Owl Hunter
October 27th, 2010
10:31 am
To everyone who’s whining about every little move the organization makes; what’s your solution? Oh yeah, YOU DON”T HAVE ONE! You’re all clowns who have nothing to add but whining. Especially Horse with no Ideas.
Cecil34
October 27th, 2010
10:32 am
Mike Jay –
John said he isn’t interested.
Don’t know Cal.
so I was 50% accurate….
Owl Hunter
October 27th, 2010
10:32 am
Let’s go get Bonds for hitting coach, and Clemens for pitching coach. That should work!
Toyt Like A Tiger
October 27th, 2010
10:35 am
Chipper and Murph are available.
Obee
October 27th, 2010
10:36 am
Jeez, don’t you guys think Fredi is going to hire the guy he thinks is best for the job, if nothing else for self preservation? Why would he just go out and hire some friend?
Mike Jay
October 27th, 2010
10:40 am
Cecil34,
I figured SMoltz still had delusions of the PGA tour. Well that and he hasn’t officaly retired from playing baseball.
Oh and your math is wrong you were 100% inaccurate because Smoltz wasn’t interested. In order for you to be 50% accurate he would have had to of been interested and turned down due to wanting more money than liberty was willing to pay. Oh and tell Smoltz isaid thanks for being an ass to my kid when he asked for an autograph.
Peter
October 27th, 2010
10:41 am
My question is…. what were the marlin’s batting when he was the coach ?
What was their ability to move a runner, bunt, and get a productive out, while he was their hitting coach ?
Peter
October 27th, 2010
10:45 am
Hey Ocee …….Glenn Hubbard was not just the first base coach….he was the infield coach as well.
I am assuming TP will take over that role.
If you hadn’t noticed, we stuck up the league with errors…..part of that was the coaching of Hubbard.
ernesto
October 27th, 2010
10:56 am
Roy Hobbs would be an awesome hitting coach, what’s he up to these days?
The Legend
October 27th, 2010
10:58 am
Why has nobody mentioned Mark Grace? That man could hit. Also, a great mentor for Freddie Freeman. I’m just saying.
Braves Fan
October 27th, 2010
11:00 am
All I know is people blame Terry Pendleton but if the players they sign couldn’t hit elswhere what makes people think Terry Pendleton could perform miracles with sorry ballplayers.Whoever they get to be the hitting coach can’t make sorry ballplayers hitters!!!
The Grinch
October 27th, 2010
11:20 am
Braves Fan, every single player that was brought here last season hit considerably better where they came from than they did when they got here. I understand part of it is Turner Field, but not all of it. Alex Gonzalez had 20 HR at the AS break, it seemed like he had 19 total at the end of the season. Derrick Lee had 4 HR in three games before he came here, then Turned into Nate McLouth. Oh yeah, what about Nate McLouth?
I’m not saying TP doesn’t know how to hit. I AM saying during his tenure as hitting coach the players who didn’t respond and even regressed far outweighed those who did. Either he wasn’t helping, or they weren’t listening. Either way it was time for a change.
The Grinch
October 27th, 2010
11:30 am
The Mets are hiring Sandy Alderman as GM. What was wrong with Omar Minaya? They managed to stay ahead of Washington despite a miniscule payroll.
lexbrave
October 27th, 2010
11:33 am
who cares who they hire? it’s not like the braves are gonna spend the money to bring in anybody who can hit anyway. they will either trade for some mediocre hitter who has flashed some limited occasional success at the plate (i.e. mcclouth, melky) or bring in a washed up veteran who can’t walk, much less hit (i.e. glaus, anderson)
no hitting coach is gonna be able to do much with either.
josh
October 27th, 2010
11:39 am
Playing the race card? Really? Do you not see that most of this board is asking for don baylor? I’m not sure if you know this, but, he is black! Heyward is black. Its hard to have a lot of african americans when there are only 5 percent blacks in all of mlb. Very ignorant comment
ByteMe
October 27th, 2010
11:39 am
My vote would be Hoss for hitting coach. Doubt he wants the job yet, though.
David O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
11:41 am
lexbrave, you’re a real ray of sunshine. (whew … someone go hug lexbrave, quickly)
SavannahBraves Fan
October 27th, 2010
11:42 am
The Grinch, I agree it is time for a change, just for change sake. I don’t think it should all be blamed on TP, which was the point I was making. As far as Gonzalez goes, he was due to come back down to earth. He was having a career year up to the point he came to Atlanta. DLee had been struggling all year and was playing injured. Nate, God only knows what happened to him. I think it was more mental than physical. Maybe TP lost communication with the players, but can’t be totally blamed.
New Era
October 27th, 2010
11:47 am
Here is a tad found about Coach Presley. It may be a year or so old, but it’s better than just guessing at what he has done. Sounds like a good coach to me.
COACHING CAREER
Enters his 21st season in professional baseball, 14th in Major League Baseball, and his fifth year as the Marlins hitting coach. Under Presley, the Marlins have set single-season club records in runs (790 in 2007), hits (1504 in 2007), doubles (340 in 2007), home runs (208 in 2008), RBI (749 in 2007), average (.268 in 2009), on-base percentage (.340 in 2009) and slugging percentage (.448 in 2007). Since 2006, the Fish rank third in the National League in sluggin percentage (.433) and fourth in home runs (750)..Prior to joining the Marlins in 2006, Presley spent five years as a hitting instructor in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, with the last three seasons at the Major League level…In 1999, the NL West Champion Diamondbacks boasted league highs with 908 runs scored and 865 RBI…In 1998, the Diamondbacks inaugural season, Presley joined Buck Showalter’s coaching staff as the hitting coach…a position he held through 2000…Spent one year as hitting coach with South Bend Silver Hawks (A) in 1997…Presley guided Lethbridge (R) to Pioneer League single-season records for home runs (88) and runs scored (637) as the hitting instructor in 1996
Versiroth
October 27th, 2010
11:53 am
I’m glad Hubbard is gone. It’s the first base coach’s job to read pitchers and help his runners know when they should and shouldn’t run. Heck, even fast people on our team would get thrown out by 3 feet (Heyward comes to mind). Not to mention how poor our infield defense was last year. Maybe TP can up our SB success rate a little.
sheepdip
October 27th, 2010
11:54 am
BRING BACK LONNIE SMITH. Yeah, I know. Skated in the OF, but could sure hit.
The Grinch
October 27th, 2010
11:55 am
I don’t think it should all be blamed on TP either. There’s only so much a coach can do whether he’s good at it or not. It just seems like most people here are either “TP SUX!” or “Wren SUX” and I don’t beleive it’s that clear cut. I think the iniquity should be fairly evenly divided between mediocre hitters, a tough park to hit in, and a hitting coach who many if not most players don’t seem to be benefiting from for whatever reason. I ALSO think Wren is an astute GM and will bring in and develop more talent, and that current and future players will benefit from a fresh perspective whoever it may come from. I trust in management, and feel we’re on the rise.
Ghost of Nick Esasky...I'm feeling dizzy
October 27th, 2010
11:55 am
Oh wait. Did someone mention my name? If feeling dizzy and need to go back to bed.
Fastball
October 27th, 2010
11:59 am
DOB, any word on Chip Carey and Joe Simpson returning to do TV. Thanks.
joe
October 27th, 2010
12:02 pm
Might as well bring back Greg Norton in come capacity…
Chuck M.
October 27th, 2010
12:15 pm
I know, bring Melky back as hitting coach
Carolina Gent
October 27th, 2010
12:19 pm
Great stuff, New Era, good work digging that stuff up!
Brava
October 27th, 2010
12:22 pm
New Era, thanks for the info on Presley. Sounds like a very good hitting coach to me. Hope he can help the Braves improve their offense and also work with players such as Nate, Gonzalez and Heyward who have talent, but can’t seem to consistently unleash it at the plate.
lexbrave
October 27th, 2010
12:32 pm
dave, that did sound mighty depressing didn’t it? perhaps a more positive spin.
ahem…
it doesn’t matter who they hire. wren is going to put together a team with a well balanced mix of cheap young power hitters approaching their prime and wirey low cost, no risk / high reward veterans that will once again have the braves contending for a playoff spot.
Tell It Like It Is
October 27th, 2010
12:36 pm
A life time 265 hitter as a hitting coach. So what is he going to do for the majority of players on this team who cannot hit? What a piece of crap this is going to be.
Chopper
October 27th, 2010
12:38 pm
DOB,
You should do a piece about what hitting/pitching coaches do on a dailey basis. I think then people could make a more informed decision about whether they think a particular person is better for that job.
I think most people think the value of a hitting coach is how well they hit when they were there. I mean would anyone pick Presley to go to the plate over Pendleton? No, but maybe Presley is a better TEACHER of hitting. I don’t think there is some formula that always works. Some great hitters couldn’t tell someone else how to get better (think of Manny) but Tony Gwynn would probably be the best hitting coach ever. And some guys who had trouble hitting as a pro was because of lack of physical ability, not the knowledge.
My personal opinion was that TP had done a fine job, but Wren was not enamored of him, otherwise he probably would have at least gotten an interview for the manager job. I think his friendship with Fredi is why he is still on staff, albeit not the hitting coach. In what world is first base coach/infield coach a position that has MORE influence on the game than hitting coach?
Abnerish
October 27th, 2010
12:46 pm
Why are peole pointing to Presley’s stats when deciding whether or not he can be an effective hitting coach? Did Tiger Woods review Butch Harmon’s PGA Tour record before hiring him as his swing coach? Of course not, that’s because being a coach has nothing to do with whether or not the coach can do it, but how effectively he can analyze, evaluate, and communicate with his “student”. Chipper will make a great hitting coach when he hangs up his spikes, but not because he’s a future HOFer and a great hitter, but because you can tell by what he says that he loves that aspect of the game: analyzing swings, working with the other players on fixing flaws, etc. He really seemed to get a kick out of seeing McLouth improve after he helped him iron out a few things in Sept. So, look back at what the Marlins did while Presley was there. Did they hit the ball well? Yes. Did they have a good approach at the plate? From what I saw, I’d say yes. If Fredi trusts him and thinks he will mesh well with the organization, then who are we to say he’s not the right guy for the job? I realize we are all bored and waiting for the WS to be over so the Hot Stove can heat up, but c’mon!
David O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
12:52 pm
Fastball, Chip signed a multi-year contract and Joe isn’t going anywhere, far as I know. Joe’s a fixture, why would he be going anywhere?
David O'Brien
October 27th, 2010
12:54 pm
Chopper: Sorry, but I don’t see how that’s a story for late October — what hitting coaches do on a daily basis.
wins-by-a-link
October 27th, 2010
1:10 pm
If TP was not any good as hitting coach why should he be first base coach? Why reward failure? I think Hubbard got screwed on this deal, I would have thought BC would have taken better care of such a loyal member of his former staff. At least offer him a position some place in the organization.
collegeballfan
October 27th, 2010
1:15 pm
Not a single person writing on this subject has the slightest idea what the heck he is talking about.
So allow me to join the crowd.
Coaching or teaching, same thing, is a matter of communicating with 25 separate individuals.
Fastball
October 27th, 2010
1:17 pm
DOB, Thanks for your reply. I’ve enjoyed both Chip and Joe and look forward to the Braves games on TV here in Illinois. Also enjoy your articles and blogs. …and your sense of humor.
Mike
October 27th, 2010
1:21 pm
Great coaches do NOT have to be great players!!! Great players do NOT always make great coaches!! Larry Bird, Diego Maradona, Isaiah Thomas…. the list goes on and on. It has already been said. Do all the posters ignore any previous comment with common sense?
Why don’t we just hire “__fill in favorite player regardless of if they have ever coached, plan to ever coach, or even still interested in working__”
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:26 pm
Braves even hire sorry hitters as broadcasters like Joe “Mendoza Line’ Simpson. Chip got his job because of grandpa and daddy. This whole MLB scene reeks of cronyism.
Nativebird
October 27th, 2010
1:28 pm
Chipper’s Dad for Braves Hitting Coach!
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:31 pm
It might surprise you that Ripken or Eck might be interested in jobs if they were asked. But go ahead and sign Presley Braves. Its par for the sorry and ultra cheap course.
Mike
October 27th, 2010
1:32 pm
forgot a few…. Mike Singletary, Wayne Gretzky
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:32 pm
Nativebird,Poad,etc.,etc. you’re the jobless one. The blogs will die down after you die…
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:34 pm
Croynism proof :
Freddy Gonzalez former Braves 3B coach now replaces Cox as Braves mgr.
Gonzalez hires former coaches he had with Marlins.
Chip Caray Braves announcer because dad was Braves announcer.
Scrate up cronyism !
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:37 pm
The toss’ em or keep ‘em poll is a great idea. I just hope Wren listens. Hinske,Infante,and Ross should be kept. Put the rest (D.Lee,McLouth,Glaus,Ankiel,KK,TP) on a space ship to Pluto…
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:39 pm
Oh yeah, jettison Mr. Error Conrad to Siberia as well…
Horse With A Name
October 27th, 2010
1:40 pm
Make sure you order 1,000 bags of David sunflower seeds to put on the ship for TP…