The Sox held two meetings Saturday, one a players-only session after batting practice, the other a chat involving manager Jerry Manuel and veterans Albert Belle, Jaime Navarro, Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura.
The firing of hitting coach Ron Jackson and pitching coach Mike Pazik was discussed, but there was more, particularly in Manuel’s talk with the vets.
Manuel wanted to allay suspicions that the Sox are about to go spinning off in new directions with new coaches or that the program is in any way unsettled. The hiring of Nardi Contreras to work with pitchers and Von Joshua to tutor hitters emphasizes the Sox’s commitment to young players, but Manuel doesn’t want any youth-vs.-vets issue or the coaching changes to divide his team.
“Whatever we do, we can’t continue to separate,” Manuel said. “We have to somehow pull together, and this is an easy issue for separation. I wanted to explain that to them, and that if we could make this as positive as possible and give it every chance, it’ll help turn things around for us.”
Jackson and Pazik were well-liked by players, and some of the players-only talk was about being accountable. Two coaches are out of jobs because some players aren’t doing theirs.
“We haven’t played well so I guess someone had to take the fall for it,” Thomas said. “It’s unfortunate when people lose their jobs, but this is the business we work in. I’ve seen so many coaches and players fired in the last eight, nine years, I’m numb to it.”
Pace of change: Manuel suggested Friday that a multiplayer roster shuffle could be in the offing if his team, especially the pitching staff, did not start improving. Not so fast, says General Manager Ron Schueler.
Schueler acknowledged the frustration with the pitching performances. But perhaps out of loyalty to his friend Pazik, whom he had to fire Saturday, Schueler pointed out some positives.
“Every night we’re sending the same relievers into the game and they’re giving up one or two runs,” Schueler said. “But I see signs that some of our guys are getting better. They’re changing speeds, throwing strikes, and it’s got to continue. At a certain point you get tired of making coaching changes.”
But he stayed away from the sort of thinly veiled threat of mass demotions suggested by Manuel. The Sox now have new pitching and hitting coaches, and “right now I want to see how we respond to this change,” Schueler said.
In relief: Closer Matt Karchner was brought off the disabled list Saturday after his hernia surgery, and left-handed reliever Larry Casian was designated for assignment.
