Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez shares honest take on Sean Casey's arrival
New York Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez has shared his take on the club’s polarizing move to fire hitting coach Dillon Lawson and replace him with former MLB Network analyst Sean Casey.
Lawson took the fall for the Yankees’ offensive struggles this season, as his departure was made official on Sunday night. The club wasted no time in naming a replacement, with Sean Casey being announced officially the following evening.
.@AROD offers his insight on the Yankees hiring new hitting coach, Sean Casey 👂⬇️ https://t.co/1jNPul6vxw
Alex Rodriguez believes that Casey’s arrival could really help address the Yankees' offensive shortcomings, not just this season, but also in the long run should the club decide to keep him on. Speaking on Fox Sports ahead of the All-Star Game, A-Rod said,
“I think good news is, it's at least a name that we recognize, a guy that's been around the game that's been very, very successful… He's one of the best communicators in the game, one of the most likable guys. I think long-term, he can be a really, really good coach.”
Casey, a former three-time All-Star with a career .302 batting average over 12 seasons in the major leagues, shared the field with current Yankees manager Aaron Boone during their time together at the Cincinnati Reds between 1998 and 2003. Coincidentally, Aaron Boone was also working as an analyst when the Yankees signed him in 2017.
Alex Rodriguez feels the club has ‘divorced’ the core values of Yankee baseball
Alex Rodriguez took the opportunity to raise some broader questions about the Yankees' organizational philosophy regarding the use of analytics. Considering the team's illustrious history with 27 World Championships, Rodriguez wonders why they have delved into the depths of analytics, only to be met with disappointment.
“My bigger question is the macro. If you're the New York Yankees and you've won 27 world championships, and you go into this dive, analytics, and you're 0-for-15, I would throw all that analytics in the garbage, and get back to playing hard school Yankee baseball, which, for some reason, we've divorced, and it's just bad.” - Alex Rodriguez
The absence of Aaron Judge has undoubtedly been a major blow to the team. Seasoned veterans like Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton have also experienced their fair share of difficulties.
The Yankees head into the break with Stanton batting .203 and Rizzo hitting .168 with no homers and seven RBIs since his May 28 neck injury. Josh Donaldson sits at a meager .152 average, while DJ LeMahieu has dipped to .220 after a slump. Will Sean Casey’s arrival serve as the catalyst for a second-half Yankees resurgence? Only time will tell.