Steverson the new hitting coach

[Fastball23]

A very nice choice. He has been with the Oakland A's minor league system the last few years

[doublem23]

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news...&vkey=news_cws

[eriqjaffe]

Just as a bit of interesting history: While serving as an interim manager for Stockton, Steverson received a 1-year suspension for ordering pitchers to intentionally balk to end an 18-inning game. He was out of available pitchers and was trying to prevent any of the position players from getting injured.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/07/02/226...banned-by.html

[SoxSpeed22]

I like the choice. I was among many who said that the White Sox need to move away from their current hitting philosophy. This is a nice hire.

[BainesHOF]

I like this move a lot.

Unfortunately, Ventura is returning. That tells me the organization isn't interested in going all the way to get better. He managed one of the biggest fade jobs in team history in 2012 and a complete abomination in 2013. How in the world do you bring him back with a straight face?

[DeadMoney]

I'm just glad we're not hiring someone from within (whether it be by current job, or past playing days).

So even though I have no clue who this guy is, I'm happy with this choice.

[russ99]

Originally Posted by SoxSpeed22

I was among many who said that the White Sox need to move away from their current hitting philosophy.

Doesn't seem like this is the case with Steverson.

The article mentions that he has a similar aggressive philosophy as Manto, though he refers to it as "under-control aggression". We'll see if that's the case.

What is so wrong with taking a pitch or working the count? Swinging early and swinging at every strike plays right into a opposing pitcher's plan.

[palehosepub]

I really like the move, we need to adopt a hitting philosophy more like Boston / Oakland where the batters see a lot of pitches, focus more on OBP, and are much better at situational hitting.

Any chance he is bilingual? With our young future stars like Abreu and Av. Garcia it would be a big plus.

[palehosepub]

Originally Posted by russ99

Doesn't seem like this is the case with Steverson.

The article mentions that he has a similar aggressive philosophy as Manto, though he refers to it as "under-control aggression". We'll see if that's the case.

What is so wrong with taking a pitch or working the count? Swinging early and swinging at every strike plays right into a opposing pitcher's plan.

Its hard to believe that Steverson would have a distinctly different hitting philosophy than the rest if the Oakland organization, I would think it would follow the same approach whether you call it "controlled aggression" or something else

[SoxSpeed22]

Originally Posted by russ99

Doesn't seem like this is the case with Steverson.

The article mentions that he has a similar aggressive philosophy as Manto, though he refers to it as "under-control aggression". We'll see if that's the case.

What is so wrong with taking a pitch or working the count? Swinging early and swinging at every strike plays right into a opposing pitcher's plan.

There's a difference between aggression and recklessness. We saw way too much recklessness last year.
The biggest thing that stands out for me with this hire, is that he wants hitters to have an approach for attacking the pitcher. Countless times last year, Frank and Melton talked about how hitters had no plan, or clue, at the plate.
As far as aggressiveness goes, Steverson talks about hitting your pitch and understanding what the opposing pitcher has to do to succeed. Swinging at strikes is easier said than done, but swinging at good strikes to hit is more important.
If the pitcher is painting the corners and mixing up his pitches well, not much can be done, but cashing in on opportunities and fouling off pitches to increase the chances of those opportunities is something that must be done for the Sox to win.