From a Mark Bowman article about Brian McCann's three-hit, two-homerun performance off of a left-handed pitcher:
Phillies left-hander J.A. Happ entered Wednesday afternoon's game against the Braves with no reason to believe that Brian McCann had spent the morning hours making adjustments to a swing that had enabled him to hit .440 during the 10 previous games he had played during the Grapefruit League season. [...]
With the help of Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton and Chipper Jones, McCann has been working hard to develop a shorter swing.
I love that a guy like McCann doesn't just rest on his laurels when he's going good. He will hitting over .400, but he realized he wasn't getting to everything that he should be getting to, so he sought to make adjustments. This is something that we never heard guys like Andruw Jones or Jeff Francoeur doing, or a whole cadre of other Braves players in recent years. They only made adjustments when they were having bad spells at the plate (and usually only after prodding from others). McCann is a rare creature. I also like the fact that Chipper is in there helping Mac just as much at TP. It's like having two hitting coaches on the team.
0 recs | 25 comments
I can’t get this out of my head for 2011, assuming certain retirements happen: Terry for manager; Chipper for hitting coach.
softbatch - March 25, 2010
I was gonna say something like that in the post. I wonder if they would like Chipper be a player/coach?
gondeee - March 25, 2010
Where has the player/coach gone in sports?
To me it would be a cheap two for one deal, especially when you are keeping around old veterans that can still contribute but you have a hard time justifying a large salary for their on-field output (not that i think Chipper lacks in output, just speaking generally about older about to retire players)
Southern Dawg - March 25, 2010
what kind of precedent is there for a play to go right from his playing days into a Major League hitting coach? Any other players in recent times made this jump?
Fatvirus - March 25, 2010
I know Pete Rose was a player-manager from August 15, 1984 to November 11, 1985. I can’t think of a more recent example, though.
Chopaholic - March 25, 2010
To make this post more relevant, Rose continued to manage the Reds after officially retiring as a player.
Chopaholic - March 25, 2010
Frank Robinson and Joe Torre seem like the two prior to Rose...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player-manager
Mr. Sanchez - March 25, 2010
oddly, I remember this
Bill Mueller, retired from the Dodgers just a few years ago, and went right into being the Dodgers hitting coach.
royhobbs - March 25, 2010
Intersting
I did not know that
eaheckman10 - March 25, 2010
I guess it should be taken with a grain of salt, but I could have sworn I read a Chipper interview at the AJC where Chipper said he had no desire to coach anytime soon and that he was getting tired of all the traveling and the baseball lifestyle
HansonManCrush - March 25, 2010 via mobile
now that you mention it...
I remember that as well. I would assume that he’d take a few years off to spend with his kids and hunt..
Fatvirus - March 25, 2010
Good Report...
Players tend to get in line quickly after seeing something happen like that!
carpengui - March 25, 2010
I suppose TP is next in line or the head coaching job, but I’d rather go and bring in Freddie Gonzalez (if he gets fired) or a head coach from our Minor League system.
Can’t always get what you want though.
Does anyone think TP will do a good job as manager? Might be poll worthy to see who think TP will be good or bad.
Sparhawk - March 25, 2010
BAD!!! The poll is now closed.
HansonManCrush - March 25, 2010 via mobile
Who says he has to get fired? Buy him out and bring him in anyway.
J-Freak - March 25, 2010
This. When I saw Freddie last week I had to resist the urge to tell him to tank the season so he could come managed the Braves.
cbwilk - March 25, 2010
Where have you been? I haven’t seen you around these interparts lately.
justincredubil02 - March 25, 2010
I was in Florida! Man, I had no time to look at anything, I was having too much fun. I’m back now so I’ll be around again. Once I get all my pics straight I’ll have a big post about my days at the Braves’ complex.
cbwilk - March 25, 2010
Awesome. You were there for a while, huh? I can’t wait for the pics and stories!
justincredubil02 - March 25, 2010
Twelve days. It was nuts. I’m gonna do a post on the Braves parts and then try to write one a bit later about the whole thing. That one might not be for a bit though. Lots of big time autographs, Mark McGwire, Stephen Strasburg, Davey Johnson, Phil Niekro, freaking crazy.
cbwilk - March 25, 2010
I am green with envy.
justincredubil02 - March 25, 2010
With Mac and Heyward
this team is never going to coast.
Darin H - March 25, 2010
We all know it, but our young core of Hanson, Jurrjens, McCann, Heyward etc. are more than just talented. I’m feeling a new streak
eaheckman10 - March 25, 2010
The universe is just not built to handle that amount of awesome in one finite region. If Brian McCann got any more awesome, a hole would rend the fabric of time and space. Also, Frenchy would lose twelve of his 49 teeth. But that’s collateral damage.
TheLetter2 - March 25, 2010
Fredi Gonzales rumored to be on the hot seat last year…………Bobby announcing retirement after this season. Another nonplayoff finish for the Fish and perhaps Fredi gets canned? I say the stars are lining up for Fredi to come home.
I don’t know how I feel about Terry Pendleton as anything other than an important piece of the 1991 worst-to-first.
UMDBHIK - March 25, 2010
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