Dear Cincinnati Reds: I Have a Good Idea

This season has left much to be desired for Reds fans and, as always, has left a lot of concerns to be dealt with.

There is a concern for many Reds fans that  isn’t exactly issue numero uno , but it is still an issue that I would like to bring attention to.

Hitting Coach Brook Jacoby.

What exactly does he do? Jacoby has been given plenty of talent to work with: Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, etc., but the results we see on the field and on the baseball cards have been spotty at best.

I will freely admit that I know very little about Brook Jacoby or the job he does as hitting coach. I will also admit that I have no idea how much he is to blame for Jay Bruce’s .240 BA over the past two seasons, or the lack of consistency we see from Brandon Phillips. With that being said, I’m not going to attempt to make a case against Brook Jacoby, but I do think that the coaching staff needs to be shaken up beyond replacing Dick Pole.

The reason I bring up Brook Jacoby is not so much because I think he’s a bad hitting coach (even though I do), it’s more because I think Rudy Jaramillo is a great hitting coach.

Rudy Jaramillo has been with the Texas Rangers since 1995, but has recently stated that he will not be returning to the club as hitting coach in 2010. Jaramillo is well-known for being one of the best hitting instructors in the game today. In fact, Mark DeRosa likes him so much that he hired him to be his personal instructor this past offseason.

With a guy like that on the market and the Reds organization being so full of young hitters, why not make a move for this guy? It probably won’t be cheap, but the results could pay out in a big way for the club. 

In my opinion, this would go a long way in showing the fans that the Front Office is committed to producing a winner. I’m not saying that Rudy Jaramillo will equal success (because Texas obviously hasn’t enjoyed much of that), but when a coach of this caliber becomes available, you should try to add that piece to your puzzle.