Great write up, per usual. However, i want to flag one thing that I disagree with because I think people are not interpreting this correctly:
> The return of hitting coaches to an offense that is currently 15th in OBP, 19th in OPS, and 22nd in home runs is mind-boggling.
Yes, in normal circumstances Ward should be out of a job. But this is not a normal situation because Mo is sticking around for 2025 (though I wish he weren't). So, we've got the boss, who has been the boss since 2007, saying he's got one more year and then he'll step down. The likely heir apparent is in the org, but not in a position that oversees the MLB hitting coach; or someone outside the org will take over after 2025 (I cannot imagine Girsch or Flores gets the job after reading Katie's piece.)
So when Bloom or whoever from the outside takes over in 2026, they probably will want to clear out the MLB dugout to bring in their own folks. That's what happens when bosses turn over. Everyone working in baseball can see that.
So, if Ward gets fired, who replaces him? Who would accept a job offered by Mo when you know that Mo will only be there one year, and then you (and everyone else in the dugout) is probably gonna get passed by after just one year? Who accepts a job that they know is a lame duck position?
No one--at least no one that we would want to have the job.
2025 is mostly a holding pattern. This is the path of least resistance. Mo and all Mo's people get to stick around for one more year because it would be too difficult to replace any of them for one year. Bloom will change MiLB in 2025. Maybe the team will make changes to the 26 man roster. But Mo and his folks get another year. No one worth hiring would accept a one-year lame duck job.
This is a very well done piece. I'm sorry about your church, and I hope the changes lead to good things for you.
Appreciate the sentiments, sir!
Great write up, per usual. However, i want to flag one thing that I disagree with because I think people are not interpreting this correctly:
> The return of hitting coaches to an offense that is currently 15th in OBP, 19th in OPS, and 22nd in home runs is mind-boggling.
Yes, in normal circumstances Ward should be out of a job. But this is not a normal situation because Mo is sticking around for 2025 (though I wish he weren't). So, we've got the boss, who has been the boss since 2007, saying he's got one more year and then he'll step down. The likely heir apparent is in the org, but not in a position that oversees the MLB hitting coach; or someone outside the org will take over after 2025 (I cannot imagine Girsch or Flores gets the job after reading Katie's piece.)
So when Bloom or whoever from the outside takes over in 2026, they probably will want to clear out the MLB dugout to bring in their own folks. That's what happens when bosses turn over. Everyone working in baseball can see that.
So, if Ward gets fired, who replaces him? Who would accept a job offered by Mo when you know that Mo will only be there one year, and then you (and everyone else in the dugout) is probably gonna get passed by after just one year? Who accepts a job that they know is a lame duck position?
No one--at least no one that we would want to have the job.
2025 is mostly a holding pattern. This is the path of least resistance. Mo and all Mo's people get to stick around for one more year because it would be too difficult to replace any of them for one year. Bloom will change MiLB in 2025. Maybe the team will make changes to the 26 man roster. But Mo and his folks get another year. No one worth hiring would accept a one-year lame duck job.
That is an excellent point and one I hadn't really considered! Thanks for that!
This was a very good read. Thanks.