Some Gross leftovers
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Some Gross leftovers
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Sometimes you write a story for the newspaper and you run out of room to get everything in. Unlimited space is the beauty of the internet age.
I wrote a story about former Phillies hitting coach Greg Gross for Sunday and had some leftover quotes. Here are the leftovers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I love leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
I asked Gross about several of the Phillies’ hitters, including the exiled Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino, and here’s what he had to say.
On Pence: “I think Hunter put a lot of pressure on himself. With other guys out, he felt like he had to carry the team. People who watched, I think they saw a different player compared to when he came over the second half of the previous season.”
On Victorino: “Shane, I think the whole free agency thing … I don’t think he responded well to that situation. In the end, he ends up doing pretty well for himself (with Boston). If he had known during the year that was going to end up what it was going to be, he would have been more relaxed.”
On Domonic Brown: “I don’t think Domonic ever got comfortable. He never has been at any level for a whole season and the game at the top level is difficult. That learning curve in a situation where you’re expected to win is going to be really short. The patience is not going to be that long. A second-division club is totally different for a young player. They learn that way. In a situation like the Phillies have been in since 2006, the leash is going to be real short.”
On Chase Utley: “He’s played catch up for two straight seasons. You don’t just jump in and play the game at this speed. It just doesn’t happen. It’s one thing to go through spring training and then get hurt, but when you go from October all the way through June without playing, that’s asking a lot. He’s a guy I really pull for to get through spring training. He’s one of the best workers I’ve ever been around. They had two of the best there: one was him and the other was Juan Pierre.”
On Ryan Howard: “They got away from the lineup they had when Jayson Werth left. They banged the ball and everybody did. I don’t know if he’d admit it, but with things going the way they’re going, he feels like he has to hit three-run home runs all the time to help pick up the team. I think that expands the strike zone. He chases more pitches than he did in the past. I think it’s human nature. No matter how good you are, you need help.
“Plus, he’s been in the league a lot longer. The pitching over the years, they pitch him a little different than they did in years before. Pitching in our division is also a lot better over the last few years. When you see Washington and Atlanta 18 times a year, you’re seeing good pitching. It’s like when we’d go into a place, you’d see good hitters go bad depending on who they were facing those three games. Halladay, Hamels and Lee make a lineup look sick.”
I think all of us could have done without the "leftover" quotes from Gross. It's a cheap way to fill a column and nobody cares what this loser has to say. That said, there is some truth in the specualtion re Manuel not allowing Gross to do his job. Cholly had a lackluster career as an active player and had to go to Japan where longball hitters are worshiped. Now he thinks he can fix whatever is wrong with a player's swing. He can't. Take a look at Howard's offensive dropoff since 2008.— 1republican- I agree. I liked GG as a player. I liked him less when I got to see him on the bench regularly. He just looked so damn miserable. I used to wonder how young players would respond to that sort of demeanor. With this article he comes across as even a bigger loser. He should have said nothing and just moved on. — s
- I agree that Gross looked "damned miserable". But, in my opinion (and I've already made this comment) I think he was miserable due to the fact that his boss (Manuel) was countermanding a lot of what he was telling the hitters to do. If you had a boss that continually countered your philosophy at your job, you'd be miserable too.
- It's not a column, it's an internet post. It's purely leftover material - Brookover makes that very clear in the first paragraph. "Nobody cares" what Gross has to say, yet you took the time to not only read what he had to say, but to comment on it. Obviously, you must care. — Jeff Dowder
- Just in passing, I've noticed your "handle" before. Let me guess, you've GOT to be a fan of the Phil Hendrie show. So am I.
- @ghost, just my own curiosity here...which of the prior posters was the subject of this last post and what is the hook? I know the Hendrie show and I'm not seeing the connection. — advantasux
- Jeff Dowder (actually Phil Hendrie), the spaced out California guy that acted really stupid and, on occasion, while talking with a real caller, would take a "hit" on a bong.
- got it. "Jeff Dowder", now I understand. Wasn't sure who you were speaking to with all the comments you've posted today.
Dude, you're on fire and have been for a few weeks now. You need to save something for the season, especially if they come out of the gate 10 - 20, or something like that.
As I write all the time, I hope your concerns and mine and those of @war, @copper and a few others, prove to be wrong, and I know you feel the same way. My kids and I live for the Phils' success, thought it was sustainable with the levels of money they continue to spend each season, and can't believe how fast it seems to have all come crashing down.
Man, I hope we are wrong!— advantasux - I ABSOLUTELY want to be wrong! I want us to win another 102. I've lived, and usually died, with this team for about as long as you, since '62 for me. I just retired, so I've got a lot more time to "haunt" these boards than I did before. I want the best for our team, just like you my friend. That's why I'm frustrated with Amaro's inaction in the last two off-seasons and the continual mismanagement of the team by a fraud posing as a "hitting guru". Sorry for the tough words, but I'm really sick of the latest version of the "Happy the Clown" show. I watched it enough growing up back in the late 50s/early 60s.
- my best wishes for your good health, my friend. — advantasux
- The great thing about writing sports columns for either newspapers or on the internet is the don't have to be timely, don't have to have a point, and they can be nothing than space filler, blithered up so the sportshack will be paid!
GOOD GRIEF GELB! If you have NOTHING to say, SAY nothing!
I know. I know. That's a really difficult concept (idea) for a sportshack!— BEMiller - Well at least Gross was observant on one matter - he noticed Ryan Howard EXPANDED the strike zone. Howard chased pitches 3 feet outside the strike zone. Will Howard learn the strike zone in 2013?? Old habits are hard to break! What a waste of $25 mil per year of resources!?— johnpaulcpa
- I'm always left wondering if hitting coaches can really make a difference. Many players are so programmed with what they've done for years that they find it hard to change. Remember how bad the experiment to change Domonic Brown's swing went a few years ago. On the other hand, when Howard moved closer to the plate back in 2011 it seemed to help. I think that was Charlie's advice though (probably others as well). And he ended up reverting back to his old stance ...— s
- why do players go into slumps? if you can come up with the answer to that wee query, we can forget about all the cockamamie stats, sabershmetrics, war, peace, oi vey...plus you'd be the richest human on the planet. the only true stat is the analysis of what goes on in an athlete's head to make him 'hot' or 'cold' for long periods of time, but not in my lifetime is this going to be found. ryan howard happens to be in a mega-year slump. his head is clogged with dreck from his hitting guru-some and others (plus he's one mighty stubborn dude). find a way to steam-clean the guy's mind, let him go up there and use his once-sweet latent talent to whack a baseball, and we're parading down broad street once more. hitting coaches/gurus do more to muck up a natural hitter (i'm including domonic here) than they ever do good.— bubba church & granny hamner
