As the Tigers continue to flail at the plate, hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh is becoming the target of public ire. But A.J. Hinch says making a change to the coaching staff isn’t the answer to the team’s offensive woes.
“I totally understand the scrutiny and the scapegoat part, but it’s a 24-hour news cycle and you still wake up and have an offense that’s below average right now. So other than making you feel better, I don’t know that it’s a justifiable move,” Hinch said Wednesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. “Obviously it’s a performance league. Whether it’s the players, coaches, me, we’ve gotta get this thing more stable.”
The Tigers offense had another frustrating night in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the White Sox. It was the club’s 30th time in 61 games this year scoring two runs or fewer. Detroit is the only team in the majors with fewer than 200 runs. It is the only team in the majors with fewer than 40 homers. It is the only team in the majors with a sub-.600 OPS.
It is on pace to be the only team in the majors in the last 50 years to score fewer than 500 runs in a full season.
Still, Hinch won’t pin this on Coolbaugh, one of his first hires as Tigers manager. Coolbaugh came to Detroit after serving as assistant hitting coach for the White Sox in 2020, following a three-year stint as hitting coach for the Orioles. Nor will Hinch point the finger at Mike Hessman, who was promoted to assistant hitting coach from Triple-A Toledo midway through last season.
“Right now, our messages are consistent,” said Hinch. “If we had philosophical differences, I would understand the changes and scapegoats. I just want us to win today’s game and I want better times because when we had 12 hits (in Monday’s loss), same hitting coach. When we won four out of five against a first-place Minnesota Twins team 10 days ago, same hitting coach. We’re not off scot-free, but I’m also not sure that’s the solution.”
The Tigers scored 21 runs over five games in that series win over the Twins. They’ve scored 22 runs in 10 games since. Five of their top six hitters in plate appearances this season are batting .200 or lower, including $140 million free agent Javier Baez. The only one who isn’t is 39-year-old Miguel Cabrera, whose 21 RBI are first on the Tigers and tied for 150th in the majors. Even their offensive leaders are toward the back of the big-league pack.
Jeimer Candelario is tied for first on the Tigers in homers (5) – and tied for 133rd in the majors. Jonathan Schoop is first on the Tigers in extra-base hits (16) – and tied for 125th in the majors. Spencer Torkelson is first on the Tigers in walks (22) – and tied for 72nd in the majors.
“It’s hard because you look at Robbie Grossman’s breakthrough last year and Robbie Grossman this year, similar message, same hitting coaches. I’ve moved him down in the order now because he’s not getting on base and not having the same quality of at-bats. Jonathan Schoop, same thing,” said Hinch.
Under Coolbaugh’s coaching, Grossman hit a career-high 23 homers last season. He has zero this season. Schoop hit .278 last season, as he did the prior season under former Tigers hitting coach Joe Vavra. He’s hitting .189 this season. Baez’s first 50 games as a Tiger have been an abject disaster. He’s hitting .188 with the highest whiff and chase rates of his career.
“I didn’t think we were going to necessarily be the most consistent offense, but we expected more,” said Hinch. “We have a number of guys that are performing at career lows and that is not a recipe for fun, so obviously our guys are getting frustrated. It is mid-June. I think it’s weighing on some guys a little bit, as it should. At this level when you’re competing nightly, there’s no free pass.”
Hinch had this to say on Baez in particular:
“I don’t like the place that he’s in mentally, because he does care. (The way) he carries himself, you can see the frustration in his body language. The defense has been plus, some of those plays are remarkable, but generally when you sign a big free agent I don’t think many people want to talk about defense. They all want to talk about offense. …
“Again, the approach is going to be grading himself on the quality of pitches he’s swinging at, not necessarily the results. The results should come after that. But it’s been a bad stretch for him to start his Tigers career, and he knows it and he cares. I think that’s the most important thing for fans to know. But he’s gotta come inside the strike zone. I know it sounds simple, but that’s really the only solution: swing at strikes.”
As for shaking up his coaching staff, Hinch would say it’s no solution at all.
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