NEW YORK -- The news that the Yankees had dismissed their hitting coach, Jeff Pentland, after one season despite the club showing offensive improvement drew the sympathy of his predecessor, Kevin Long, who suffered the same fate at the end of the 2014 season.
"I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t like to see anybody lose their job. I’m good friends with Jeff and I feel for him," said Long, now the hitting coach for the Mets, who are in the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs.
But when asked if a club could honestly blame a hitting coach for one month of poor production -- the Yankees offense fell off markedly in September as the team lost eight of its last 13 games, including the wild-card play-in game to the Houston Astros and their Cy Young candidate, Dallas Keuchel -- Long responded with a knowing smile.