Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Game 35/162

So, I don't know of any places besides the obligatory ESPN Zone or Fox Sports Grill.

Well, it's not anti-Hatcher per se, but it calls his skills as a hitting coach into question.

Two things stand out to me with respect to the Angels' hitters. One, the hitters look like they have no plan. Last night, Phys & Hud were talking about a pregame meeting Hatcher had with the hitters, talking about having a plan when they go to bat. Clearly, they did not pick up on the message in time for yesterday's game.

Afterwards, Hud (who, incidentally, is sounding more & more like a real analyst this season...what's up with that?) was discussing a McPherson AB where Garcia started him out 3-0.  He took a strike, which was fine.  The 3-1 pitch was a fastball over the heart of the plate, & Dallas watched it for strike 2.  Hud pointed out that he HAS to be sitting on that pitch.  Especially when you're a young hitter, prone to the K, you're probably not going to get a 3-2 fastball.  You've got to expect the fastball at 3-1, and swing if you get it.  Walks are all well & good, and if that 3-1 pitch is a breaking ball, it's probably better to take it & hope it misses.  But if you get the fastball, that's the one to attack.  That should be part of your plan when you go to the plate - understanding situations and what to expect, and acting accordingly.

I've often wondered what a ML-level hitting coach actually does. I mean, you don't make it to the big leagues as a position player (except maybe catcher) if you don't know how to hit - you can't learn to hit at the major-league level. So, it's not as though these guys are teaching anything.

So what is it that they do? Go over film & try to identify tendencies, spot flaws, etc?

And if one of the hitting coach's responsibilities is helping the batters to develop the so-called plan, then it's pretty obvious that Hatcher (a) doesn't give them a good plan, (b) is unable to effectively communicate the plan, or (c) is able to formulate and communicate plans, but the hitters are all too inept to implement them. Option (c) seems the least likely.

I assume that some hitting coaches are better than others. What are the traits and qualities of the good ones? Does Hatcher possess those attributes?

I don't know.

That said, many have criticized the Angels' organizational player development philosophy, which has been to shy away from players with good strike zone recognition and on-base ability.

Another thing I've observed, and maybe it's perception more than reality, is that nobody on the team is hitting the ball hard. Everything is hit rather meekly. They're not just hitting rockets right at people; that would indicate bad luck, which tends to even out over time. None of these guys is able to hit the ball with any authority. They can't all be hurt. Even Vlad has basically turned into a singles hitter.

If Hatcher is not at least partly to blame, then what is the cause?