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Good move!

Sweet. Now we need some new hitters

Glad to hear it.

This is good news hope he can tame these hack hitters. I see this as also a good move for up and comers like Bowker and Velez. Both of these hitters have had a lot of good success under bam bam.

<http://www.ggaub.com/tf/fanart/bv_youre_an_idiot.jpg

Why is this being hailed as a good move? I have yet to hear from any reliable source that Hensley teaches anything other than the same approach that has gotten us where we are.

AAA Fresno: 16-team league

11th in OBP
14th in walks

So......? I think he's probably a decent hitting coach. So was Carney. This sounds like a lateral move. In fact, the similarities in Bam Bam and Carney as coaches are uncanny. I see no shake up from the organizational philosophy that has generated so many less-than-average hitters. He has the young players ears? How exactly did Bowker and Velez turn into success stories? The poor translation in performance from Fresno to the bigs cannot be heaped on Rohn. Do you really think that Velez reverted to Carneyism after his little 2-week hotstreak post- call up?

We needed a new strong voice and got more of the same.

I don't care about team stats in AAA. We normally only have a handful of prospects there, at best.

It's not about AAA stats. Hensley was credited with turning Velez around, and seems to be someone the players will actually listen to. It's about time the Giants promoted those who have success, rather than name-dropping coaches from outside the organization.

I'm just asking: Has Hensley ever demonstrated the instructive acumen for anything other than a good hitter's stroke? All I have heard is that, and nothing about plate discipline, hitter's approach in situational match-ups, etc. Competitively, Fresno has underachieved with the rosters/players it has had the last couple of years.

Citing specific skills Bam Bam has, why do you like this move?

i honestly think hitting coaches are highly overrated in the MLB level. at that point, if a player is a hacker, he will always be a hacker. no amount of coaching is going to change it. it isn't the coaches fault that the hitters are hackers, it's sabeans fault for signing hackers.

"Fresno has underachieved with the rosters/players it has had the last couple of years."

Not sure I can agree with this statement. A look at the rest of the PCL shows their roster is no more "stacked" than some others, especially SLC and the like.

Also, Meulens was only the hitting coach, so he was not in charge of all the aspects of game management. Fresno's pitching record has been VERY spotty.

I don't care about Fresno's roster.

They could lose 90% of their games as long as they turn out a hitter or two a year that can hit MLB pitching.

Velez and Bowker both improved their approaches. Especially Bowker. Of course, if it doesn't translate to the big club, who cares? But Meulens will get his chance to follow up with those guys, so we'll see.

1+.

The marginal advantage of a good hitting coach is one that knows how help hitters build a plan, identify weaknesses in opposing pitchers, and solidify a lineup that works off of each other's strengths. Working with swings, etc. is more the specialization of MiLB instructors.

Not hiring a really excellent hitting coach is just meh. I see no indications it will matter much at all to any potential improvement next year.

1992 in AAA with 534 at bats Meulens struck out 168 times I don't know what everyone is so pleased about.

So a good coach was always a good player?

Name him:

In 132 total games played, (40 in the starting lineup), he went 35-for-176, a batting average of .199. His 23 walks pushed his on base percentage to .292. He had 7 RBI and scored 15 runs. He made 63 appearances at second base, 18 at shortstop, and two at third base, fielding .960 in 249 total chances and participating in 34 double plays.

Part II

In 2004 he became the sixth manager in history to win pennants with both American and National League teams; in 2006 he became the first manager ever to win multiple pennants in both leagues and became one of only two managers to win the World Series in both leagues. With a 2,552–2,217–4 (.535) record as a manager (through Oct. 4, 2009), he is ranked third all-time for total number of Baseball All-time Managerial Wins list, trailing only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763).

Answer: Tony LaRussa

I'm not hating on Hensley himself. Hitting coaches aren't as instrumental in success as other hires. What I do find a bit baffling is that many fans active on this site decry "drinking the koolaid" are subsequently drink up the news pieces that read "Meulens is credited with Bowker's and Velez's turn-arounds", etc. Can someone provide some other justification? It's not like he's considered a hitting guru within the PCl, you know.

It's not a horrible hire, but it is an inside hire of someone with a history of toeing the organizational approach. Yet there are plenty of indications to show that Bam Bam is a poor hire for a team needing to correct historically underperforming hitting up and down the entire system. Obviously, most of this need be attributed to talent level, but I am certain that our handling of hitting prospects has been below average in results.

I'm very interested if fellow fans would provide info about how he is actually good choice for our primary hitting weaknesses:

-plate discipline
-building offensive game plans
-scouting pitching
-constructing lineups
-pitch recognition