Ramp up that excitement for ‘26

[Voldemort]

Maybe the Cardinals will finally call me to assist with hitting. I can't do worse, and I do understand mechanics and hitting approach. Until then, I don't think I'll get too excited for '26.

Serious question Volde. What are the two things that most youg hitters get wrong? Have my thoughts, wondering what your's are? Thanks

Bat drag and a push swing are, imo, the two things most young hitters get wrong.

[ScotchMIrish]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

[Absolut]

If it ain’t broke…

[Goldfan]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

I guess the FO has convinced itself that mediocre players can somehow be transformed into All-stars……if only the right game planning coach is hired.
Game planning coach??? You’re right, this is a reaction game….too much chit going on in the head makes you look like a deer in headlights. Get smart talented players and let them play. That should be the mission

[Melville]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

[Goldfan]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

They act like this is a Normandy invasion…..I’m fully convinced they’ve done a real good job of mind (bleep) most of these young hitters and they’re up there paralyzed

[Melville]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

They act like this is a Normandy invasion…..I’m fully convinced they’ve done a real good job of mind (bleep) most of these young hitters and they’re up there paralyzed

You are correct.
Here is something I have learned in analyzing organizations over the past several decades, and which I advise my clients who have fallen into this trap:
Micromanagement is not leadership, it is obstruction.
To maximize organizational performance, the role of leadership is to equip the team members and to create an environment in which success achievable and recognized - and that is all.
Then, the role and responsibility of the individual is to apply his or her unique skill set to deliver optimal value and production.
Micromanagement dilutes the effectiveness of the leader and stymies the growth of the individual.

[ScotchMIrish]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

I guess the FO has convinced itself that mediocre players can somehow be transformed into All-stars……if only the right game planning coach is hired.
Game planning coach??? You’re right, this is a reaction game….too much chit going on in the head makes you look like a deer in headlights. Get smart talented players and let them play. That should be the mission

The previous FO convinced themselves that they knew more about baseball than MLB players. If these positions are left vacant it's a positive sign from Bloom.

[ScotchMIrish]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

I agree but "planning" a baseball game - what does that mean? Example from 2025 was Pallante in August having an ERA over 8 and yet in 6 August starts 5 times he threw 90+ pitches. That's a manager not seeing what is happening on the field and instead sticking with a "plan". The guy obviously had a tired arm.

It's okay to have a plan but ignoring reality to stick with the plan seems to be what we were doing last season. I'm not a Marmol fan but if the FO was forcing him to listen to a game planning coach then getting rid of that position might be a positive.

[Goldfan]

If you hire a Buffa…..that’s peak excitement

[Ozziesfan41]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

I guess the FO has convinced itself that mediocre players can somehow be transformed into All-stars……if only the right game planning coach is hired.
Game planning coach??? You’re right, this is a reaction game….too much chit going on in the head makes you look like a deer in headlights. Get smart talented players and let them play. That should be the mission

Yea no kidding players that suck will always suck no matter who is coaching or planning. The plan has always been Gorman don’t chase high fastballs walker don’t chase sweepers outside they continue to do so. A game planner telling them the same thing isn’t going to get different results. Their problem is they are slow to adjust to Pitching and the pitchers adjust quickly to
Them it ends with them sucking

[ramfandan]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

I guess the FO has convinced itself that mediocre players can somehow be transformed into All-stars……if only the right game planning coach is hired.
Game planning coach??? You’re right, this is a reaction game….too much chit going on in the head makes you look like a deer in headlights. Get smart talented players and let them play. That should be the mission

Game planning is far more sophisticated than some realize. An example, the Blue Jays game planning coach for the game with Snell after watching all the videos of past outings knew that Snell likes to start out with the 4 seam fastballs in the counts very heavily . Thus, the Blue Jay hitters were told to go after the first couple pitches looking for the 4 seamer to jump on . Sure enough first pitch of game HR and 3rd pitch HR both were 4 seam fastballs.. To Snell's credit, he realized that Blue Jays were looking for that and it was quite some time later when Snell threw another fastball n that game. That is what Game Planning can do for a team A game planning coach can use a ton of hours looking at video , analyzing the data, and putting together the game plan far more time than a manager . That's why various coaches are designated varioius responsibilities . Base running coach , for example , pours over the video of pitcher pick off moves, when he throws to first /when he doesn't etc. hours and hours

[11WSChamps]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

I agree but "planning" a baseball game - what does that mean? Example from 2025 was Pallante in August having an ERA over 8 and yet in 6 August starts 5 times he threw 90+ pitches. That's a manager not seeing what is happening on the field and instead sticking with a "plan". The guy obviously had a tired arm.

It's okay to have a plan but ignoring reality to stick with the plan seems to be what we were doing last season. I'm not a Marmol fan but if the FO was forcing him to listen to a game planning coach then getting rid of that position might be a positive.

If I recall that was after the trade deadline and the bullpen was a shambles.

Pallante was deemed to be expendable is as far as I can see as to why they kept leaving him out there to get hammered.

[ScotchMIrish]

“The Cardinals also expect the entirety of last year's coaching staff to return under Oli Marmol, though game-planning coach Packy Elkins & asst pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer will transition to strategist roles. St. Louis will hire a new asst pitching coach & asst hitting coach.”
K. Woo

I mean the changes being made to invigorate the fan base is almost like when BDW brought in LaRussa and Dunc

Call me crazy but I think we have too many coaches. Game planning coach? Assistant pitching coach? Assistant hitting coach? Too many cooks spoil the broth.

One would think that a competent manager, given each has a bench coach to provide added support when needed, would be able to plan a game.....

I agree but "planning" a baseball game - what does that mean? Example from 2025 was Pallante in August having an ERA over 8 and yet in 6 August starts 5 times he threw 90+ pitches. That's a manager not seeing what is happening on the field and instead sticking with a "plan". The guy obviously had a tired arm.

It's okay to have a plan but ignoring reality to stick with the plan seems to be what we were doing last season. I'm not a Marmol fan but if the FO was forcing him to listen to a game planning coach then getting rid of that position might be a positive.

If I recall that was after the trade deadline and the bullpen was a shambles.

Pallante was deemed to be expendable is as far as I can see as to why they kept leaving him out there to get hammered.

If that was Marmol's plan and not forced on him then we need a new manager. One inning pitchers are a lot easier to acquire than starting pitchers.

[spfldan]

Maybe the Cardinals will finally call me to assist with hitting. I can't do worse, and I do understand mechanics and hitting approach. Until then, I don't think I'll get too excited for '26.

Serious question Volde. What are the two things that most youg hitters get wrong? Have my thoughts, wondering what your's are? Thanks

Bat drag and a push swing are, imo, the two things most young hitters get wrong.

Thanks for responce Volde. I was thinking of really young hitters, like highschool stuff. For me it's swinging too hard, not having balance. I like to talk hitting.

[Voldemort]

Maybe the Cardinals will finally call me to assist with hitting. I can't do worse, and I do understand mechanics and hitting approach. Until then, I don't think I'll get too excited for '26.

Serious question Volde. What are the two things that most youg hitters get wrong? Have my thoughts, wondering what your's are? Thanks

Bat drag and a push swing are, imo, the two things most young hitters get wrong.

Thanks for responce Volde. I was thinking of really young hitters, like highschool stuff. For me it's swinging too hard, not having balance. I like to talk hitting.

If you have a topic on hitting that you'd like to discuss, go to Baseball Fever, sign up, and then go to the 101 Coaching Forum and post your topic. You may or may not get responses. Back in the day, it was the place to go to talk about hitting. Now, it is hit and miss.