Walker hired as Braves hitting coach

First!

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second!

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I’d like to thank DOB for my first “First” post!

I really like the thought Konerko praised him. However with Beckham and Dunner saying he messed them up I’m really not too sure Konerko is a seasoned Vet and knows what he’s doing at the plate and how to correct what he’s doing wrong. Wish we would of dug a little deeper. We shall see.

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This is the best they could get?????

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Extremely disappointed. Jamie Dismuke should have gotten the job. The work he did that turned Nate McLouth into a beast in September 2010 was extraordinary.

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Bad move, obviously, and I don’t know anything much…

Fire GW….

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so the best option was a guy who got ran out of town at his last job?? Lets hope Heyward doesn’t go the way of the beckham kid…

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WTF!!!!!

Epic collapse followed by this bone headed move. You don’t try to get worse after failure. The franchise has become a joke. Sell the damn team already.

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Ya! WORLD SERIES HERE WE COME!!!!

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I was hoping the Walker he was referring to was Larry Walker (good hitter for Expos and Rockies). There were better options for hitting coach. But ultimately it is the player that is in the box trying to hit. They are suppose to be professionals and get paid to hit, throw and catch. If they could not do those things at top levels they wouldn’t be there. Hitting coaches at the MLB level are overrated any way.

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I was hoping it was Larry Walker-but I’ll root for Greg & not bellyache like it’s some kind of requirement for posting on the AJC. It’s Friday folks, cheer up! Greg might be exactly what the doctor ordered…time will tell but let’s at least give the guy a chance to get in here & see what happens! GO BRAVES!!!

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Why do only average hitters get hired as hitting coaches?

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Dang I thought one of the great east cobb coaches would have gotten it.!

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Probably won’t make a difference. The firing of Larry Parrish was mostly PR than anything else. The Braves choked at the end of the season and needed a scapegoat. There were a number of reasons the team failed, not one.

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I’m guessing that the hitting coaches responsible for guys like Pujols, Kemp and Cano are usually not unemployed and waiting for a phone call. If you’re selecting from available hitting coaches, then you are choosing from a collection that (generally speaking) hasn’t enjoyed tremendous success in the last season or two. I am personally gratified that he is an experienced hitting coach… a tiny detail they failed to consider with the Parrish hire.

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Oh boy…not I am really excited about next season…Let me run right out and buy me up some of dem season tickets

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Job is not rocket science. Convince hitters to be aggressive early and avoid 0-2 and 1-2 counts all the time where they end up swinging at junk. A little success early and they get to hit with more 2-0 and 3-1 counts. Hitting coach job should focus on the mental with only minor technical adjustments.

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Why do only average hitters get hired as hitting coaches?

Those that can do and those that can’t teach.

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Does Sonny Clusters know?He will have to tell Stinky Wintes somebody else got the job.Looks like we settled for someone.Seems to be the method of operation for our team now.GO DOGS!!!

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Why do so many view this hire as “rushed”? It’s not like the Braves front office took a month long vacation when the season ended, and today is their first day back. They’ve been discussing and interviewing people for nearly a month. Honestly, I’d be worried if the search had continued much longer, because that would imply that they couldn’t find a candidate they were comfortable with.

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What angers me about this is the last paragraph…TERRY PENDLETON HAD THE BRAVES 1ST IN THE NL IN OBP IN 2010 AND GOT PUSHED OVER TO 1ST BASE COACH!!!

I think TP was moved because the team is trying to give him the experience to become a manager somewhere soon. Wouldn’t be suprised at all to see him get some interviews in the next couple of years, especially in St. Louis. Who knows how long TLR will stay in the game, and TP is almost as popular there as he is in ATL.

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If this guy is influential enough to affect a long-tenured player like Adam Dunn, who has been successful as a hitter for several years, and make him pathetic…then he’s a bigger influence on the game than any other batting coach in the league.

Let’s see what he does before we call this a bad hire. If Kornerko says he’s good, and Paul is a good hitter and known the guy for a while, then I’m willing to give the guy a chance before slamming him.

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I’ll be available in the future.

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I agree with Bluestreak. Dunn don’t seem like the kind of person to be looking up the hitting coach each day.

Now Wren can get to work, creating a deep and TALENTED team. Don’t stop at “good enough”.

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Thanks Frank Wren for a great pick..Greg Walker will do a great job. I’ve know Greg since 1990 and the man works 24-7. players love him and he’s smart. To those that wanted someone else..just give the man a chance.

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Am NOT blown away by this hiring.

Would like to get Chipper’s honest opinion (which he would be too classy to give if it were negative) after he has been with him a few times.

He certainly has his work cut out for him and I hope he doesn’t wait until latter part of February to begin.

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“I thought the search would be “exhaustive” according to Wren?”

Interviewing and then hiring the guy you decided beforehand was going to get the job qualifies as an exhaustive search for this franchise

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“Would like to get Chipper’s honest opinion (which he would be too classy to give if it were negative”

Chipper’s opinion is that he should hit third

The words “Chipper” and “classy” should never be used in the same sentence together unless there is a negative in there somewhere

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WDW

October 21st, 2011
2:00 pm
Thanks Frank Wren for a great pick..Greg Walker will do a great job. I’ve know Greg since 1990 and the man works 24-7. players love him and he’s smart. To those that wanted someone else..just give the man a chance.
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Sure, and I’m really tight with Albert Pujols myself.

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VERY BAD decision. I would have rather taken a shot at an unproven – high risk/high reward guy than this joke.

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I’m not a Fredi hater at this point, but I think FG has one more year to show the capacity of being a quality manager or we might see a quick firing and subsequent promotion of TP to manager. I think he’d be a good one. No disrespect intended toFredi but I didn’t understand the passing over of Terry Pendleton to begin with.

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Was Walker the only one that was interviewed for the job? If so, WHY? I imagine that the hire was based solely on economics. We’ll see how he does.

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Not impressed at all. The season isnt even over and they have already filled the job with a Terry Pendleton clone. Walker is not that good. The Red Sox have never been top of their league in hitting or anything else. They have in fact been in the middle to lower end the entire time Walker has been their hitting coach.

Thanks Atlanta, another non-producing coach is on his way. Its always about a past Georgia person. Always. How about the best available? Thats really what I wanted to hear.

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I’m not a Fredi hater at this point, but I think FG has one more year to show the capacity of being a quality manager or we might see a quick firing and subsequent promotion of TP to manager. I think he’d be a good one. No disrespect intended toFredi but I didn’t understand the passing over of Terry Pendleton to begin with.

Giving that job to TP when at the time half the fan base didn’t even want him as the hitting coach would have been unfair to TP and the rest of the team. While I hope that Fredi turns things around, I do agree that TP would be a nice replacement if the time comes that Fredi is relieved of his role. Sometimes it’s better to be the replacement’s replacement, especially if the first guy is taking over for a living legend.

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What got through to Druw was he began to realize the fat slow centerfielder with no pop or average doesn’t have a long shelf life in MLB. He realized that he was close to being one of the biggest flameouts in recent memory…or at least one that went from ’sure-fire HOFer’ to ‘couldn’t get a job as a backup’.

And Rudy’s really elevating the Cubs hitters since his move, isn’t he? The White Sox ranked one spot ahead of the Cubs and 4 ahead of Atlanta.

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If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it… did it make a sound?

That’s this move……

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To my knowledge Walker is the ONLY candidate they ever interviewed.

That’s because the Atlanta front office keeps these type of things VERY close to the vest. The truth is that nobody outside of the front office knows how many candidates they considered, or who they interviewed.

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Finally, Dave O’Brien, as a professional journalist you really should remember that you set a tone for this blog with the quality of your writing. We who reply in comment are not given any chance to edit our remarks. But, you can edit your work as you desire. Please, this blog should envoke a high degree of quality and as previously commented upon about 20 minutes ago, there is a serious problem with a key sentence you wrote. KEN STALLINGS
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Ken, please get some kind of life….it’s his blog, not yours.

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Everyone calling this the cheaper option…unless Dismuke figured on some big payday if he was elevated to the major league hitting coach, Dismuke would have likely been the ‘cheap’ option. And if he would have been hired, most everyone would have been screaming that the FO didn’t even do a search. The Braves tend to keep that type of buisness behind closed doors until things happen.

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6 Does dead.
4 Tropy bucks dead.
5 knocked up Hooters girls.

Chipper’s having an October for the ages.

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Love people pretending hitting coaches affect wins and losses. Wake up

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Everyone wants to blame the Braves collapse on Freddie Gonzales and Frank Wren. Do you not think that losing your best two starters for the last 2 months of the year had anything to do with it? The problem I had with Freddie was running Derrick Lowe out there every 5 days hoping he wouldn’t fail and wanting to hold onto a failure in Larry Parrish. At least give Frank Wren some credit for canning that move in a hurry. Another thing, you think Freddie Gonzales could have foresaw Craig Kimbrell blowing three saves in the last 2 weeks of the season? If that hadnt happened we would have been playing in October.

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Obviously, Phil, you stated a truth “I don’t know anything much.” Wish 99% of the others who post here were as honest as you. They act as if they know it all and probably do. However, I’m with you, “I don’t know anything much” but I’m happy to see the Braves make the effort they do. Great team from top to bottom. We have so much for which to be thankful regarding the Braves. Just wait till next year! Go Braves!!!!!

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All the know it all posters, tell what hitting coach was out there AVAILABLE that had major league experience. How come the fact that Paul Konerko, a good hitter, praised Walker means nothing but the fact that an all or nothing hitter in Dunn struggling and Gordon Beckham, who struggled this year, means everything. Apparently Beckham was not blaming his struggles on Walker.

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Honestly Adam Dunn is given to much credit when it comes to hitting. He swings for the fences everytime he bats and occasionally he runs into one. Don’t really see how Walker hurt is hitting ability when it was limited to start with. Maybe father time is telling Adam his best days are in the past. The White Sox just needed someone to blame for an unfortunate free agent signing. I am sure Wren could speak to that.

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Hey guys. First time posting here xD Just wanted to point out some things…

-Walker was the hitting coach for Paul Konerko (superstar), AJ Pyerzinski (or however its spelled). Both guys have been very consistent with the White Sox. He also was the hitting coach for Jermaine Dye, who was good before coming to Chcago but became great after coming over. Another guy that comes to mind is Joe Crede. Crede had some solid seasons with the Sox, and then one year he is traded and…were is he now?? Finally, I give you Carlos Quentin. He was just an average player with the D-Backs. He’s traded to the Sox and BAM! Instant offensive weapon pretty much from his first season here.

-What I am trying to say is that he helped a lot of guys succeed. Yes, Beckham struggled but many, many top prospects from EVERY team fail to have the kind of success that was envisioned. As for Dunn, maybe Walker couldn’t figure his swing out, or maybe Dunn just got lazy because he got a huge contract. Who knows? In conclusion, I don’t encourage you guys to say “great hire”, but I do encourage you to think “Ok, let’s see how he does”. That is how I am looking at this move. Maybe, just maybe, we will have a great offensive year with virtually the same players. Maybe J-Hey will bounce back. We will just have to wait and see. Go Braves!!

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prBrave, good post.

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Disastrous old school hire. Don’t let the gushing old blogger fool you.

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Doubtful Cecil. The Braves are just well behind the time on hitting. The organization needs an injection of youth and forward thinkers in the game

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Bloomberg has an AWESOME article up with lots of behind the scenes details about the Bourn trade. Wren comes out of it looking kind of like he played Ed Wade, while Wade looks like a good guy who probably could have done better if he’d been willing to backstab the Braves.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/anatomy-of-a-baseball-trade-10202011.html

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Wow, I will rush out and by season tickets now?!%@(*%

Is there anyone short of Ted Williams reanimated corpse that would have prompted you to buy season tickets? Didn’t think so.

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ok, time will tell on this hire. Now the questions is, who will replace fredi?

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This guy ruined Adam Dunn’s stroke and caused all kinds of issues with other batters in the locker room, not to mention his team was batting in the .250’s in the AMERICAN League, which is known as a HITTER’s League. Nomar Garciaparra should have been offered the job. He went to GA Tech; was a three time American League Batting Champion, and is a broadcaster for ESPN. Lifetime batting average of .313 with over 200 home runs, six time All Star, AL ROY, good pedigree.

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If that last stat is correct on TP’s success as hitting coach, then all the bloggers who cried for TP to be fired practically every day are nuts; just proves that the average blogger does not know what they are talking about. Reminds me of my ex-wife, never satisfied! lol

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Thanks kerryb, O-me

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I have no problem with DOB but I don’t agree with him all the time. Does any one agree all the time.

RC thanks for link. Wren did a great job on Bourn!

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The icing was on the cake on this one when they found out he’s from Georgia. It seems the Braves ALWAYS hire people from Georgia irregardless of their history or performance. No other team cares if the staff or players are “local”, why should we?

So, we’re looking for a guy to help get our offense back on track after several of our hitters were well below their norms. So, naturally, we find the hitting coach for the team where the majors saw the only worse season-to-season drop in performance in Adam Dunn.

I guess just having held the title of “hitting coach” and being from Georgia is enough… sigh.

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Hire Terrence Moore as pitching coach…

Lord knows the doof thought he knew everything about everything….

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Thought maybe they would get rid of Frank Wren and Fredi Gonzales. I’ll check back tomorrow.

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WDW – tx for the kind words….you vouch for GW and I’ll take you at your word so we’ll see! Hopefully the guy will be good for us….

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Was the deceased uncle named Joe DiMaggio?

I didn’t think so.

Pros lose their way from time to time too….or have you never watched much baseball?

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jch, disagree my friend. Being from Georgia had don’t to do with it. In fact i’m surprised because the Braves went of of their system to hire someone. Its time we got some new blood in system.

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Glenn=Ga Tech homer. No, I wouldnt want Nomar. Just because you hit a little in the majors doesnt mean you would make a good coach. He has never been a coach at ANY level in baseball. Thats the same resume as Larry Parrish. You dont know what you are talking about saying that Walker ruined Dunn’s swing. Dunn didnt have a swing to start with. He has always been a swing for the fence, all or nothing hitter. It just caught up with him this season.

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Are u serious?

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I hope Walker can build good relationbshuips with all of the Braves.

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My living uncle hates Georgians….

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Of course, he hates me also…..

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Hatemongers on this blog use to anger me, however, now I just sit back a roar with laughter. It is my comedy hour! The opinions offered are hilarious. Red Sox for White Soix??? What’s the difference, huh? Douglas, GA being a local connection? Wow! A fellow who chose to leave a job because his leader was leaving is not the same as being fired for failure to do his job. TP should not have been passed over???? Well, maybe he just wasn’t ready or the Braves didn’t think it was his time. Calling Fredi Fruiti…such disrespect….What is with this “entitlement” mentality on this blod anyway? Keep on writing boys and girls. I love laughter as well as a great baseball game! Go Braves!

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I have no problem hiring a guy who doesn’t have a lot of hitting coach experience because there are exceptions….re: Mark McGuire prior to 2010. However, hiring a guy that has had a history of not being able to get through to players is very difficult to swallow. I’m sure it will be an upgrade over Parrish but I am more disappointed with this hire than last year’s. I feel like our GM is clueless. I would have supported hiring Dismuke but this is so disappointing.

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Braves also hired Scott Fletcher from Rockies system as asst hitting coach to Walker. So now we getting new hitting coaches from A, AA, AAA to majors..sounds good to me!

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Yeah, but Obama is withdrawing all players from MLB at the end of the year!

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Does anybody at the AJC know how to spell check? Or do they read their articles before posting? Crap work by a journalist who’s too busy quoting lyrics and acting “hip” to produce quality work.

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jch—Adam Dunn is a life time 258 hitter..thats not success. Adam also put on about 15 extra lbs – that had alot to do with his swing.
Walker has what it takes and that WS ring backs it up..to some respect.

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Okay I’m going to try and be patient with may of you…

Just because a player was a great player doth not mean he will be (or wants to be ) a hitting coach. If you look at the history of the game, the best mgrs and coaches of all time were not very good players. They just happened to be smart, students of the game. (La russa, Cox, Lasorda,leyland, Herzog,Connie Mack,Sparky…etc) Just because Larry Walker could hit , doesn’t mean he can coach.

Dunn is a horrible reference player. In fact he’s one of the most unique hitters in the history of baseball. Very few hitters with his power and low batting avg have been able to sustain such a high OBP. He has an outstanding idea of the strike zone, yet also K’s a ton. Nobody else in history has had over 60% of their PA’s result in either a HR a K or a BB…. Not to mention he got a new big contract in a new league and may have tried a bit too hard. He’s always had issues with loving the game tho..

I’m a realist, the team had very few experienced options to work with , and I am willing to give Greg Walker a year to see if he can improve the teams OBP. He can’t do much worse than what we just had!

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Ha Ha Ha! I see a conspiracy. Wren don’t want next season to be good so that he can fire Fred Gonz.

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both are life time 260 hitters – why not put Chipper as the hitting coach -

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This guy is the best the Braves could find? The White Sox stunk it up and now we get Mr. Walker to help resolve our hitting woes. Looks like another long season ahead for us Braves fans.

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Look at the bright side…I’m sure both the new hires are a heckuva lotta fun to have a beer with after the game and Fredi the Amazingly Stupid Manager felt *reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy* comfy around them.

Help with our hitters? Eh, maybe not so much, but as long as we have the important interpersonal stuff covered, that’s what matters.

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“Additionally, the team hired Scott Fletcher as an assistant hitting coach who will primarily focus on video scouting. He has spent his last few seasons with the Colorado Rockies organization and the Braves created a new position just for him”

Much better news here!!!!!!

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FIRE GREG WALKER !

Hey you got to start ealy if you want to be the first to yell for someone to be fired.

Just kidding, though. I hope for the best and wait and see what happens.

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A drunk off the street would have been better than Parrish! No body can improve the Braves hitting until they actually get some players in there that can hit!!! I have watched a 15 or so of the MLB playoffs’s-Cardinals can hit (obviously) and the Rangers can hit. They actually have hitters and players that don’t look wore out and don’t have that “I don’t care anymore” attitude the Braves had end of the season. I am saying something else “behind the scenes” went on in that dugout to make the Braves stink even worse.
Good luck to the new “hitting coach”.
By the way Douglas, Ga. is below Vidalia, Ga-you know the “Sweet Onion Capital”.

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i have mixed feelings about this hire. i mean adam dunn who had hit 38 homers or more in 8 straight years went down the drain. but i’m going to give him a chance and lets see what happens.

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So we got a Walker, not a talker?

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The Braves should have hired me as hitting coach. My approach is to make up your mind before the pitch, as to whether you’re gonna swing or not. Also, it doesn’t matter if its a call strike, right down the middle, or a mighty whiff at a curveball a foot off the plate, always smile. Jeff Francour and Alex Gonzalez share my philosophy, except Alez doesn’ smile.

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this was a great move by the braves i know greg we are from douglas GA he will work hard he will put his best effort in the end hitters have to do their job he cant go out and hit for them some comments made are unfair beckam and dunn are not his fault gives me hope that braves will do better hitting give this man a chance he will improve the braves hitters good luck greg and look forward to seeing you and the braves go braves let him have a fair shot there was no one BETTER out there as some of these folks want he is the best available thanks greg for all you did in chicago my hometown and for all of us

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That was the quickest “extensive” search I’ve ever seen. Sorry TP. This should still be your job.

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“was hired after spending spent 8-1/2 seasons as White Sox hitting coach.”

“and was a .260 career hitter with a .32 OBP”

“Wren estimated that “six to 10″ ”

“I attribute a lot of my ccucess”

“We had a good relationbshuip”

“It’s kind of rate to find that.”

If you guys are looking for an editor down at AJC, shoot me an email.

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Fire someone…

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Wrensanidiot—Gregg Walker wasn’t fired. With all the changes in Chicago, he resigned. Give the guy a chance. At least he’s had experience as a hitting coch.

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Listen, if you aren’t hiting because of something you are doing wrong, then a hitting coach can help. If you aren’t hitting cause you can’t hit, then lots of luck with tne new hitting coach.

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I like that they’re taking a different approach for next season. Firing one guy and hiring another is one thing.. but to switch up positions, roles and the process will hopefully get some different (better) results. I’m excited to see how it works for 2012.

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I think judging this move now is asenine. I think Walker will do fine, especially with Heyward

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I’m sure it’s been asked already (haven’t read the entire thread), but..

What the FRICK happened to the comprehensive search??? I know very little about Walker, but my issue here is with Frank Wren. He must really hate to interview people- first Fredi and now this! I don’t care what line of work you’re in, it just isn’t smart business to limit your search to one person. I’m not sure managers in other industries would last very long with this approach.

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This “earthshaking” news really shook my New Jersey residence today! WOW

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As a long-time White Sox fan, let me put in my 2c worth regarding Greg Walker. He was basically run out of town for his failures with the team for the last several years.

There was no doubting his work ethic–he was a 24/7 type guy who worked his butt off. THE RESULTS WERE JUST NOT THERE.

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The Braves seem to have their eyes on a particular person and hire them. (in fact i think most teams do this, some just choose to put out the facade of multiple interviews).

I’d be willing to bet that 90% of teams know who they are going to hire within a week or two of firing the original coach/mgr.

The Braves can hit. But ,as with all teams, they must be put into the best position to succeed. If this Walker guy promotes patience at the plate and encourages players to take more pitches and work the count, Fredi won’t have a chance to mess up the bullpen cuz our starters will have enough runs to work with to take it a bit easier. Seriously, our starting pitching didn’t have any breathing room all year long. They had to grind it out every dadburn night!

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He’s had some success…seems like a pretty good hire. Not great, not awful

That should cover all the bases

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Where is Sonny Clusters when we need him?

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Fear the Nats there going to big spenders rumors them getting a big bat ether Jose Reyes or Prince Fielder from the of looks of things Braves standing pat again this winter .

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1)Braves hitters do not have a clue how to put a good swing on a first pitch.
2)If they are in a situation where they are going deep into a count, they have no idea how to fight off pitches until they get a good one to hit. (Its always swing and miss.)
3)They have no clue how to hit a sacrifice fly. Texas did it twice last night. In a row.

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If this is a preview of how the Braves plan to handle the offseason/ free-agent market, I don’t think that we will have very much to look forward to.

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But is he better than TP? I’m sure a bunch of you doofuses who trashed Pendleton are the same ones trashing Walker.

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I like the move, but am cautious. A guy who has a lot of experience, won a championship and actually helped people and got results.

Maybe he needed a change of scenery from the bad year he had last year.

I think this’ll be a good move and hopefully we will be better at situational hitting and not just swinging for the fences and striking out on four pitches.

Is it March yet?

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Huh? This is their answer? Hire 1 and 1/2 hitting coaches? This is so silly it ain’t funny.

My company hired me to do a job. If I don’t do it, I get fired. I don’t get no 1 and 1/2 coaches. Heck, my boss would fire me if I just asked about him getting me a coach to help me do my job.

Hey J.S.! You really want to fix the problem? Fire Wren and Frodo and then sign some real hitters who don’t need some hitting coach holding their hands.

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Thanks Atlanta!

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Who was Francona’s hitting coach in Boston? I would have liked to at least had him in for an interview, I went to see the Sox/Yanks in Labor day weekend and that stupid game lasted forever. You want guys who take alot of pitches and work the count, get somebody from the Sox or Yanks. Lester threw 100 pitches in 5 or 5 innings, even Andruw Jones who started in left that night was taking pitches, working the count and got a walk or two. Don’t know this guy at all and he may be great, I just would like to have seen an outsider get a shot. Worked okay with McDowell.

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Should have hired chipper and mccan’s dads instead

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Just going by the resume, though, Pendleton did more in his time as a hitting coach here than Walker did in Chicago. I was skeptical about firing Pendleton when it happened, and although I’m not trying to make him out to be some kind of genius hitting coach, Parrish certainly wasn’t an improvement and this guy’s resume doesn’t exactly dwarf Pendleton’s either. I wonder how Pendleton would do with the talent on the roster now, something he never had in his last 4 or 5 years as the Braves’ hitting coach.

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DOB: Most of the geniuses on these blogs never let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

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I hope the braves brass was watching the fielding clinic that Elvis Andrus was putting on last night. They need a shortstop and gave this super talented shortstop to Texas for nothing. It was bad enough they gave Elvis away but threw in one of the best relievers in baseball along with a talented left hander that will pitch tomorrow night and a good catcher that would have really helped the braves this year with McCann struggling. This has to go down as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. Texas should send a thank you card to the braves and MLB should give them a world series share.

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The braves will need to get some hitters now that they have hired a hitting coach.

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What’s amazing about the Braves organization is that they seem to do way to many feel good moves and not the right moves for the franchise. Look at Boston, Francona won 2 world series for them and he couldn’t survive the epic collapse. I don’t believe it was his choice to leave I think he was given the opportunity to resign or be fired. They were nice enough to let him save some dignity but he wasn’t coming back after blowing that big of a lead. The Braves should have fired Fredi not only for the collapse but for being a poor manager of a baseball game. He has no clue how to run a game. It’s no accident Tony LaRussa has his track record. It’s not luck it’s intellect. I wish a real owner would come to Atlanta and take this team over and put some passion into the organization from top to bottom. Right now it’s no fun to witness these weak moves by people who are afraid to make waves.

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And just like that the 2012 season goes up in smoke, as well as Heyward’s promising career. This decision will cost Heyward untold millions in contract dollars.

Fire the good old boys club of Frank, JS, and Terry McJerk!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This move doesn’t inspire much confidence. The White Sox have had below average offensive numbers in the AL the last few years despite playing in a definite hitters’ park. Yawner of a hire.

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Realty Groans……….. totally agree it’s time to turn this franchise over. J.S. started his downslide when he made the Texeira trade and gutted the farm system for 1 total year of Tex. He was trying to win one more ring before he resigned the GM role and he didn’t think about what it cost to try to win. If he had been planning on remaining the GM for the next few years he might not have let all that talent go that he would need later. Frank Wren has made a lot of good player moves but his coaching decisions have been really poor. I think fresh blood all the way through would be welcome at this point. I can’t see a really talented Free Agent wanting to come to Atlanta to play for Fredi Gonzalez. The Braves have lost their shine and that’s really sad.

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Go Kansas State Wildcats, SMASH the KU Chicken Hawks.
Have a nice weekend DOB.

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LOL, lose 100 games? turn the franchise over? DO YOU PEOPLE WATCH BASEBALL?

The team has no $150 mill payroll. That’s life , deal with it.

This team won 89 games last year , despite the awful September, injuries and what not. This team could easily WIN 100 games next year! Are you crazy? I will tell you why…

OBP can’t possibly be worse. I don’t care if parrish even had come back it couldn’t be that bad.

Pitching is still top notch, bullpen is still in the top 2 in the league.

Bench should be better with the edition of Diaz, (btw bench bats are highly inconsistent from year to year, the Bench could be amazing like in 2010, no way to tell)

Heyward will be as in 2010 if he’s allowed to be patient. if they try to force him to be aggressive, they might just ruin him.

Prado, will hopefully be back to his 2010 level

Freeman should only improve

Uggla, Chipper,McCann,Bourn are all dependable hitters, Chipper may only play 110-130 games , but he’s still a top 3rd baseman offensively (don’t beleive me , go look it up!)

If this team can just improve their OBP, they could be a powerhouse next season. It’s really that simple…well barring injuries, but all teams have injuries

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How quickly people forget all that Chipper has done as a Brave! A first ballet Hall of Famer, and one of the best switch hitters ever. So go ahead mindless idiots bash away!

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This is not the best hire apparently. Is it worse than Larry? do not know. Seems that they are NOT looking for the best, but may be the one with a right price.

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Good Luck to the new instructors. What was the White Sox RISP? I’m not sure if that is a player’s instinct or can be taught, but it cost a lot of games last year.

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Disappointed in the overwhelming majority who responded to this article. DOB just wrote a straight up news bulletin with no inferences whatsoever. It’s impossible to say how well Greg Walker will do as the new hitting coach at this point, but at least he does have several years of MLB experience in the role and it’s been my understanding that the day in and day out job of a hitting coach is more paper work related keeping up with the current scouting reports on that day’s pitching his players will face, so maybe you want a guy with an established method for keeping up with this and not somebody just now trying it out regardless of their experiences as a player? Coaches in MLB make peanuts next to players so all the comments about money are just plain wrong. My issue and it seemed to be the original issue among the first few who responded, was the way Frank Wren handled the process, telling the fanbase that an “exhaustive” search would be held and that there was no timetable or rush to make a decision. Then this bombshell is dropped before the WS is even over? This just seems to me to be yet another indication to me that the Braves FO and on-field management have no real feelings for the fanbase and couldn’t really care less what any of us think about the team or its future. Some of you might laugh at that and say things like, “did you really think they would/should?”, or, “why should they?” But the last time that I checked, professional sports are supposed to be COMPLETELY about the fans. Without them there would be no sport in the first place, just a bunch of grown men dressed in a silly suit of clothes on an otherwise pretty field of grass and chalklines. Shame on you John Shouerholz, Frank Wren and Fredi Gonzalez. The fans of the Atlanta Braves shouldn’t have to put up with you and you don’t deserve a single person to come to the ballpark ever again!

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hard to see how a relative few weeks could mean that several guys were interviewed and that all options were explored before a decision was made, the point I was making was sound, even if Wren already knew who he wanted, why say the search was in no hurry to come to an end, then name the new guy before the 2011 MLB season was officially over?

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Once again, let’s do it on the cheap. Never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over. That’s the Braves way.

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Ronaldus: coaches make squat in the grand scheme, what does that have to do with anything?

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Wake me up when the Braves have traded Heyward and Lowe and signed a free agent hitter worth a damn.

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O-me: to hear tons of Georgia people on here, Walker really wanted to be a Brave so he could help out his “home town team” why would he sign on the west coast in that case? Don’t think that’s a valid point, besides that, if we signed him that quickly to avoid his going elsewhere according to all the money commenters, that means we overpaid for him…

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Braves suck long time

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Huddy should be HC

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Who cares. Braves will tease us for 150 games, choke at the end or in the 1st round and then complain it was because I didn’t pay $250 for the family to come out and watch some rookie who has a torn ACL and needs Tommy John surgery pitch a 2 hitter with 16 strikeouts against the Braves. Same ol’ same ol’.

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Hitting coach jobs are not easy to come by..you go where you are wanted. I know his father is not well and he wanted to be close. (he was Braves fan as kid and always wish to play and work for Braves) I have no idea what he makes..It was $700,000? last year I believe. From Insider I was told interview lasted 8 or 9 hours. That may are may not be true. We need to worry about other Braves problems beside hitting coach.

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What’s up with Terry Pendleton? Why not move him back to the position? The braves actually could hit when he was the hitting coach.

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The quality of mgmt that got us into this mess will not get us out of it. Mediocre hire, just what I would expect from Frank Wren. l

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Sorry PR .. but the list of utter failures in Chicago is far longer than those of success under Walker. There is just no reason this guy should be a hitting coach for the Braves.

Piersynski – sure he is hitting just under .280 since Walker became the hitting coach, but you have to also admit that he hit .300, .289, and .307 in the three years just before Walker got there! So, his best three year stretch as a White Sox are arguably his first three years with teh clib and those were before Walker go there. He has gotten no better and in reality has actually slid backward.

Konerko you say? His batting has also dropped since Walker got there. His power increased form high 20’s to a mid 30’s HR average under Walker. I will say he has improved slightly due to the power numbers, but he only averaged 74 strikeouts per year prior to Walkers arrival and over 100 since he got there. That suggests the power numbers went up at the expense of conatct since his BA and K’s went in the wrong direction. After considerign that, has he really improved all that much?

Joe Crede? Are you kidding me? He hit .262 his first three years with the White Sox and then Walker arrived and his BA dropped to .251 over the next 7 seasons. So again, a young, top tier prospect who went the WRONG direction under this hitting coach.

Jermaine Dye average just a tad under .300 in 1999-2001 for KC and Oakland. He had an injury plagued 2002 and 2003 with 27, 33, 26, and 27 homers in NON-HOME RUN home fields. In his full seasons with Walker starting in 2004 he barely averaged .260 and though he did average just over 30 HR’s a season under Walker it could easily be discounted as getting out of pitchers parks in KC and Oakland.

Other top prospects in the organization who actually did much worse than expected in the majors include

Tyler Flowers
Chris Getz
Alexei Ramirez (he has gotten worse every year since his great start)
Nick Swisher had his worst years by far under Williams
Josh Fields was the top prospect in baseball before his Walker yields and now he’s out of baseball.

As for Quentin, he never even played a half season of at bats in one year at Arizona. To say he stunk is a bit much considering he was also their number 1 prospect. As for how great he has been under Walker .. sure he hits more homers (again, a homer friendly field), but his batting averages have been .288, .236, .243 and .254 in his years in Chicago .. is that really what you want out of our hitters??

Seriously. Walkers resume STINKS compared to even Terry Pendleton. Now that’s saying something. Let’s not forget under TP guys like Prado, Infante, McCann and Diaz all had the best years of their careers by FAR. We ran TP out of here (and I must admit I thought it was a good idea), but the reality is he has been FAR more successful as a hitting coach than Walker.

This move stinks.

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Heard Walker just edged out Jeff Blauser for the job!

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Pretty sure Wren knows more about running a baseball team than than the various truck drivers, computer programmers, ex-Little League shortstops,and 14 year old basement dwellers who constantly criticize every move.

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see you in the spring and see you when you bat conrad and pitch lowe , and you will never rebound
from 2011…….braves suck and no batting coaches will help,,,,,

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Sheesh, Steve, what are you writing, a column for Pete’s sake? You do seem to make my point, however: there is no evidence that a hitting coach has any effect on the team’s hitters, good or bad.

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Sometimes you just have to take a walk.

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Since 80..I didn’t say you expressed anything (WHO?)..Thats your business and opinion, have at it…
______________________________________________________________________________
Deep breaths, people…and for some of you, get a clue.
Go Braves!

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Not a bad hire. wont make any differnce, with the idiot still in dugout. fire freddi! frank wren should not be fired he should quit.

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Hitting Coach is NOT the problem, its the quality of the hitters! You dont just keep buying cars if you cant drive do you? If you are a bad driver, buying different cars wont help you.

Why people wanna blame hitting coaches, I can never figure that out. Seriously, the control tower cant fly the plane can they?? Its up to the MAN AT THE PLATE to make adjustments as well. And if they run out that same lineup, they WILL SUCK AGAIN in 2012, NO MATTER WHO’S COACHING.

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You know, one of the funny things, one of the MANY funny things on this blog, is the “grass is greener” folks who always want us to get someone else who is the greatest! For instance, Walker is being criticized for “being a .260 hitter”, and others have wanted us to hire “that Texas guy” or actually come out and said “Rudy Jaramillo”. What is actually funny is”

1. Rudy doesn’t have a major league track record at all as a player.
2. Last time I heard, he was under contract.
3. He is not “that guy from Texas”. He left two years ago to go and be hitting coach for the Cubs, where he is at today, ironically the same town Greg Walker was working.
4. The Cubs track record since he arrived is worse than the White Sox or the Braves.

From all indications, Rudy Jamamillo is a fine hitting coach, and has been reuptedly responsible for helping several players get back on track. What I am saying is that the same criticisms aimed at Greg Walker could be also given to Rudy. What impresses me about Walker, from what I have heard, is that he has spent 81/2 years at one place, has had some positive effects on some player’s careers, and is reportedly a very hard worker. Doesn’t guarantee success, but those things translate better to me than what his lifetime batting average is. That’s like rating the President of a company based on their college GPA.

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Wren hired a manager who was fired from a small market team after three years in the job. He interviewed no one but “supposedly” had a list of candidates.

He told people he had a list of 20 (hitting coach options) but whittled it down to 5 (without interviewing anyone – who helped him whittle this down? the same idiots who whittled the manager spot down or any other bone head decision he has made?) and then from those five he interviewed three.

Nice.

I guess Wren wanted to get some early fall golf in before the weather became too chilly.

Another ready, fire, aim move in all likelihood.

But it is all moot as stiffneck mentioned above this team face planted for a variety of reasons much of which was lack of professional hitting talent.

When a 39yo with knee, leg and feet issues is your best hitter you cannot blame it on one guy nor with one guy fix it.

Wren’s eye for talent stinks (when you look at management & players combined) and his FO is on a fixed mid tier budget. This is a terrible cocktail for a team. The JJ trade is starting to look as far away as the 1995 WS win.

In any case, this move could be a blessing in disguise. If Walker makes it worse or no better and the team misses the post season entirely – not even a WC hunt spot – Wren will get mercifully canned and Fredi along with him.

One more year folks, one more Maalox popping, shoe at TV year and this meat puppet show with its slick backed hair and empty politician statements. Then they will be fired.

Ideally on the heels of a new owner stepping in.

Let Forrest Gump make his moves and JS will sing his praises but we all will be right back here in 11mos in the same boat.

That is the new Braves way.

Prove me wrong ATL. I would love to see it.

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I personally don’t believe hitting coaches help baseball player approach the plate better . The Brave should have hired a psychologists instead of a figure head .We have good hitters but its just that baseball is a funny game it messes with your mind especially when you get in a slump at the end of the season like the Braves did .I am really looking forward to next season .

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Personally I feel this is a GREAT hire for the Braves. GWalk has been a hitting coach for 8 years in Chicago and was WANTED back but decided it was time to move on. Ozzie also wanted him to go with him to FLA for the same position. Several other teams were lining up to get Greg as well, so it’s not like we are getting a hitting coach that no one else wanted, he was prob the biggest name on the market with the MOST experience. He won a World Series in his years in Chicago and was loved by all the players. If YOU PEOPLE are basing his abilities on how Adam Dunn performed last year, PLEASE step away from the pipe. Dunn is a TERRIBLE hitter and HAS ALWAYS been a terrible hitter. He struckout 200 times a year before he ever met GWalk, and I’m sure he really took the things Greg suggested to heart(sarcasm)..ADunn is a joke of a hitter and I dont think ANYONE on this earth could make him a good hitter..Same said for an aging AJones dont even go there…Now with that said..Walker was a good 1st baseman in the 80’s, he was very solid defensively and was pretty good at the plate. He was a big powerful lefty that hit around .270 most his career until the last couple injured years dropped his AVG just a bit. He was a very knowledgable player and remains that way as a coach. I think he will help Freddie at 1st and at the plate to become the player he can be..I aslo think he can help Heyward rediscover his abilities at the plate. I applaud the hire and hope the best for him. I think we will see a big difference next year in the offense, can’t wait…Go Braves

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ab initio..lol

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Beckham is an over-hyped prima donna…his opinion means nothing to me. If Konerko and Fowers say the man is a good hitting coach, I’m happy with that. As far as Dunn goes…look how many times he has led the league in strikeouts and with how many different teams. His is a story of bad timing and swinging for the fences or nothing approach. he can blame his garbage season on nobody but Adam Dunn. I look forward to seeing what Walker and Fletcher can do with or young coachable hitters. I just hope that Heyward is coachable…I’m not totally sure.

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Andy – Wren is making a career out of looking for the benefit of the doubt. The problem is you have to have done something exceptional (more than once) to get as much doubt support as has been given.

They guy has won nothing here or in Baltimore. He comes close but only b/c they backed into the post season last year when the Padres lost.

This year was an epic almost unprecedented collapse. In a big market town more changes would be make and aggressive trades made.

Signing Walker is a coin flip at best but the problems run deeper and are based in the FO. The lot of them needs the broom but quick.

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Sorry it should have read “Do us all a favor” …go braves

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When we get a local owner and fire Wren and Fredi and all the rest and start with a clean slate, I’ll get excited again. Until then YAWN! SOS!

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Hitting in baseball is not something you can teach by words – the hitters have got to make contact and be able to play smart. NO amount of Walker-Fletcher words will heal this situation in Atlanta unless we get some MAJOR LEAGUE HITTERS into Atlanta….Wren can make Parrish the scapegoat who I thought did a horrible job dont get me wrong- never like the choice from the beginning, if he wants to but the real problem are the players themselves..they’re getting paid to hit, field and pitch on a professional level. We need some power bats and keep Bourn at the top of that lineup = in other words – we need a complete 100% overhaul of this team and start over top to bottom…..im not ready to throw Fredi G under the bus – he didnt do a bad job even though he did oversee the worse collapse in Atlanta sports franchise history in 2011 – but if things dont turn in 2012- he goes too

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You people you are correct sir and don’t mind the young 80’s mouth. He is the board douche know it all

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[...] Braves have hired Greg Walker, formerly of the White Sox, as their hitting coach, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Walker was one of three candidates interviewed by [...]

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So Braves hired a sub-hitting coach along with WALKER ? That’s just stupid. Shoulda got a REAL former hitter like Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn. Greg Walker couldn’t hit over .240

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Does anyone remember Wren stating categorically that ‘…situational hitting was poor.’?

Right. Agreed. It was beyond poor.

So, what the hell are ya doing, Wren, by hiring a power-hitter as a hitting coach?

Is your goal to get Alex Gonzalez to at least hit a fly ball to a waiting outfielder, instead of just hitting a rally-killing double-play?

What are seeing that no one with a pulse is seeing, Wren?

OMG, zee goggles, zay do nuzing!!!!!!!!!!!

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Dave: It might be better for your sanity and ours if you stay away from articles about hitting coaches.

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Fat Ralphy…… it wasn’t Frank Wren that made the trade with Texas it was John Schuerholz..

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wow. i think i’ll run out and buy a dozen season tickets…

.

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Braves fans are fast becoming the biggest complainers and malcontents among MLB fans. Who else did you genuises hope to see as hitting coach? I have read this blog since Larry Parrish was fired and heard not one reasonable recommendation as a hitting coach. That’s probably because you were reserving your energy to criticize whoever the organization hired. Last year, it was get rid of Terry Pendleton. This year, it was get rid of Larry Parrish. Maybe the real problem is not even in the coaches. The real problem is in those men who step across that line and call themselves professional hitters. They get paid A LOT more money than most of us will ever make to hit a baseball. Maybe the blame should be placed squarely on their shoulders and quit criticizing coaches. Tyler Flowers mentioned that Jason Heyward was open minded. That said to me that a lot of problem with struggling hitters- who have made a mess of things not because of what the hitting coach told them to do- aren’t willing to listen to what they are told to correct flaws in their swing. You guys are incredible.

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“The White Sox ranked eighth in the 14-team American League in average (.252), seventh in on-base percentage (.319) and 11th in on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.706), down from sixth in OPS (.752) in 2010. They were 11th in the AL in runs in 2011, seventh in 2010 and 12th in 2009.”

Wow! With such stellar achievements this alone will result in 25% more season tickets next year!

Hitting coach was not our problem…the man who filled out the lineup was!

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I saw WALKER and I thought Larry Walker. What a good thing.

Never heard of the other guy.

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if you idiots wanna complain about the Texiera trade you might wanna spend the 5 minutes to do the research … You would discover that it was our present team prez John Schieurholz who made this trade.

I often wonder if much of the grief heaped on FW isn’t due to this simple understanding. If you look around the lead most GM’s have similar hit and miss records. The difference is FW has some really excellent trades, JJ, Uggla (whine all you want , we stole him), dumping Javier Vasquez at the perfect time, O’Flaherty picked up off the waiver wire…etc These are all excellent moves (drafting Minor for cheap and Gilmartin similarly are good things too)

I honestly think many of you are spoiled. If you were fans of 20 other teams around the league you’d be selling fingers to be rooting for a team with as much success and as good an Org. as the Braves….

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Maybe he can coach the Braves into hitting their ave (as opposed to 50% of it) in September . . .

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It’s amazing to me how the Braves organization doesn’t see the faulty managing of this past season. .

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I have been trying to figure a good ways statistically to see if the Braves made a good choice with Walker or not. I chose to look at the Runs/Per Game Avg. and ranked them against the rest of the American League since 2004 when he began as hitting coach. I believe the hitting coach should be judged with this statistic., The same as the Pitching Coach should be viewed by the Team ERA vs the rest of the league. Since 2004 the White Sox have done the following:

They have averaged 7.25 place in the league in Runs/per Game. They have been above American league average 4 times and below avg. 4 times. The highest the have been is 3rd place twice (2004 and 2006) In 2005, their WS year they were 9th.

The last 4 years the White Sox.were 11th, 7th, 12th and 9th in the AL R/G.

Atlanta during those years…….R/G League Placement=5.14 Above League Average 7 times Below League Average only 1 time. Highest ranked 2nd Place Lowest Ranked. 10th place.

Terry Pendleton coached teams during his 7 years…… R/G League Placement=4.42 Above League Average 7 times Below League Average O Highest Ranked 2nd Place and Lowest Ranked 6th place.

Larry Parish’s 2011 team-10th place in Runs Scored per Game in League.

Last 4 years The Braves were 10th, 5th,6th and 6th in NL R/G.

Using this statistic it could be argued that the Braves have the best hitting coach at First Base………..

Rufio

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“Rangers Fan

October 22nd, 2011
7:42 pm
Wow ! Wren was really crazy to trade Feliz,Andrus,& Harrison for 3 months of Mark Teixeira ! But I’m so glad he did. They are 3 of our best players.”

Three points:

1. Wren really WAS crazy to make that trade, and the Braves were really crazy to let him, since he WASN’T GM AT THE TIME!

2. We actually had him for 6 months, not 3, and the only reason we traded him, not because of performance, but our entire starting pitching staff went on the DL for the rest of the year, we were obviously out of the race without pitchers, and MT and his agent made it clear they were pursuing the FA route.

3. The amount of time MT spent in our uniform, if you combine the two partial seasons, make what amounts to a regular season. The numbers were outstanding, and if not for the aforementioned pitching staff issues in 2008, and Andruw’s total bomb of a season in 2007 which made the trade necessary in the first place, MT and the Braves may very well have made TWO postseasons. Might the trade have been viewed differently then? Who knows?

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Larry is spot on with his 8:35…stay away until our boneheaded manager is fired…..

Pitching Venters with the big lead might have been THE dumbest move of many….

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Lol at St. louis and Pujols annihilating the Rangers last night….

We have nothing that comes close to that guy….wow!

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Do you suppose he can do for Heyward what he did for Adam Dunn.

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JH lf dar un poco mas d tiempo para su desarollo bari bons en peso a si no adan dun no caeria en este equipo como nesesidad

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Larry: Chilll, it’s not that bad. Parrish was bad, no one can deny. Actually this should come as no surprise considering he had never been a hitting coach before.

We simply did not have enough hitters last year. And he did more harm than good.

Dang we need more Braves news, we are arguing about hitting coaches.

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So you Braves fans wouldn’t want a Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn as your hitting coach ? When you accept mediocrity you get mediocre results. Always.

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…and it’s poorly written spanish, at that.

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I pumped the spanish post into a spanish-to-english translator, and here is what it came up with:

q I think there is another coach on the market with GW Abria esperiensia q q is given the oppurtunity but if the team will need a gardener hase BTEADOR Righty or two CREO Category 1 hand but must leave as a super leader inthe meadow bank and a reliever type and power transfer to LOWE

Is that really what he said????!!!

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Still say we missed the boat by not bringing the Little Hammer Gerald Perry as hitting coach,,,

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5 bucks says everyone who posts “first!” are virgins that live with their mothers.

also betting jason heyward remembers he is jason heyward.

as for greg walker………………eh. at least it ain’t parrish.

how many days til spring training????

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constanza was a perfect fit for this AAAA team. heyward should still have been sent down, but we couldn’t send everyone down that sucked so we kept this team intact.

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It’s kind of hard to have a consistent lineup…when both your #3 hitter (Chipper Jones) AND your #4/#5 hitter (Brian McCann) regularly need at least one day a week off (AT LEAST, given Chipper’s fragile health…as well as the physical demands that the catcher position puts on McCann).

I seriously doubt that the Cardinals would have been able to catch up with us if both Pujols and Holliday needed regular days off on a weekly basis. Not having consistent power in the lineup in defined roles on a regular basis…makes it hard for a lineup to jell.

The bigger issue is the mood of the clubhouse. Honus Wagner himself couldnt do much with this bunch….given that management’s philosophy is to coddle the players and make excuse after excuse for their failures.

I’ve said this before, I wish that Bobby Valentine was the manager of the Braves when the September slide started. Someone needed to rip our guys a new one for the way they played. The “uh, we’ll get them tomorrow….no sense of urgency” BS made me sick.

The $29 mil that the Braves are going to pay Derek Lowe and Chipper Jones could be better spent on a healthy power hitting bat..as well as someone like Jose Reyes to hit behind Michael Bourn. After those two contracts come off the books after 2012…hopefully the Braves will wisely spend that $29 mil.

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James: were you looking in a mirror while typing? I’m the knowitall on here in comparison to you sir? Hardly…

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Besides the Teixeira deal, here are some other trades that Wren should not have made:

1. Should not have traded Brett Butler to Cleveland.
2. Should not have traded David Justice & Marquis Grissom.
3. Should not have traded Jermaine Dye.
4. Should not have traded Steve Bedrosian.
5. Should not have traded Dusty Baker.
6. Should not have traded Donnie Moore.
7. Should not have traded Joe Torre.
8. Should not have traded Johnny Antonelli.
9. Should not have traded Alvin Dark.
10. Should not have traded Rogers Hornsby.

It is apparent that these were all trades that set this team back last season, and Wren foolishly made them all.

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[...] – Georgia Tech fell out of the Top 25 after losing their second straight game. – The Atlanta Braves hired a new hitting coach. In case you missed it, here is a recap of last night’s episode of The Walking [...]

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Probably Parrish was the scape goat of the 2011 season. Walker may help. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to be a good hitter. Keep your hands back, avoid trying to hit below the knee pitches, hit the ball where it is pitched, be calmly agressive, avoid 0-2 and 1-2 counts, etc. Walker, you have a tough job trying to change our Braves bad hitting habits. Good luck. I worry about our pitching coach. A PC that leaves a young pitcher in a game when it is evident something is wrong (Hanson) and we now trust him with our youth arms? Fredi, get a good bench coach – it could save your job. Chipper you can be a great # 2 spot hitter. With speed on first you will get more fast balls to hit. You will drive in as many runs as Bourne will be on second base a majority of the time. Bring Frenchy back. Let Walker work with Frenchy and Heyward this winter. Then, get a proven younger hitting, defensive shortstop, DeRossa for utility infield help, improve the bench and maybe another player or two and we may be the TEAM in 2012.

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WJONES you left out a few- wren should have never traded- joey jay, bob buhl, juan pizzaro, eddie mathews, warren spahn, lew burdette. joe adcock, don mcmahon. and hank aaron

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Since it seems the main premise of baseball is production of statistics, it would seem the Braves chose to hire someone whose product seems to reside in the lower half of the American League. Other than homers, it would seem Walker’s charges underperformed for the White Sox. As for homers, the Braves already have a team that swings for the fences.

Wren seems to already have forgotten that his main goal for the offense this season was to improve/generate situational hitting.

Seems with this hire and in this SITUATION, Wren forgot that.

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So, they hire a new hitting coach but keep the same hitters? The Braves folded on the field in September, they are folding in the public relations arena in October.

I would like to point out the Cardinals, bless their hearts for mercifully ending the Braves debacle, strike out a lot and hit into a TON of double-plays. And, they’re beat up, too, from the long season. But they sure don’t have a “deer in the headlights” look about them, do they?

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Re: Larry @8:35 am.
Agree with you 100%. Add to your list:
FG’s failure to use young starters earlier in season when JJ was obviously not himself and Lowe continued to fail.
FG’s failure to stick by earlier statements to use various closers: Kimbrel was too young and inexperienced for this role and showed it at the end.
FG’s failure to move Uggla down in the order: a .230 hitter bats 7th or 8th.
FG’s and McDowell’s inability to coax more than 6 innings out of starters, thereby straining the bullpen.
And others, I’m sure. Worst manager in baseball.

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He gets paid that much because not very many people can do his job. There are only 700 major league players at any given time. Of those maybe 5% will turn out to have careers lasting 10 years or more (not counting relief pitchers who stick around forever) of those less than half will become HOF’ers. yeah Chipper is overpaid now, but he was one of the biggest bargains in baseball for 6 or 7 years.

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All contracts especially for older players have to be based on future value not past value. A team like the Braves cannot afford to pay players for what they did but what they can reasonably be expected to do (relative to what is on the market).

Wren and JS inability to consistently apply this logic is one of many flaws in their approach.

When Chipper was extended he was a player who could not play more than a 125-130 games but won a battle title (his first I believe and why he got this deal). He continues to be that player (sans the batting tile bit) and the Braves just cannot afford to play a guy 14mm a year to miss 35-40 or more games.

If Prado was an RBI guy and made 1mm a year then maybe. But a Prado/Chipper platoon is too close to 20mm a year for my liking and the production of said platoon is not great.

Prado makes 3.1mm and I believe goes to arb again this year. He made the AS team but then tanked. So let’s say he gets 4mm for 2012.

So Chipper and Prado cost the Braves 18mm. Try to convince yourself the Braves could not find a 110-120 RBI guy for that amount of money plus a decent bench guy who makes 2mm.

Either at 3B or LF. Then you could put a lower cost guy in the other open slot.

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hitting coach unimportant. what his stats were, not relevent. here’s a good example: roger craig. remember him? one of worst pitchers in history…once lost 18 games in a row. went to Tigers as pitching coach…Tigers won world series…just another pal for Fredi to sit around with & chat.

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WJones: I’m a pretty big Chipper fan myself, I defend him on here on a regular basis. Point I was making is that NOBODY is worth that kind of money and the salaries these guys get paid dictates what it costs to go see a game, so that I take my kids to far more minor league games than major league games which is sad however you or anybody else making enough money to dump it down the drain on a Turner Field ticket wants to justify it…

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WJones: do you have kids?

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My Grandfather, who recently turned 80, figured up not long after Chipper signed that biggest contract extension years ago, that Chipper was being paid more for ONE AT BAT than my Grandfather had ever made in an entire year for his entire working life! Do not try to justify what these guys make to me or anyone from a “normal” walk of life. The entire thing is flat out ridiculous. Love Chipper from the perspective of a Braves fan, but I try not to even think about what they get paid as little as possible…

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“BravesFanSince80’s

October 24th, 2011
3:41 pm

My Grandfather, who recently turned 80, figured up not long after Chipper signed that biggest contract extension years ago, that Chipper was being paid more for ONE AT BAT than my Grandfather had ever made in an entire year for his entire working life! Do not try to justify what these guys make to me or anyone from a “normal” walk of life. The entire thing is flat out ridiculous. Love Chipper from the perspective of a Braves fan, but I try not to even think about what they get paid as little as possible…”

That’s my point…there no point in thinking about it, if it affects you that negatively.

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Did you see that high five W gave to Nolan last night? I’ll watch tonight, just to see another one!!

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Was it really Larry Parish’s fault that this team is weak? Or maybe its the fault of the player evaluation process? Maybe their just not as good as we think they are…..You just can’t make chicken salad from chicken s#@%!

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@the Truth

It was apparent to anyone who has followed the team for awhile that the entire hitting philosophy had changed from being patient at the plate to being aggressive at the plate. The result was a terrible oBP and thus, less runs scored. true hitting coaches don’t do the hitting, but they have to be able to spot swing changes, asisst in making adjustments and promote the teams hitting philosophy. Parrish apparently wasn’t too good at any of these things.

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BFS80’s, don’t sweat it man, lots of people who read this agree with you, just because some stuffed shirts try to claim they know more than everybody else doesn’t mean your points aren’t valid, the ticket prices and expenditures to take a FAMILY to an MLB game have gotten out of hand and no amount of retarded market this or that BS is gonna change the fact that the asinine amount of money that players make is directly responsible. Yes the players should be paid a good living as the oweners are set to make plenty of money as long as the stadium draws well and tv sponsorship follows in line as well, so no one in particular is to blame but the ENTIRE system of MLB is highly to blame to anyone living paycheck to paycheck which seems to account for an ever-growing portion of the American population…

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wjones – your comments re pay are also more than valid for the NBA… the owners get less than 1/2 the GROSS revenues for taking 100% of the risk and when they try to haggle, the biatch players whine like little girls and tell ‘em they will “take their ball and hoops” home for the year instead of being guaranteed an average increase over 5 years of $2M per player (up to $7M per player)……. this at time when 75% of the owners lose money each year… the likes of Dr Buss must find it all heart breaking

Everyone is out of their fricking mind when it comes to the economics of business and the amount the EXECS and pro sports players receive as a ratio to the avg working man

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[...] – Georgia Tech fell out of the Top 25 after losing their second straight game. – The Atlanta Braves hired a new hitting coach. – In case you missed it, here is a recap of last night’s episode of The Walking [...]

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Knew this would happen. Why do Braves always hire first person they interview? Dang!

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JS is working on his eventual move to owning the Royals if they can be bought cheaply enough, he’s just trying to squeeze as much coin as he can out of now longstanding cashcow (OUR Braves), and doesn’t really care how they perform on the field as long as he can convince fans to keep showing up (see his asinine post-season ending collapse letter to frequent ticket buyers). Frank Wren has never established himself as a top-shelf front office guy in MLB, his record at Baltimore was attrocious and it’s been more of the same (Ugly Dan for 5 more awful years of sub-par fielding, one handed swings, huge strkeout totals by middle infielders standards, and too few base hits when it matters). Fredi Gonzalez, well do I really have to explain what’s wrong there? They all need to go and the sooner Liberty Media dumps the team the better off the Braves will be!

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one wonders why gonzo was permitted to hire parrish in the first instance since he had never served as a hitting coach, as I understand his credentials. also seem to remember braves organization comments about how many pitches Jason took in his rookie season–so many walks. so the last year, he swung at everything. neither bobby cox nor gonzo seem of the school to make pitchers work to get strikes. the braves were free swingers under both of them, and hardly anyone hit as a result. think that’s why cox could almost never win in playoffs because the opposing pitchers lured the braves to hack at anything they threw up. the braves will never win big despite their pitching under fredi. sad braves fan now in south florida.

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Hilarious…. already judging the new hire. Not one AB, and we’re firing the new guy already. Give the man a chance. He could hardly do worse than Parrish did.

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Already missing baseball but at least HotStove is about to get going.

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Analogues exist?

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