"Bam-Bam" Meulens is officially the new hitting coach. What looks like a Giants press release is being relayed by Comcast Sports Net, and it cites Meulens' work with John Bowker (.342 batting average in the PCL last year) and Jesus Guzman (.321) as key points on his curriculum vitae.
As of this writing (2pm PT), there's no sign of the news on the Giants' Web site, so there's a wee chance Comcast is doing something weird or perhaps posting a fake release someone slipped them. They leave me with a sliver of doubt because they originally spelled Meulens name "Neulins." It has since been corrected to "Meulins," which is still wrong. Hey, Comcast Web-posting intern: You're fired!
The other indication that something could be amiss: The announcement uses batting average as the main indicator of a hitter's Triple-A success, and as we all know, the Giants would never use such an unsophisticated tool for evaluating player performance. Oh gosh no. Never.
First question at his press conference: "Carney Lansford and most other sentient beings on the planet felt the Giants' hitting coach is doomed to fail because of the lack of organizational focus on plate discipline. How will you fix this?"
Second question: "How would you evaluate Eugenio Velez's performance after he returned to the big leagues this year? Is he ready to be a major-league leadoff hitter?"
Feel free to leave Mr. Henslow Neuwirth more questions. I will make sure they are placed in front of him on neatly-printed 3-by-5 cards.
