This Week In Yankees Baseball: Time For Paulie Or Tino As Hitting Coach

Well, hello there everybody. Welcome to This Week In Yankees Baseball. Yes, The Bronx Bombers are struggling mightily at the plate. So the time has come for a new direction at hitting coach.

It´s a difficult move for the Yankees brass. After all, Kevin Long had a wonderful run, especially from 2007 through 2010. The Yankees led MLB in runs, hits, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage and total bases in 2007. That´s equivalent to a Triple Crown for a hitting coach! In 2009, when the Yankees won their 27th World Series Title, they topped the American League in runs once again.

But for whatever reason, the current club is not able to respond to Long´s tutelage day in and day out. While some may question whether the success Long has enjoyed was directly attributable to having batters who were able come through in the clutch, that suggestion seems a little unfair. The Yankees are loaded with players who have produced consistently throughout their careers, but have not done that this year.

What the Yankees need now is to shake things up-bring in some new blood at hitting coach. The top candidate should be Paul O’Neill. Paulie was one of those guys who always found a way to get the job done. He made himself into a dependable and clutch hitter. And with his managerial aspirations, the Yankees should grab him while they still have the chance.

The other obvious candidate is Tino Martinez. Tino could have a chip on his shoulder due to his falling out with the Marlins. He may be just the right guy because he is hungry with something to prove. He may find more success working with veterans who are mature enough to want to get better. With the Marlins, he was dealing with a bunch of young, disrespectful cry babies.

In any case, Paulie and Tino would both bring an emotional  element to the table that could help jolt the Yankees back into the offensive powerhouse that helped them win their last championship, and return them to being The Bronx Bombers.

How about that!