Robert S. is going to like this.

Yes he is.

Wow, Kevin Seitzer. That's a blast from the past. I remember in my baseball card collecting days my best friend thought he was the next big thing when he came up with KC.

Wow, Rick Schu sucked. I hope he's a better coach than hitter.

Wow, Rick Schu sucked. I hope he's a better coach than hitter.

Probably the two greatest hitting coaches of all time are Walt Hriniak and Charley Lau. Schu was a way better hitter than either, so no worries there...

Showing the recycled nature of baseball coaches, Schu was the 2004 Kevin Seitzer - relieved of his duty by the Diamondbacks.

Likely, a 2010 batting coach will be replaced by Kevin Seitzer, and it will be viewed as a great improvement over the 2010 guy :P

Wow, Rick Schu sucked.

He had to deal with being the guy who replaced Mike Schmidt at third, too.

Seitzer is still the most accomplished player born on my birthday. I blame that for my playing career fizzling out at 17.

Schu was the 2004 hitting coach. I fully expect the Dbacks to sack Melvin and hire Wally Backman

And the #### Mets got Rickey #### Henderson

Schu probably walked into the easiest job in baseball.

I wouldn't wish Kevin Seitzer's "tighten your abs" quackery on a batting cage denizen in Missouri, much less a Major League Baseball team. This was the sort of gamble that a G.M. can't ever get wrong, especially with a young team. Really, this is why the minor leagues exist - coaches should be vetted down there just like players.

Story on MLB.com

This will be Schu's second stint in the position, having previously served as hitting coach in 2004. He did not have his contract renewed at the end of that season and returned to his role as the organization's hitting coordinator. In that capacity he's worked with the team's young hitters on their rise through the system.

"I think Rick Schu has a lot of history with these guys and can get them back to the things that made them successful in the first place," Byrnes said.

In other words, Schu knows when to shut the #### up and get out of the way

Seitzer has a hitting school here in KC, and I think that's the extent of his coaching background. He was also known as a d*ck when he played. That's not a good combo.

Rickey thinks the Mets made the better hire here.

Seriously, wow - Rick "Really Big" Schu. I remember when he first came up and I thought he might be Wayne Gross version 2.0. I was wrong. Way. Didn't quite have the same selectivity as Gross and clearly had nothing approaching Gross' HR power.

I don't know. . . color me skeptical on this move. I do have that nagging feeling that Seitzer's removal is a modest addition by subtraction. (mostly by eliminating some head games) But Rick Schu? As has been mentioned earlier in this thread and elsewhere - we've seen this movie before and I didn't like the ending the first time (2004). Worst. Offense. Ever.

In Schu's defense. . . what the hell could one do with Cintron, Bautista, Terrero, Hammock, Kata, etc? The "Babybacks" - what a joke. They had a <one-month run against weak AL opponents. . . and the mind-numbingly-shallow local excuse for baseball coverage (at the time) lept to the conclusion that these kids were good. Sheesh. That was a frustrating summer for the thoughtful baseball fan in Phoenix.

I kinda always liked Mike "Enough" Aldrete. There is a part of me that wishes he would have been hired. I remember him as an OBP machine - albeit one without much power. Something of an earlier version of ConorJack. Not sure that's the right direction either, however. Then again, that was Seitzer's game too, right? So maybe the Dbacks are on to something with Schu.

You really want to 'fix' the 2007 Dbacks? Pick a lineup and stick with it. How about. . .
Hudson
Jackson
Drew
Reynolds
Young
Byrnes
Hairston
Montero
Pitcher
. . . (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) for a month and see where we are?

Melvin's 'lineup kaleidescope(tm)' is a much bigger problem in my view than Seitzer's head games. The guy must be ADD with his daily changes. I just never 'get' his thinking. . . assuming there is any.

Melvin's 'lineup kaleidescope(tm)' is a much bigger problem in my view than Seitzer's head games. The guy must be ADD with his daily changes. I just never 'get' his thinking. . . assuming there is any.

I think this is the biggest problem, too. Put the kids in there, let them play every day, and leave them alone. What other teams successfully develop players by jerking them around as much as Melvin does? What teams have optimized player development in this way? What results does Melvin have with his 'strategy' to suggest that his way works? Hell, his alleged strong point as manager - a harmonious clubhouse built on happy veterans - has those veterans popping off every year about what team they're going to play for next. I honestly don't see what he brings to the table.

Player Development in Arizona:

Minors - play every day
Majors - hope Melvin's chicken bones land in your favor

I have it from a very good source that Andrete was a horrible, terrible awful hitting coach.

I have it from a very good source that Andrete was a horrible, terrible awful hitting coach.

That wasn't my point, Lev. I was talking about their respective styles as players. I have several good sources too and they add up to a mixed verdict on Aldrete. So I personally have no strong feeling one way or the other.

But what I was writing about (essentially) was which Strat card I would want on my roster. For me, that would be Aldrete first, Seitzer second, and Schu ("shoe"?) a distant third.

. . . not that THAT means anything, of course. I'm just sayin'.
(don't you sleep? It's freaking 1am in NY!)

Seitzer has a hitting school here in KC, and I think that's the extent of his coaching background. He was also known as a d*ck when he played. That's not a good combo.

I played in a slow-pitch softball league against Seitzer for a few years ago...friendly enough guy. I was hoping he'd do well there; just about every time I watched a Diamondbacks game early in the season they'd talk Seitzer up big time.

Why burry Byrnes at the bottom? he's probably your second best hitter.

"I think Rick Schu has a lot of history with these guys and can get them back to the things that made them successful in the first place," Byrnes said.

He's going to send them back to the friendly environs of Tucson to hit against PCL pitching?

I kid, I kid :P

Why burry Byrnes at the bottom? he's probably your second best hitter.

Actually, Arizona's about to run out Neifi Perez in left field for the next 72 games:

Career 1st half: .290/.352/.499 in 1648 PA
Career 2nd half: .234/.290/.389 in 1060 PA

You really want to 'fix' the 2007 Dbacks? Pick a lineup and stick with it. How about. . .
Hudson
Jackson
Drew
Reynolds
Young
Byrnes
Hairston
Montero
Pitcher

Are we just giving up on Chad Tracy?
I would rather see him at 1B for the rest of the year and give Jackson one more stint in AAA.

. . . and give Jackson one more stint in AAA.

Conor Jack has nothing left to prove in AAA. Sending him back down is a waste of a perfectly good, VERY inexpensive player. In my view, he simply needs time to work through the inevitable struggles MLB noobs often experience. Unfortunately, Melvin's message to these young players comes across something like "don't have a bad game or I'll bench your ass in favor of ______" (insert name of favorite proven veteran here).

Jackson's playing time this year:
April - 27 games, 73 PAs (avg 2.7/gm)
May - 28 games, 73 PAs (avg 2.6/gm)
June - 27 games, 92 PAs (avg 3.4/gm)
July - 8 games, 15 PAs (avg 1.9/gm)

Interestingly, BoMel appeared to "stick" with him through his early struggles in April. . . but then threw in the towel after the BA dipped to .231/OPS dipped to on .627 on 4/19. Over the next 11 games, Jackson logged a grand total of ten freaking plate appearances. Nice vote of confidence, that.

Once he started heating back up in the latter half of May, he started getting more PAs. Then he hits another rough stretch against the Dodgers and Giants the end of June and he finds himself riding the pines again.

BTW - I understand the Dodgers and Giants have some decent pitching.

The PVs like Hudson and Byrnes, of course, suffer no such ignominy. Byrnes flails through a 7-32 stretch June 20-28, yet starts every freaking game. Over the last (roughly) month, Byrnes is hitting .260. More importantly, he's slugging a mere .350 with only four extra base hits. The guy hasn't hit a home run since June 15, but he remains one of two PV mainstays in the daily lineup.

I'm just glad my employment is not similarly based on my latest (meaning the last week or so) production.

I have, over the last week or so, pretty much convinced myself that Seitzer was not the problem, BoMel is. Hitting is largely a function of one's confidence. . . aided by some God-given abilities. These young players all clearly have the latter. It is the coaching staff's function, largely directed by the Manager, to provide an environment in which the former is given every chance to develop.

Little will change until the OTHER Byrnes does something about that.

Are we just giving up on Chad Tracy?

Of course not. That is why I included the disclaimer "or a reasonable facsimile thereof."

My point was to run guys out there on a regular basis, in a regular lineup. Whether it is Tracy or Reynolds or Hairston or Byrnes is not of the moment. If you want these guys to be Major League regulars, you gotta play them like Major League regulars.

Byrnes flails through a 7-32 stretch June 20-28, yet starts every freaking game. Over the last (roughly) month, Byrnes is hitting .260. More importantly, he's slugging a mere .350 with only four extra base hits. The guy hasn't hit a home run since June 15, but he remains one of two PV mainstays in the daily lineup.

That's a typo. Substitute "Hudson" where I typed Byrnes in the paragraph quoted. My apologies.

Unfortunately, the point stands.

I played in a slow-pitch softball league against Seitzer for a few years ago...friendly enough guy. I was hoping he'd do well there; just about every time I watched a Diamondbacks game early in the season they'd talk Seitzer up big time.

Yea, in fairness to Seitz, I think he admitted to being an alcoholic when he was a player, and has since cleaned himself up. He may very well be a nice guy now. He did a decent job when he filled in on Royals telecasts, I wouldn't mind seeing his next career move being replacing Bob Davis in the booth.

I have, over the last week or so, pretty much convinced myself that Seitzer was not the problem, BoMel is.

I think there is something that needs to be a little more transparent here. Every day Bomel and Josh Byrnes sit and talk with each other before lineups are decided for the next day, (or prior to a series). I'm not saying Josh Byrnes is making out Melvins lineup cards, or that the two always agree....but it should be clear, Byrnes has A LOT of input to the everyday lineup.

Shoe! I guess your new handle answers the question I was going to ask about how you are liking Italy. And apparently you are having no problems with internet access - that's good. (Although it also suggests you are well aware of yet another opposing pitcher driving in a key run yesterday!)

I understand the daily dynamic between JB and BoMel w/r/t lineups, the roster, etc. Even if I were unaware of their regular consultations, I think a situation in which the GM did not have regular and continuing access to the Manager's lineup judgments would suggest a meaningful level of dysfunction.

Nonetheless, JB's 'access' does not impact my current view. If he is as good a GM as I believe he is, he will participate in such sessions with BoMel but will not dictate strategy. You have to give the Manager the freedom to run the team as he believes it should be run. To do otherwise would be a hallmark of poor management. BoMel has to have a chance to show his 'way' works.

I - working without the limitations of a relationship with BoMel and all those other sticky details that impact employment decisions that involve actual humans - have already rushed to judgment with respect to the manager. I have seen enough of his lineup ADD. My point is that I believe BoMel has been a larger factor in the team's offensive struggles than Mr. Seitzer. Therefore, I believe the hiring of Rick Schu is unlikely to have much of a net impact on the team offense over the second half of the season.

We'll never know for certain, of course. More importantly, I continue to search for reasons to find my rush to judgment wrong. . . or even premature. I am open to hearing all thoughts and opinions w/r/t that.

Quentin's immediate production while starting every game in Tucson does not contradict my view. (nor, I should add, does it provide any meaningful support.)

I agree with just about everything you say here, I just wanted to highlight Byrnes involvement. He has some responsibility for the lineup ADD as well.

As for Quentin.....over at DBBP I posted a long time ago that sending Q down to Tucson will only re-enforce what is wrong. He can't lay off good breaking stuff low and away, and good changeups. But he isn't going to see as much of that in AAA, and his over agressive approach will be rewarded in AAA, thus entrenching his bad habits even further. I also mentioned that his HBP rate in the majors is much lower because nobody bothers to pitch him inside, unless it's really high where he can't really get to it anyway. Why on earth would any major league pitcher with a modicum of control bother to give Quentin anything on the inner half....ever? Just keep tossing him slop low and away, until he shows he will layoff.

My guess is when he comes back up, it will be more of the same.....over agressive, swinging at everything.

Just keep tossing him slop low and away, until he shows he will layoff.

Spot on, as usual Shoe.

Ironically, this strikes me as one of the few aspects of AZ's offensive struggles in which the hitting coach could have a positive impact. To my way of thinking, this is a pretty simple problem to point out to someone.

Apparently it is way more complicated than this simpleton believes.
Travel safe, shoe.