Red Sox Fire Hitting and Pitching Coach

The Red Sox have parted ways with hitting coach Ron "Pappa Jack" Jackson and pitching coach Dave Wallace. I think this move stinks of scape goating.

David Ortiz gives Pappa Jack tons of credit for helping him become the offensive force he has become (that alone should warrant a life-time deal with Boston). When the Red Sox won it all - many were calling Jackson the best hitting coach in baseball. I realize that sometimes a change needs to be made to keep things fresh but offense did not seem to be a problem this season in my eyes.

Think about it - the Red Sox basically had a black hole offensively in the second half at catcher (.230 post all-star game between Varitek and Mirabelli - old hitters getting older). The Sox also had to deal with significant missed time by Coco Crisp, Trot Nixon, Wily Mo Pena, and Manny Ramirez. Those missed AB hurt the overall numbers but let me ask what could Pappa Jack have done to fix or avoid the injury issues?

Dave Wallace is a different story. He had major health issues but Wallace is not the guy who thought Rudy Seanez would be a good fit in the bullpen. Wallace is not the guy who traded Bronson Arroyo. And it was not Wallace who failed to make any moves at all to shore up the pitching staff at the trade deadline. Wallace should have been allowed to walk away with the health issues as the excuse. Instead he got fired.

When Theo walked away from Boston for his hiatus last fall - Larry Lucchino was painted as the ultimate plotter and schemer. Something tells me that bit of power play has Epstein written all over it. And I think it stinks.