INDIANS INSIDER
Murray's firing 'best for the players'
Monday, June 06, 2005
Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Chicago- When a team goes south and a season buckles, coaches often are fired to ease the pressure on the manager and general manager. It's a fact of life in baseball.
Manager Eric Wedge, one of the men who fired Indians hitting coach Eddie Murray on Saturday, knows that, and it doesn't bother him.
"That's the layup thing to say," said Wedge, when asked if Murray's firing was done to deflect criticism from him and General Manager Mark Shapiro. "If people want to say that, I don't [care].
"I try to make decisions based on what is best for the players. That's what I did here. I don't make decisions like this lightly."
Murray is the third coach Wedge has fired since becoming manager in 2003. Pitching coach Mike Brown didn't make it out of spring training in 2003. Dave Keller, assistant hitting coach, was fired before the end of the 2003 season.
They were not Hall of Famers like Murray.
Derek Shelton, Indians minor-league hitting coordinator, arrived in Chicago before Sunday's game to replace Murray. The former minor-league catcher has been in the system for three years. He does not have 3,000 hits or 500 homers like Murray, but he apparently is going to talk to reporters regularly, something that never fit into Murray's job description. "I'm going to sit back and watch for a while," said Shelton, 34. "I've worked with a lot of these guys coming through the minors."
Shelton named Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, Josh Bard, Jody Gerut and Victor Martinez as some of the players he coached in the minors.
He would not comment on the state of the Indians offense. There was no need. They entered Sunday's game ranked last in the American League in batting average (.243), runs (214), hits (449) and on-base percentage (.308).
"Communication is important for a hitting coach," Shelton said. "You have to have the ability to listen and give feedback."
Murray's firing 'best for the players'
Monday, June 06, 2005
Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Chicago- When a team goes south and a season buckles, coaches often are fired to ease the pressure on the manager and general manager. It's a fact of life in baseball.
Manager Eric Wedge, one of the men who fired Indians hitting coach Eddie Murray on Saturday, knows that, and it doesn't bother him.
"That's the layup thing to say," said Wedge, when asked if Murray's firing was done to deflect criticism from him and General Manager Mark Shapiro. "If people want to say that, I don't [care].
"I try to make decisions based on what is best for the players. That's what I did here. I don't make decisions like this lightly."
Murray is the third coach Wedge has fired since becoming manager in 2003. Pitching coach Mike Brown didn't make it out of spring training in 2003. Dave Keller, assistant hitting coach, was fired before the end of the 2003 season.
They were not Hall of Famers like Murray.
Derek Shelton, Indians minor-league hitting coordinator, arrived in Chicago before Sunday's game to replace Murray. The former minor-league catcher has been in the system for three years. He does not have 3,000 hits or 500 homers like Murray, but he apparently is going to talk to reporters regularly, something that never fit into Murray's job description. "I'm going to sit back and watch for a while," said Shelton, 34. "I've worked with a lot of these guys coming through the minors."
Shelton named Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, Josh Bard, Jody Gerut and Victor Martinez as some of the players he coached in the minors.
He would not comment on the state of the Indians offense. There was no need. They entered Sunday's game ranked last in the American League in batting average (.243), runs (214), hits (449) and on-base percentage (.308).
"Communication is important for a hitting coach," Shelton said. "You have to have the ability to listen and give feedback."
