Kevin Long, guru gone bad?

[NYYFAN]

Do we kill the team or the hitting instructor? He has to shoulder some of this mess.

[hardrain]

He has to go after another postseason like this. This year the approach is worse than ever.

[THEBOSS84]

Sooner or later people will realize that he wasn't a "guru" - these players he was coaching were some of the best hitters in the world.

[sweet_lou_14]

The lack of adjustment up and down the lineup is atrocious. That's on the hitting coach.

[philleotardo]

What would he tell them? Stop taking pansy swings?

[SLURPEE]

I seriously hope he's fired. You know if George was alive and in good health, he would have been gone a long time ago.

Under Girardi/Cashman? Not so sure.

[Petey]

Kevin Long? He's been coaching more like the SHELLEY LONG!






I thought it was funny.

[b_joseph]

Its like a golf swing coach...they are just there to re-enforce.

Fire him if you want but it wont change anything.

[Battingly]

If George was still alive there is no chance K-long would survive this.

Look at the numbers up and down the lineup, its unreal, there are like six or seven 2 for 30's.

I've never seen anything like this. Its surreal, and these are not even loud outs either, they are mostly strikeouts and swings and misses where the bat does not even come within two feet of the baseball. They might as well be swinging blind-folded.

[flymick24]

His scouting reports nd approach advice definitely hasn't been working, but at what point do you look at the players themselves, who seemed to have caught a condition of suck all at the same time?

[Yanks4eva1]

Kevin Long is not the problem nor is he the answer. This team's mindset is so off base it's laughable. And this is before Derek's injury. Am I watching a Double A team or are these the Bronx Bombers? I watched the Kevin Long interview and he is just as clueless as the hitters...

[longtimeyankeefan]

Yes, I totally agree - Kevin Long is to blame for the HP umpire calling strikes on balls that would have hit a RHH in the back.

He has got to go.

[4bronxbombers]

I started the same thread last year and got lambasted for suggesting part of it could be his fault.

[Battingly]

Yes, I totally agree - Kevin Long is to blame for the HP umpire calling strikes on balls that would have hit a RHH in the back.

He has got to go.

I agree, the HP Umpire was brutal today and that last Cano AB was laughable. He called two pitches in a row strikes that were two feet outside.

Honestly, if I was Cano I would have lost it on those calls and got thrown out of the game. That was just FU level egregious, like he was deliberately trying to antagonize Cano, and I don't know how he didn't snap.

I would have been like, you know what, throw me out of the game, I don't give a ****, but I'm calling a ***** ******

[yankees2010]

I don;t think a hitting coach makes one bit of difference but if you have one, and hit like this across 2 postseasons, he has to go

[Stick Michael]

I'm in the camp of believing Long is neither significantly helpful nor a detriment to the team's hitters during the playoffs. Most of them are experienced veterans who don't have to be told what they need to do.

Granderson improved considerably against lefties the past two seasons. Does Long deserve credit for helping him make adjustments? I'm sure he does to an extent but ultimately Granderson is the one who steps into the batter's box.

Conversely, he, Swisher and A-Rod have thusfar been god awful this postseason. Should Long take the blame for their shortcomings? Well, mechanics and fundamentals are worked on in practice, not during a game, so I doubt it.

[BobLoblaw]

I'm in the camp of believing Long is neither significantly helpful nor a detriment to the team's hitters during the playoffs. Most of them are experienced veterans who don't have to be told what they need to do.

This is my line of thinking as well. Well-stated.

[Blazer]

A club of 3 outcome hitters is obviously at a huge disadvantage in the postseason. I put this on Cashman much more than Long.

[teknetic]

Who's gonna replace him? His impact on this team isn't that big. It's not like he has a "pull everything" approach, he tried getting Tex to hit the ball to all fields earlier in the year before Tex went with his own approach. Jeter ditched him, too. Cano just needs someone to be on his ass 24/7, not a hitting "guru," Granderson/Swisher/Martin are all streaky as hell.

You have an inviting short porch and a bunch of homer happy hitters and this is what you get.

[YankeeFan1421]

I really don't know how it works within major league teams, but I tend to think that hitting coaches can be helpful if the players allow them to be helpful and are sort of irrelevant to those who don't allow them to be. I don't know how to gauge Kevin Long based on the poor production because I don't know how much guys like Swisher, ARod, Cano and Granderson give him a chance to help them.

Obviously, it's a production business and if you're the hitting coach and the offense isn't producing, you're vulnerable, but it may make absolutely no difference.

[JL25and3]

I'm in the camp of believing Long is neither significantly helpful nor a detriment to the team's hitters during the playoffs. Most of them are experienced veterans who don't have to be told what they need to do.

Granderson improved considerably against lefties the past two seasons. Does Long deserve credit for helping him make adjustments? I'm sure he does to an extent but ultimately Granderson is the one who steps into the batter's box.

Conversely, he, Swisher and A-Rod have thusfar been god awful this postseason. Should Long take the blame for their shortcomings? Well, mechanics and fundamentals are worked on in practice, not during a game, so I doubt it.

Actually, Granderson improved considerably against lefties last year, but he reverted to complete ineptitude against them this year.

[Jax Teller]

Actually, Granderson improved considerably against lefties last year, but he reverted to complete ineptitude against them this year.

Same with Cano.

.879 OPS against last year, .646 this year

[GordonGecko]

He's getting fired in the offseason for sure, but is there any precedence for bringing in additional batting coach help in the middle of the postseason?

[Philip Hughes Fan]

Actually, Granderson improved considerably against lefties last year, but he reverted to complete ineptitude against them this year.

He hit .218/.304/.458. That's not good, but it's at least passable and significantly better than his career line against them (.225/.292/.407).

[JimmyA]

Kevin Long should be Long Gone. I think they will keep him on until the end of the playoffs (which will probably be Wednesday night of this week) just out of courtesy.