Why does Brant Brown still have a job?

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Okay, so the Cardinals decided to keep Oli, but why keep Brown? He really did wonders with Walker, Gorman, Nootbaar and Scott. And the Cardinals finished 2nd to last in HRs.

So is he really to be trusted with their top prospect who is due to arrive next year? And any other young players? I don't get it.

[Strummer Jones]

Given where Scott was last year, yeah, actually, he did improve. He's just never going to be Rickey Henderson. Think Juan Pierre if everything breaks right. Burleson took a step forward too, as did Herrera. Contreras had a typical season of his, and Donovan also maintained a pretty high level of hitting.

Walker's problem seems to be between his ears. And Gorman is just not that good. I think if we actually had a hitter or two that could anchor a line-up, the vibes would be different. Mozeliak bet too big that Gorman and Walker would be that duo.

[rockondlouie]

Why is Dusty still here?

2025 starting pitchers 4.67 ERA, third lowest strikeout rate in MLB.

He needs to be long gone.

[C-Unit]

What's the job of a major league hitting coach anyways? I see two areas of specialty. 1) swing/stance mechanics, 2) game preparation/studying opposing pitchers/approach.

My guess is that the 1st area is largely outside the job a typical MLB hitting coach performs. Most these players probably have a special person they like to work with for swing mechanics. Even if the team prescribed someone, I'm sure each player has people they already have a working relationship with.

[icon]

Given where Scott was last year, yeah, actually, he did improve. He's just never going to be Rickey Henderson. Think Juan Pierre if everything breaks right. Burleson took a step forward too, as did Herrera. Contreras had a typical season of his, and Donovan also maintained a pretty high level of hitting.

Walker's problem seems to be between his ears. And Gorman is just not that good. I think if we actually had a hitter or two that could anchor a line-up, the vibes would be different. Mozeliak bet too big that Gorman and Walker would be that duo.

29th in HRs. 27th in SLG. That is a massive failure.

[JuanAgosto]

What's the job of a major league hitting coach anyways? I see two areas of specialty. 1) swing/stance mechanics, 2) game preparation/studying opposing pitchers/approach.

My guess is that the 1st area is largely outside the job a typical MLB hitting coach performs. Most these players probably have a special person they like to work with for swing mechanics. Even if the team prescribed someone, I'm sure each player has people they already have a working relationship with.

Which is ridiculous. The foremost concern should be swing/mechanics. Who cares about knowing what pitch is coming if you look like a 7 year old swinging the bat. Teams usually employ 2 hitting coaches. One should work on preparation and the other on cleaning up the swing.

[C-Unit]

What's the job of a major league hitting coach anyways? I see two areas of specialty. 1) swing/stance mechanics, 2) game preparation/studying opposing pitchers/approach.

My guess is that the 1st area is largely outside the job a typical MLB hitting coach performs. Most these players probably have a special person they like to work with for swing mechanics. Even if the team prescribed someone, I'm sure each player has people they already have a working relationship with.

Which is ridiculous. The foremost concern should be swing/mechanics. Who cares about knowing what pitch is coming if you look like a 7 year old swinging the bat. Teams usually employ 2 hitting coaches. One should work on preparation and the other on cleaning up the swing.

I'm just asking the question of what the typical hitting coach does around the modern game (of successful clubs, too). I don't know what the focus is for the Cardinals, or whether or not that focus happens to be ridiculous.

I will agree that I liked Mark McGwire as hitting coach because he seemed to be emphasizing a focus on extra-base power. I suppose he had to be teaching some combination of line drive swings while also being aggressive in the count (hit your pitch when you get it).

But it's tough to decipher what the different teachings might be that could apply to various hitters on a team.

[Strummer Jones]

Given where Scott was last year, yeah, actually, he did improve. He's just never going to be Rickey Henderson. Think Juan Pierre if everything breaks right. Burleson took a step forward too, as did Herrera. Contreras had a typical season of his, and Donovan also maintained a pretty high level of hitting.

Walker's problem seems to be between his ears. And Gorman is just not that good. I think if we actually had a hitter or two that could anchor a line-up, the vibes would be different. Mozeliak bet too big that Gorman and Walker would be that duo.

29th in HRs. 27th in SLG. That is a massive failure.

Much more of a failure of John Mozeliak than Brant Brown. When you're betting on two young players who've never really shown MOTB talent at the MLB level, and a long-diminished Nolan Arenado to anchor your line-up...it might not be a hitting coach issue.

[Rojo Johnson]

Okay, so the Cardinals decided to keep Oli, but why keep Brown? He really did wonders with Walker, Gorman, Nootbaar and Scott. And the Cardinals finished 2nd to last in HRs.

So is he really to be trusted with their top prospect who is due to arrive next year? And any other young players? I don't get it.

Because, according to Moe and the rest of the organization, managing and coaching MLB is simply not that difficult.

[JuanAgosto]

What's the job of a major league hitting coach anyways? I see two areas of specialty. 1) swing/stance mechanics, 2) game preparation/studying opposing pitchers/approach.

My guess is that the 1st area is largely outside the job a typical MLB hitting coach performs. Most these players probably have a special person they like to work with for swing mechanics. Even if the team prescribed someone, I'm sure each player has people they already have a working relationship with.

Which is ridiculous. The foremost concern should be swing/mechanics. Who cares about knowing what pitch is coming if you look like a 7 year old swinging the bat. Teams usually employ 2 hitting coaches. One should work on preparation and the other on cleaning up the swing.

I'm just asking the question of what the typical hitting coach does around the modern game (of successful clubs, too). I don't know what the focus is for the Cardinals, or whether or not that focus happens to be ridiculous.

I will agree that I liked Mark McGwire as hitting coach because he seemed to be emphasizing a focus on extra-base power. I suppose he had to be teaching some combination of line drive swings while also being aggressive in the count (hit your pitch when you get it).

But it's tough to decipher what the different teachings might be that could apply to various hitters on a team.

If im not mistaken, I think Brown focuses on analytics and pitcher tendencies. Thought I read that he doesn't work much on mechanics.

[Jatalk]

When are the players to blame and not the coaches?

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When are the players to blame and not the coaches?

I remember several posts in the offseason/spring training about the great work Brown was doing with Gorman and Walker. And then the season started.

[Jatalk]

When are the players to blame and not the coaches?

I remember several posts in the offseason/spring training about the great work Brown was doing with Gorman and Walker. And then the season started.

Me too but may have just been organizational hype. I’m not locked down on keeping coaches but most these guys have gone through a couple of hitting coaches.

[45s]

When are the players to blame and not the coaches?

Don’t hold your breath…

[ilcubuffs]

Anyone remember DimWallet and MO Ran media fiasco: telling fans Carpenter still had a very productive bat based upon exit velocity AND when pressured about Shildt's managerial future they stated (paraphrasing) "we do not like to fire people". But of course they fired Shildt over the phone during off season.

Brown still have job cus no one has the cajone's to fire anyone. Marmot is still manager cus of the same.

[cardstatman]

Clearly the team's hitting was making progress every month...

.260 .333 .405 .738 Apr
.258 .325 .390 .715 May
.243 .311 .391 .701 Jun
.234 .309 .367 .675 Jul
.237 .297 .361 .659 Aug
.234 .304 .347 .651 Sep