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Moe Dawg is thinking of all the high-handicappers' swings he's successfully fixed.  He sez,

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The discussion on the air about Edgar's tweaking of Trumbo was interesting......but I thought a pretty technical fix to implement in the middle of the season.  Trumbo has been terrible as a Mariner, 1 for his last 27 as we speak (my goodness, his OPS is .361 and his OPS+ is 4!!!),  but he's likely slumped before and figured it out.  If we're attempting tweaks that he's never used before, well then I'm not optimistic we get full benefit.  He's an experienced pro with some slugging pedigree, what has worked before will likely work again.  And it will be something that he has buy-in on.

Edgar was a great hitter, but his success at a hitting coach will revolve around his ability to simplify his instruction.  

The hardest skill to "master" in sport may be hitting a MLB pitcher; if you're approaching the plate with a bunch of technical thoughts bouncing around in your head then you're lost.  I dn't know much about hitting a baseball, but I know more than a bit about teaching/coaching.  KISS, Edgar.

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To bolster that, Jack Nicklaus said that ONE swing key at approach is okay in golf; TWO thoughts is maximum.  If a guy is going through a checklist in his head, forget it.  And the golf ball isn't going anwhere.  Imagine trying to think about your approach while a boxer is attacking you.  Boxing, and baseball hitting, is instinctive.  As Yogi said, "How do you expect a guy to think and hit at the same time?"

In Yaz' autobiography, he talks about Teddy Ballgame fixing him when he was in slumps.  Super, super simple.  It boiled down to "look for your pitch" and "Be quick - QUICK!"  Just over and over again.  Yaz would say, "I am being quick!"  Teddy would watch him hit, and go, "You're not being quick.  Here's why."

In fairness to Blowers, that's kinda what he was talking about, in terms of Trumbo's hand press in order to be quicker to the ball.

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The thing is, if you watch the M's hitters (vs the enemy hitters) there is often a huge difference in quickness.  The Royals especially, whoa doggie.  Whereas the M's, as a lineup, many of them are doing Justin Smoak pre set launch thingies.  Way too much loading and guessing, and they guess a few wrong, and then they're confused, rattled, and in between.  Smoak and Morales did much better this year the moment they left Seattle.  

I was absolutely amazed to hear Edgar's and Blowers' "discovery" that Trumbo was mashing BP pitching -- seeing how far he could hit the ball against 80 MPH fastballs -- and that this could hurt him once game speed came at him.  It's another tipoff (to us as distant fans) that quickness has not been Trumbo's focus.  And it's morally annoying, that you face LeBron tonight and you're preparing by scrimmaging against 8th-graders, enjoying your 91-17 victories against them.  Why don't you have the BP pitcher move up to 30' from the plate?

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Lots of reason for hope that Edgar = Leaving Seattle.  Edgar could be the hitting coach in KC, right?  We fans can think of him as another org's approach?  Edgar could let the pitch travel all day, take the ball out of the catcher's mitt and rope it down the RF line.

So, 

1. It's another fun mode you can use to watch a game.  Hitters' quickness.
2. Edgar could offer real hope.  He was a wrists guy with quickness turned up to 11.  

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Moe continues,

And at some point, the best solution may be to sit Trumbo for a few games and let him get hitting out of his head.  I think right now I would actually tell him, "no BP for you!"  The guy has come to the plate almost 2500 times in his career.  It is unlikely he has forgotten how he hit decently for the 2400 PA's before he came to Seattle.  He's 29 years old, it is unliklely he's suddenly became physically enfeebled.  

Perhaps Sims and Blowers overcomplicated Edgar's teaching approach [no doubt - Dr. D].  Perhaps Edgar is having him think about one simple thing in order to achieve something physical and Sims/Blowers referenced the physical thing that Edgar/Trumbo are hoping to achieve.

I hope that is it.  

When Edgar told Ackley to "be greedy!" after two previous hits, I loved that approach.  

A ripping Trumbo would help cure a bunch of our ails.  

Go team.

- See more at: http://seattlesportsinsider.com/blogs/sabermetrics/nelson-cruz-and-the-m...

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