It was time for the Phillies to make a significant shakeup to try to spark an offense that has been struggling to put up runs for most of the season.
The Phillies had tried to wait for the team to snap out of their funk rather than do something drastic, but with the trade deadline looming and the Phillies hole only getting deeper with each passing week, it was time for someone to take the fall.
Hitting coach Milt Thompson was that guy. Thompson isn’t the reason that the Phillies haven’t been able to hit consistently since the middle of May, but his firing may be a good thing for the Phillies.
When a coach’s message grows stale, players will stop listening and start tuning him out. Sometimes, a fresh voice with a fresh approach can make a significant difference in a team.
Look at what happened with the Flyers this season. They were playing lifeless, uninspired hockey to start the season. Though many believed John Stevens wasn’t to blame for the Flyer’s struggles he was relieved of his duties. Though it took some time, his replacement Peter Laviolette was able to get his message across to the team and they were a much different group in May than in December.
While changing hitting coaches midway through the season isn’t quite as dramatic a change as switching head coaches, it may be the wake up call some of this team’s players need.
It still isn’t too late for the Phillies to save this season. They entered Friday still only 3.5 games behind in the Wild Card race. There are a number of teams currently caught in a logjam, and none of them have been strong enough to get a comfortable lead over the rest of the pack. If the sleeping giant that is the Phillies offense were to awaken, the Phillies are still very capable of reaching the playoffs.
Probably a good move to shake things up..
Victorino needs to shorten his swing and hit the ball down on the ground more often to utilize his speed…(he has to lead the league in Pop-ups) and Werth needs to be more agreesive and not take
1st pitch down the middle all the time, oce he’s down in the count, it’s nothing than a steady diet of outside breaking balls which he struggles with.. He takes too many good pitches to hit and then is forces to swing at bad pitches…(maybe he can move a little closer to the plate also)