Jeff Manto

[Brian26]

Does Manto deserve any of the blame in this mess?

How does he compare to Walker?

[LITTLE NELL]

Manto and Walker before him are not the problem, you can't teach stupid players how to hit. Ted Williams couldn't fix our guys.

[Noneck]

You cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

[Crestani]

Originally Posted by Brian26

Does Manto deserve any of the blame in this mess?

How does he compare to Walker?

What is really funny, (not really) is the crap Walker took and Manto has skated on this board all year...!!!

[RKMeibalane]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

Manto and Walker before him are not the problem, you can't teach stupid players how to hit. Ted Williams couldn't fix our guys.

Not until his head thaws, anyway.

[Tragg]

Since it's through 2 coaches that we can't hit and so many players take poor approaches, I tend to think it's the players and the organizational philosophy/teaching.

[RKMeibalane]

Originally Posted by Tragg

Since it's through 2 coaches that we can't hit and so many players take poor approaches, I tend to think it's the players and the organizational philosophy/teaching.

This. People forget that these problems existed long before Walker and Manto were Sox coaches. Von Joshua and Gary Ward were fired within two years of each other.

[SOXSINCE'70]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

Ted Williams couldn't fix our guys.

Originally Posted by RKMeibalane

Not until his head thaws, anyway.

Outside of the local nine's inablilty to play the game of baseball,this is the biggest laugh I've had all year.

[SOXSINCE'70]

Originally Posted by RKMeibalane

Von Joshua and Gary Ward were fired within two years of each other.

Don't forget "Papa Jack",Ron Jackson.

[gobears1987]

All of the people who hated on Walker were just looking for a scapegoat. Walker was never the problem. The players are and always have been the issue. Well that and the GM who brought them in.

[BainesHOF]

I've never seen Sox hitters look worse. If Manto isn't hurting, he sure isn't helping. His job is to help. He needs to go.

[WhiteSox5187]

Originally Posted by BainesHOF

I've never seen Sox hitters look worse. If Manto isn't hurting, he sure isn't helping. His job is to help. He needs to go.

The problem goes way beyond Manto and went beyond Walker. This is an organizational problem that is systemic at every level, we don't value walks, hitting the other way, etc. If you can hit long homeruns, you will get promoted, it doesn't matter if you can't hit anything but a high 80s fastball down the middle.

[Lip Man 1]

5187:

Well said.

Remember the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink..."

The problem is the hitters and their eight hundred foot, seven run home run philosophy which seems to be the ONLY type of hitter Kenny and crew seem to like and / or get.

It's home run or nothing, station to station softball, the bane of this organization since 2000 with the notable exception of 2005 when they had balance....home run hitting AND speed AND guys who worked counts AND guys who went the other way.

Haven't had it before or since.

Lip

[Jurr]

Yup, which is why I always HATED the Thome signing.

Is Thome a bad guy? Nope.
Is he a terrible baseball player? Absolutely not.

What he signified, though, was Kenny Williams' refusal to stick to a philosophy change.
I truly believe that NOT having a ton of power in the lineup makes you sharper as a team. You're looking to sacrifice. You're looking to execute a hit and run, because the three run homer isn't guaranteed.

Having guys like Thome and Dunn slow you down. You turn the brain volume down and stand at first or second base, hoping that they don't pull another ball right into the shift.

It's terrible baseball.

[LITTLE NELL]

Some excellent points stated here but what bothers me is why we can see the problem and have for years but management doesn't see the problem.