Mailbag: Will slow start offensively lead to Mariners firing their hitting coach?

The Twitter mailbag has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list following a successful rehab stint in Tacoma. It’s all about finding a consistent approach moving forward while not trying to do too much (always). It’s trusting your preparation and process. The results will come.

As always, these are real questions submitted by the hitting gurus also known as my Twitter followers.

Do you see the Mariners firing their Hitting Coach? And if the answer is no then why not? — @gingerfitdad

I guess it could happen if the Mariners were looking for a scapegoat to their offensive woes and the struggles of players such as Teoscar Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh could lead them to fire Tony Arnerich or Jarret DeHart or both. They can’t really fire Teoscar Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez or Cal Raleigh for performing poorly at the plate.

If that happened, it would basically be a ceremonial move or something the players refer to as “eye wash.”

There was a time where the Mariners were cycling through hitting coaches at a higher rate than Spinal Tap went through drummers. I think I’ve covered at least a dozen of them, if not more. Who remembers Jeff Pentland or Chris Chambliss? If only one of those many former Mariners hitting coaches had a nickname like “Stumpy.”

I think there is a general misconception on what it is that hitting coaches do for a team. My thinking certainly changed when I started covering baseball and got to see it up close.

My simplest definition of a hitting coach is being a conduit for players to find success at the plate through preparation and analysis.

They are there to help hitters go through lengthy daily progressions well before batting practice. They also hold the daily hitters meetings to go over data and information from the Mariners’ advanced scouting department and present to the players.

Players have their own swings they develop and hone during the offseason usually with their own personal hitting coaches. Jarred Kelenic worked with new coaches this offseason to revamp his swing. Taylor Trammell and J.P. Crawford went to Driveline Baseball.

The hitting coach(es) work with each player to understand the unique aspects of their swings and what makes them successful while also being able to understand why it gets out of sync. Realistically, the fundamental keys for any swing are largely the same. Players rarely make significant changes during the season unless it’s out of absolute necessity.

Hitting coaches helped convince Kolten Wong to scrap his big front leg kick on his swing and simplify it by using a “toe tap” to get him in a more balanced position to hit pitches. Mariners coaches noticed Crawford was reverting away from the changes made this offseason, particularly the starting position of his hands in his setup. After Crawford started slowly, they showed him that his hands were getting too high. He made the change, and he’s been one of their most consistent hitters since.

For Rodriguez and Hernandez, their issues are largely based on their approach at the plate. Both have been trying to swing their way out of slumps, being overly aggressive on pitches that aren’t necessarily conducive for quality contact. Hernandez’s chase rate on pitches out of the zone is at 36.1%, which is the highest of his career. He’s swinging at 52.1% of the pitches he’s seeing. And right now, many aren’t strikes.

Rodriguez hasn’t adjusted to the scouting report of fastballs inside to get ahead and soft breaking pitches away. He knows what pitchers are trying to do, but he’s also trying to get the big hit and will the Mariners out of their offensive doldrums.

They’ve told Hernandez and Rodriguez that their approach needs to change. Hernandez and Rodriguez understand that their approach needs to change. And yet … they are human. They can get caught up in the emotion of the game — the adrenaline of runners in scoring position, the frustration of failure and the impatience of not producing at normal levels.

Once Rodriguez and Hernandez step into the batter’s box in a game, the at-bat belongs to them, not the hitting coaches.  

It reminds me of line in one of my favorite movies — Vision Quest. No, it’s not: “Think you’ll make the weight?”

It’s when Louden Swain screams at Otto: “wrestling is not a team sport! When you’re out there on the mat with another guy who’s quicker and faster than you, there’s not a whole helluva lot a team can do for you.”

And cue John Waite’s “Change” to start playing.

When Rodriguez or Hernandez steps into the batter’s box to face a pitcher throwing 95 mph with nasty breaking stuff, there’s not a whole helluva lot that a hitting coach can do for him. Their work is done for that moment. And it’s all on the player.  

Do you see a glaring “problem area” for the M’s — other than the need for Julio, Teoscar & Wong to simply hit like their traditional selves? Miller and Kelenic have certainly been positive surprises. Am I nuts for still being very optimistic? — @DNFWing

It’s not optimistic. It’s realistic to think that players such as Hernandez, Rodriguez and Wong will start to produce close to their levels of past production. That’s kind of how baseball works. If I had a dollar for every time someone references a player’s performance and the back of his baseball card, I could afford to buy a City Connect hat.

Despite the injuries to Robbie Ray and Andres Munoz, the Mariners pitching has been outstanding this season. Per FanGraphs, the pitching staff has produced an 8.0 wins above replacement — the highest in MLB. If the Mariners offense could just produce at adequate or average levels, they wouldn’t have a losing record.

The Mariners are 4-11 in one-run games this season. It would be more like 9-6 if their offense was performing up to expectations. My Twitter mentions would also have a very different tone.

What happened to Controlling The Zone? — @BPLyons11

Sometimes you control the zone, and sometime the zone controls you. Remember, the philosophy isn’t only based on hitting but also pitching. The easy measure is looking at pitcher strikeouts and hitter walks as positive values and hitter strikeouts and pitcher walks as negative values.

Mariners hitters have drawn 122 walks and struck out 362 times, which is the most in MLB. Their pitchers have struck out 346 batters (sixth-most in MLB) and walked 101 (tied for the fewest in MLB). But the positives — 346 pitcher strikeouts and 122 hitter walks (468) — are still ahead of the negatives — 362 hitter strikeouts and 101 pitcher walks (462). While a +4 in the Control the Zone equation is still better than a negative, the Mariners want to be much higher to the positive side.   

How often do you contemplate stealing [Mariners team dog] Tucker and disappearing into the Montana wilderness? — Soggy Moose

Every. Damn. Day.

And now I’ve incriminated myself when it happens.

What percentage are you salty on Twitter because it’s fun versus salty because we’re exhausting? — @GarrettMImeson

To modify a line from the movie “Funny Farm.” I wake up each morning filled with hopes and dreams, and then I open Twitter and see those hopes and dreams crushed before my very eyes.

But the percentage: 50-50.