Fifth ... I am unaware of anyone in the mainstream media — or anyone with even a somewhat elevated media profile — that has called for Mabry to be fired. Or even said that Mabry was a rotten hitting coach. Or that the weak offense is all his fault. Personally speaking, all I've done this season was talk about the elevated GB rate and GB/fly rate and how that factors into the extreme shortage of HR power. And I've said that when so many hitters are displaying the same traits, then the approach should be scrutinized.

Which is exactly what happens in any profession when there are performance-related issues. When I did sports-talk radio on a daily basis, I was held accountable for my ratings. If the ratings performance dropped, then my approach to the show — everything I did — was scrutinized by superiors. We'd look at every segment of the show, and it was torn down to extent, and I was pushed to make it better. A focus group would come in and if they didn't like an aspect of the performance, they'd pound me with criticism. No harm. No foul. That's the way it's supposed to be. So I have no idea why Matheny and Mabry apparently believe they should be exempted from this. You have to prove yourself ... every ... single ... day in baseball.