The Rays fired hitting coach Derek Shelton and replaced him with Chad Mottola. I like to get a handle on hitting coaches by looking at their own hitting stats. Shelton had a very brief professional career, two years at A Ball where he batted very little but very well. It looks to me that there must have been some kind of injuries involved. He hit for a high average and got on base even more, but with very little power.
Mottloa, on the other hand, had a long minor league career in which he hit decently, but never stuck in the majors despite multiple chances from different teams. In the minors at least, Mottola showed decent power. The Rays OBP is a much bigger problem than their slugging percentage, so it’s possible that Shelton wasn’t getting trough to players. On the other hand:
Cash’s willingness to eschew tradition is a plus on the whole, but it’s clear he’s a step down from predecessor Joe Maddon in handling players — the organization has had to punish or threaten to punish multiple players for not hustling, including Tim Beckham. It’s also worth noting that players have spoken out against Cash’s decisions more than they did Maddon’s — likely due to the difference in results — and that, if you trust the rumor mill, he’s clashed with multiple since-departed veterans.
In short, the Rays are a mess — and one that’s unlikely to be fixed by a new hitting coach.
This might be as much a wake up call for Cash as it is for the players.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2bWkOG1
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