Reaction: Seitzer Criticizes New Approach

In case you haven't had the opportunity to read Jeffrey Flanagan article from earlier today regarding Kevin Seitzer's take on the Royals new hitting approach, please read here before continuing.

It doesn't come as a shock that Seitzer would be critical of the Royals approach, but there were a couple of quotes in the article that really stood out. The first was the following:

“That’s just not true. We went with the oppo-approach when we were down in the count, which is what all good hitters do. The key to being a good hitter is putting the ball in play — you increase your odds dramatically by keeping the ball in play. And we did that. I saw a lot of these young guys really start to figure things out as the year went on."

This quote came in response to Ned's explanation that part of the problem was Seitzer is that he emphasized only getting guys to hit to the middle and opposite field. Obviously, that is a major part of Seitzer's game plan with hitters, but I don't fault Seitzer for going out of his way to clarify his true philosophies moving forward.

Of course, these two things would lead me to believe one of two things:

1. There were communication issues between Kevin Seitzer and Ned Yost. 
2. Ned Yost exaggerated Seitzer's approach to justify his decisions.

Regardless of which of these two things were more representative of the truth, it is apparent that for Kansas City it was time for a change. Also, as I previously stated, I do not fault Seitzer for wanting to get his true philosophies out into the open. However, I don't necessarily think it looks good on Seitzer to go on and offer critical feelings regarding the Royals change in approach. 

“Personally, I think it’s a recipe for disaster,” Seitzer said. “And there aren’t too many hitting coaches who wouldn’t agree. You start committing yourself too early on pitches and a lot of bad things can happen. You’ve got less time to react and you’re going to see a lot of foul balls or weak ground balls."

I'm not saying that I disagree with Seitzer's concerns. Quite frankly, I have no right to speak on the subject, but Seitzer's logic makes sense. Also, I can't blame Seitzer for bitterness, but like I said it isn't very becoming of him to trash his replacement's philosophies. Of course, the ironic thing is that after Seitzer felt it necessary to clarify his own philosophies, he then took the time to make negative comments on another hitting coaches strategies. A bit hypocritical don't you think?