Should the Orioles fire Presley?
With the Baltimore Orioles in the thick of the AL playoff race, should manager Buck Showalter pull a John Harbaugh? In other words, should the Orioles fire their “offensive coordinator,” hitting coach Jim Presley, three quarters of the way through the season? I know what I’m proposing will probably be considered “absurd” or “ludicrous” but most readers but just hear me out on this one.
This past offseason the biggest thing concerning the Orioles was their pitching, not their hitting. From observing the Orioles on an everyday basis I believe their pitching, minus a few bad starts from the starters and couple of bad outings from the relievers, has been alright. When I say “alright” I mean good enough to have a three game lead in the division with 62 games left in the season.
I understand that when players are playing about 162 games per season, they will encounter some slumps along the way, both hitters and pitchers. Everyone is human and by no means is anyone, especially professional athletes, perfect. But as a fan you notice some negative aspects about your favorite team and think of ingenious ways that will make that team better.
Some of the ideas fans think of are absolutely impossible to do. One idea a few fans had is benching Chris Davis for Steve Pearce, a guy who has struggled to earn a place on a major league team the past few seasons. Davis has struggled at the plate this season after putting up career numbers last. Pearce on the other hand, has been putting up career numbers himself this year and has shown signs of letting up.
On paper the move makes sense. In reality, it does not. Even though Davis is hitting near .200, he still brings a presence to the plate that Pearce does not. The only way to bring Davis’ average up is to let him get at bats and by benching him, it is almost counterproductive.
This one idea brings me back to my own: firing Jim Presley. Since last September, I had thrown this idea around to just about everyone who would listen.
Last season, as most of you are well aware of, the Orioles did not make the playoffs. Many would say the problem was from the lack of a true number one starter. I agree with that but I will not put all the blame on that, the hitting could be blamed in the same amount.
This season, stemming from his great performance last season, the Orioles have found a number one starter in Chris Tillman. Some would even say they fixed their offensive struggles with the acquisitions of Nelson Cruz and Delmon Young.
On paper, the Orioles lineup is probably one of the most feared lineups in all of baseball and at times this lineup has been able to back that statement up. So why am I suggesting the Orioles should fire their hitting coach? It’s simple; this Orioles lineup is just too inconsistent.
On June 24, the Baltimore Orioles rank fifth in all of baseball in hits. They are fourth in the American League rankings. They rank 22 in baseball for doubles hit, 12th in the American League.
The Orioles are tied for last with the New York Mets in triples hit. They are tied for first in both the American League and MLB for homeruns hit with the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite that, the Orioles are eighth on the list in the RBI category.
The Orioles are tied for second to last in the amount of walks picked up in both the MLB and AL rankings with the Kansas City Royals. In on-base percentage, they come in at number 11 in the American League.
In the American League, they rank fourth in both slugging percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging). This last stat is probably the most debated one. The Orioles rank, surprisingly, seventh in strikeouts in the American League.
Being ranked seventh is good considering there are six teams that strikeout more and the fact that striking out means less double plays. However, that also means less balls put in play, bringing down the on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
All those rankings are from 100 played games. You cannot base a huge decision like firing a hitting coach just off these stats so take a look at the past three games, all against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
In game one, the Orioles lineup was facing Matt Shoemaker, someone who none of them had seen before. The Orioles managed to get five hits off him and score four runs in just 5.2 innings. However, they struck out 10 times. The Orioles struck out a total of 15 times by the game’s end.
In game two, the storyline was a little different. In 5.0 innings Hector Santiago held the Orioles lineup to just two hits, walk three batters and only struck out two, better than the previous night from the Orioles’ perspective.
When Santiago excited the game, the Orioles bats managed to score four runs on five hits off two relief pitchers. The Orioles won the game 4-2, same score as game one, but did not score a run until in the sixth inning.
The production, or lack thereof, from the Orioles’ lineup in the third game was understandable. They were facing Jared Weaver, a proven major league pitcher who is one of the best in the game.
Though they managed to score two runs off him, both runs were scored three innings part. Weaver pitched very well against a very good but inconsistent Orioles team and earned the win as they Angels score three runs late winning 3-2.
Other cases of the Orioles’ lineup being inconsistent come when the starting pitchers pitch very well. In these games the starting pitchers pitch deep into the games, allowing three runs or fewer, like last night, but do not get enough run support.
I think the main reason Jim Presley still has a job is because the Orioles are winning. The inconsistency is hidden amongst the wins. Like I said before, they have a three game lead in the AL East. They are not a bad team but they are not good enough to go far in the playoffs if the offense keeps playing like it has.
It has been reported that Presley lets the team be a “free swinging” team. “Free swinging” basically means that hitters do not take a lot of walks and swing at anything close to being a strike. Sounds very similar to something the Oriole hitters do.
If you would take the “free swing” approach away from this lineup and implement someone who teaches the hitters to take pitches, work walks and hit more doubles, the possibilities for this lineup are really high. Something that doe not go along with a “free swinging” approach is situational hitting.
Situational hitting is something this Orioles’ lineup is not very good at. Obviously this lineup can hit a ton of homeruns and some of the hitters are just pure power hitters. However, to make it far in the postseason good teams find a way to score by using situational hitting.
With the Orioles’ using a “free swing” method, they are not able to even get a chance at situational hitting. They do not get on base enough for that to even become a factor.
As a fan, people want the Orioles to win a World Series. If you were Buck Showalter, would you consider firing your hitting coach if it mean you had a better chance at winning a World Series?
