The Reds announced today that they have hired Turner Ward as their hitting coach. He’ll join the still-developing staff of new skipper David Bell.
Ward, 53, had served in the same capacity with the Dodgers since the 2016 season. Previously, the former big leaguer worked as a minor-league manager and the assistant hitting coach for the Diamondbacks.
With the news, it seems that former hitting coach Don Long will not be retained, at least in his prior role. The club recently hired pitching coach Derek Johnson away from the division-rival Brewers. It’s unclear as yet how the remainder of the staff will shake out.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be left looking for a replacement hitting coach. The team is already seeking to hire a new third base coach after Chris Woodward left to become the Rangers manager.
Reds are certainly spending on the coaching staff this year… let’s see if they follow-up by actually signing some players…
Machado to Cincy. Mark it down.
I know you’re joking but you could at least pick someone outrageous where there is an open position.
Lol
Ok…marked it down….”insane guy says Machado to Reds.”
no more kisses from puig now…. 🙁
I know Utley said he was done and wanted to be home more, but here we have two spots I think he can fill.
Utley retired to be with his family. There is no chance he coaches this season. And it sure would be as a 3B coach.
would not be *
and go into the hall of overrated.
Sad!
Puig will be deveatated
And devastated too
So will Puig
Lol
SEE YA! Get someone who can teach them how to actually “pass the baton” as they kept repeating last season but continued to strand ROBs and leave RISP, especially with 2 outs.
how about you blame Kenley and Kershaw melting under pressure instead of the hitting coach?
Not saying you’re entirely wrong, nor that the hitting coach is ultimately to blame, but the Dodgers definitely need to work on mustering any bit of offense they can when it’s needed most…like say…the World Series.
You realize the Dodgers played nearly a full season without their most talented hitter right? I’ll say that’s who they needed in the World Series, not a new hitting philosophy.
So you’re saying they would have won the World Series had Corey Seager not been injured?
I’m saying an all-star hitter is more important than the hitting coach
Situational hitting is an approach. For the last couple of seasons at least the hitting approach has been about launch angles and exit velocities, AKA, hitting homers. Ward moving on to the greener pastures (?) of Cincinnati isn’t going to change the hitting approach. The FO has to make that call or the next hitting coach will be instructing the players in the same way. Lots of big uppercuts and strikeouts where a productive out could be a game-changer.
Or simply moving on from players like Grandal and Pederson
Take Betts it JDM from the Red Sox and see how far they would have got….I mean yes anyone knows that when u are down an all-star player it hurts your chances….would they have won the WS? Who knows but their odds would have improved
Betts or JDM
You seem to be forgetting that the FO traded for Grandal and made him a QO this year. So if they are moving on from his plate approach then it’s difficult to see any sign of it. As for Pederson, he’s made some improvements to his approach, but I would not miss him much if he was gone too. Moving on from either of them means little unless the team is also moving on from the hitting theories they are following.
Well they aren’t moving on from golden boy Bellinger. Seager, Turner, Fresse and Puig have the best approaches and they aren’t moving from them. Muncy, Taylor, Hernandez are cheap. Joc and Grandal are the easiest to move or not re-sign in Grandal’s case.
Yea…. the really sucked while in the process of making it to back to back World Series. People wonder why most players hate idiotic fans.
Exactly and they didn’t even lose the world series because of not playing “small ball” like many fans sre begging for.
They lost b/c of poor decision making by the manager. Offense put them a position to even the series 2-2
Analytical decisions most likely. Roberts gets marching orders from upstairs who listen to the gurus.
Yes pulling Baez g1 and Hill g4 was the nail in the coffin
Yup. It never fails to amaze me that the biggest fans of analytics in baseball are quick to blame a manager whose job is to implement an analytical game plan, but when the plan doesn’t work, they never allow any questions about the judgement of the people who create those analytical game plans.
I bet analytics didn’t say to let Charlie Morton finish out game 7 last year. Hinch used a few “GUT” based moves last year that paid off. Has to be a mixture of both philosophies
Astros had no other option in that game. They used all of their good bullpen arms to get through 4 innings because Mccullers sucked. Verlander was on no days rest. Giles was un-usable. But it doesn’t really matter. Dodger bats were demoralized in the 2nd inning when Yu Garbage ripped the life out of anyone associated with the Dodgers
I love these anonymous character assassinations based on pure speculation. Neat!
At the end of the day, the players need to play.
That happen the last 6 years this team cant hit with risp in playoffs
Mickey Hatcher is available.
Turner Ward had .251/.332/.388 slash line in his major league career. I’m surprised he can get a job as a hitting coach.
Have you ever heard the expression, “those who can’t, teach?”
Turner Ward should go teach little leaguers.
What your MLB slash line? What’s Kevin Long’s? What’s James Rowson’s? Jeremy Ward’s & etc. Most idiotic comment on this thread
If he can’t teach explain how guys like Chris Taylor and max muncy became world beaters when they joined the dodgers
Not to mention matt kemp’s comeback, also Justin turner didn’t because the he hitter he is now until ward’s first season as the coach
I think with him as the coach even Tucker Barnhart May be able to hit above .280
Ward also worked miracles with Puig, and it was not so much about specific instruction as mentorship. We don’t have to read far between the lines to see that Ward was taking some blame internally for the team batting below the Mendoza line in the series. If that was happening no surprise he’d rather work for a losing ball club than take the blame for something he didn’t really control.
I am a great hitter. I have never made an out in a major league game.
Chris Taylor is not a world beater. World beaters have OPS’s better than a .775. Also, Max Muncy could very well be a one year wonder.
Like the .850 OPS that Taylor had during his breakout 2017?
Taylor is already declining.
Marge Schott just broke the troll meter. Man you guys are bugs zapped by the light
he had so much talent. a coach does not change that if he is so great then why did puig so inconsistent
By your logic a frozen Ted Willaims would STILL be the best manager/coach in baseball.
The elephant in the room: I think we can understand why Chris Woodward would take a manager’s job. That’s a promotion, even if you’re taking it with a club that probably won’t be a lot of fun to manage. But what about Turner Ward lateraling from the NL champions to one of the least competitive teams in baseball? Did he jump or was he pushed? What should we think if Zaidi is offered and then takes the GM job with the league-rival Giants? That’s would also be a lateral move. All of this points to some kind of a power struggle behind the scenes at Dodgers Inc., or at least some finger-pointing. This is what happens when the people at the top don’t take responsibility. This has always been an issue with Friedman and we’re seeing it play out again.
Zaidi isn’t taking the GM job, he’s replacing Sabean.
A fair point, he would be taking a promotion. And yet, the elephant is still front and center.
I agree on that. Same with Derek Johnson leaving Brewers for the Reds. Guarantee they are allowed more freedom to actually impact the players
Johnson was given control over the entire organization’s pitching approach, plus a raise obviously. Curious what additional responsibility Ward is tasked with
I think he lives in Kentucky so that would mean he moved a lot closer to home
And a lot farther away from Andrew Friedman.
Here we go.
Jon Daniels reportedly ran off Nolan Ryan. I could definitely see Friedman believe his own hype and do the same with one or more of the Dodgers’ better coaches and/or FO personnel.
As the old truism goes, great leaders give credit and take responsibility. Friedman is clearly not a great leader. Anybody who doubts that only needs to watch his jaw-dropping press conference from last week. Not a scintilla of humility anywhere in sight. So while it’s surprising for a team that just won a league pennant to be losing several of its top people within a matter of weeks, it is less surprising when we take Friedman’s abrasive and self-congratulatory management style into account.
Now their already solid offense will get even better before being a masterpiece with senzel and Trammell in 2020
the reds had a great offense approach last year. hope they dont screw it up. ya they had some injuries but the starters hit like crazy.