Brook Jacoby new Reds Hitting coach

[FlyingPig]

Sorry if this is a repeat and already posted...didn't see it on Redszone...

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASAp...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[GAC]

Rut Roh Reorge. The below is not going to go over well on here.....

His offseason task will be to brush up on the hitters by watching video. That includes Dunn, who enjoyed his third straight 40-homer season but whose .234 batting average and .365 on-base percentage were his lowest in any season with at least 120 games played. He batted under .200 over the final two months of the season, joining many Reds in late-season struggles.

Asked whether Dunn's high strikeout totals are an issue, Jacoby was balanced about it.

"I consider 194 of them a little bit of an issue," he said. "If he were to put the ball in play a little more, I'm sure it would mean more RBIs and possibly some more hits. It might be an approach with two strikes, and it might be a mechanical thing with him."

[Reds1]

I don't know if it will be a problem. Dunn needs to take it to the next level and put it all together. .260 BA with 150 KO and he can hit 45 HRs and 110 RBIs. Not major improvement, but baby steps. Maybe this guy can help

[Sea Ray]

I am underwhelmed by this announcement.

First of all I was never impressed with him as a player. He had lack of production problems himself. Look at 1987. He hit 32 HRs and had 69 RBIs. Yeah that's right, only 69 RBIs on 32 HRs. That's just the problem this Reds team has.

As a hitting coach he is very unproven. I would have preferred a guy like Mike Easler or Merv Rettenmund. I don't know what Merv's situation is in SD but I have to believe with that team looking for a manager they'd let the coaches shop themselves. Mike Easler's not even in the majors. But I suppose Jacoby's a better choice than Butch Wyneger. Picking up Milwaukee's leftovers didn't work out too well last time (Jim Lefebre).

[Cedric]

Luckily I couldn't care less about hitting coaches. This guy does not strike me as someone that has any idea how to approach hitting. If things turn for the good I doubt it's coming from him.

[GAC]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

I am underwhelmed by this announcement.

First of all I was never impressed with him as a player. He had lack of production problems himself.

Yeah, but alot of players who had average/mediocre careers, made excellent coaches/managers. The list is quite extensive.

Sparky Anderson, Casey Stengel.

[vaticanplum]

I know this has been covered before, but it's usually been in the midst of a heated argument, so I would like to know from a baseball/mechanics point of view: when Adam Dunn has been at his best, why do you think that was in terms of coaching? Or do you think it's not terribly related to coaching one way or the other? Because I hear any mention of "tampering" with Dunn and I cringe, because I feel like that's when things start to go wrong...but then again, he had some inarguable rough times this year and I don't know if that was due to tampering or not, due even to the opposite. So I really don't know, and I'd be curious to hear from a more technical or coaching perspective.

[Spring~Fields]

Originally Posted by Cedric

Luckily I couldn't care less about hitting coaches.

Count me in agreement. How many hitting coaches does that make now for the Reds in the past several years?

[Matt700wlw]

Pitching coach is the key staff move

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by GAC

Yeah, but alot of players who had average/mediocre careers, made excellent coaches/managers. The list is quite extensive.

Sparky Anderson, Casey Stengel.

Rarely are good players good managers. I was just commenting on Brook's approach as a hitter while playing for the Indians in the 80s.

You could make a case that Jacoby was a better major leaguer than Rettenmund. The issue to me was approach. To hit 32 HRs and knock in 69 you're not doing a lot of situational hitting. That doesn't impress me as taking good ABs or getting many clutch hits.

I saw a lot of Indians games back then and Jacoby was not an impressive player. In fact I'd go so far as to say he was overrated as a lot of Indians were back then (Corey Snider, Andre Thornton, Doug Jones)

[Kc61]

Jacoby makes me think Reds intend to keep Dunn. Worked together successfully in the past. His success with Dunn is probably the main reason he was hired.

Just a guess.

[max venable]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Jacoby makes me think Reds intend to keep Dunn. Worked together successfully in the past. His success with Dunn is probably the main reason he was hired.

Just a guess.

I think that's a very good point.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray

Rarely are good players good managers. I was just commenting on Brook's approach as a hitter while playing for the Indians in the 80s.

You could make a case that Jacoby was a better major leaguer than Rettenmund. The issue to me was approach. To hit 32 HRs and knock in 69 you're not doing a lot of situational hitting. That doesn't impress me as taking good ABs or getting many clutch hits.

I saw a lot of Indians games back then and Jacoby was not an impressive player. In fact I'd go so far as to say he was overrated as a lot of Indians were back then (Corey Snider, Andre Thornton, Doug Jones)

There is absolutely no correlation between a hitting coach's personal performance in his playing days and how he will coach hitters. It just doesn't work that way.

[WVRedsFan]

Unfortunately, I am suspect of every move that gets a ringing endorsement from Jerry Narron. It's my problem.

Having said that, I could give a flying flip. It is good news that they'e mentioning Dunn as his first project because that means they are keeping Dunn (or at least I hope so), but it is a heck of a lot more than Dunn. Finding a shortstop and another productive outfielder might be the first order of business.

[SteelSD]

Originally Posted by WVRedsFan

Unfortunately, I am suspect of every move that gets a ringing endorsement from Jerry Narron. It's my problem.

Having said that, I could give a flying flip. It is good news that they'e mentioning Dunn as his first project because that means they are keeping Dunn (or at least I hope so), but it is a heck of a lot more than Dunn. Finding a shortstop and another productive outfielder might be the first order of business.

Sounds to me like the Reds are trying to channel Rudy Jaramillo. He was the BA MLB Coach of the Year in 2005 and Jacoby has been the guy to bring his philosophy to the Rangers' minor league system. Jaramillo returned to the Rangers in early June. Jaramillo has produced a DVD on hitting philosophy. I haven't viewed that and really have no information as to Jaramillo's approach.

That being said, the Rangers had a number of players who went backwards in 2006. Blalock is a shell of his former self. Mark Teixeira didn't progress. Michael Young regressed at age 29. Brad Wilkerson regressed. Mark DeRosa progressed as did Gary Mathews, Jr. But when the core regresses and the fringe players progress, is that actually a hitting coach "win"? I'd suggest not.

The Reds now have a Terry Ryan protege on staff, a Rudy Jaramillo protege on staff, and who knows who the pitching coach protege will be. Chris Chambliss had a history of coaching excellent offenses (including the best NL 2005 offense), but he was let go due to a mid-season trade that robbed his team of a two of their three 90+ Run producers.

Brook Jacoby has a history of exactly nothing at the MLB level, but has earned the trust of Jerry Narron (who has little clue as to how the game should be played). And all in an effort to make a Reds offense that was good before Krivsky screwed it up, better than what Krivsky made it. Problem is that Jacoby hasn't demonstrated the ability to make anyone better at the MLB level.

The Reds' mantra for 2007 should be "We're really trying!"

Unfortunately, I couldn't give half a crap about trying.