March 27, 2006
Swinging Easy
Matt Treanor is crediting shoulder surgery with changing his swing for the better:
''[Because] I couldn't go out there and just start taking some huge hacks, I had to be more mechanical,'' Treanor said. ``Just taking some easy swings at first kind of helped me. And once I started taking live batting practice and the easy swings were producing line drives and the ball was getting some carry on it, I realized that I don't have to take a huge swing.''
A splendid defensive catcher, Treanor has been held back in the past by his bat. He played 10 full seasons in the minors, hitting just .243, before he finally got a shot in the big leagues in 2004.
Two things strike me about this:
- It's a real small sample size, so we don't know if the change is real. Once he starts facing major league pitching in real games, who knows what's going to happen.
- What does this say about coaching in the minors? Did someone ever say, "Matt, you're swinging too hard, ease up a bit." All spring long I've been reading stories about a coach telling a player something basic, and the player acting like he's never heard it before. How do teams go about hiring people to teach their prospects?
I hope it's a real improvement for Treanor, since he has a real love for the game. He's hit well enough that it looks like he'll be the starting catcher and Willingham gets placed in left.
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Posted by David Pinto at
08:43 AM
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i've wondered a LOT about coaching in the minors. a LOT. seems the people who come up the fastest and do the best are the guys who don't need coaching. but i do know that a LOT of guys get a LOT of bad advice. you hafta go with a person's strengths because you can't turn everybody into a 5 tool guy like bagwell...