Always a fascinating question
Usually when a team struggles, particularly one that has talent like the Phillies do, there has to be blame pushed onto someone. No one can fire the players, much to our sometimes chagrin, so instead, the focus falls onto the coaching staff. The Phillies are not immune to this either and it has happened before. There have been multiple times that Kevin Long has been in the crosshairs of fans when the offense struggles. It’s natural that if the bats are not hitting, the hitting coach is the one to bear the brunt.
Which brings us to our question of the day: how much blame of the team’s current struggles should be put on Kevin Long’s shoulders? Is it really the fault of the hitting coach if a team laden with veterans is failing to do their jobs? One can point that the stalled development of several young-ish players is evidence that Long needs to be on the way out and that is fair. Particularly when those players are high round draft picks. But how much of the team’s current offensive struggles are on the coach and how much is on the personnel that is given to work with? It’s an interesting question.