Hitting Coach

DETROIT -- Rick Down literally feels it coming.As a long-lasting winter abruptly recedes into a short spring, the Orioles' hitting coach is confident that warmer temperatures will mean increased production from a lineup that has played second billing to the club's pitching."

On the night the Orioles gave away "Crush Davis" action figures, first baseman Chris Davis was not in Saturday's starting lineup - in part because the Seattle Mariners started tough young left-hander James Paxton . But Davis also was absent because he is trying to get his batting stroke back and was working with hitting coach Jim Presley and organizational hitting instructor Terry Crowley . Davis, who is batting .196 with 17...

As expected, the Orioles are holding on to longtime hitting coach Terry Crowley for 2008 while they move aggressively toward filling their recently created vacancy at pitching coach. Orioles manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Crowley would be returning for his 10th consecutive season as Orioles hitting coach. Crowley is the only member of the staff who was with the major league team at the beginning of 2006. "I think Crow brings stability to the coaching staff. He's well liked by the players, and ... his work ethic is exceptional," Trembley said.

The American League Most Valuable Player award will be announced tonight at 6 p.m. on MLB Network, and one person in the Orioles organization knows two of the finalists -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Orioles first baseman Chris Davis -- very well. Few coaches have worked with both sluggers as closely as Orioles hitting coach Jim Presley, who was Cabrera's hitting coach with the Florida Marlins in 2006 and 2007 before he was dealt to the Tigers. Presley, who completed his third season as Orioles hitting coach in 2013, has also worked with Davis and has played an instrumental role in Davis blossoming into one of the game's top power hitters this season.

Citing a desire for greater opportunity and responsibility, Orioles first-base coach and future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray formally accepted a position yesterday as Cleveland Indians hitting coach. "There's a chance to have a bigger role here," Murray said during an afternoon news conference held in the Indians' Jacobs Field executive offices. "In Baltimore, I didn't get to work with the hitters; we had a fine hitting coach in Terry Crowley." The Orioles announced earlier this month an intention to bring back their entire coaching staff, including Murray, but had yet to tender new contracts to him, third-base coach Tom Trebelhorn and bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, the only coaches still unsigned for next season.

The new Orioles administrative machine can move very fast, as it proved during a lightning-quick free-agent spending spree in December, and it can move very slow, as it did in completing the 1996 coaching staff.It took nearly two months, but the club finally finalized manager Davey Johnson's staff yesterday, adding hitting coach Rick Down to a staff that already included pitching coach Pat Dobson, bench coach Andy Etchebarren, bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, third base coach Sam Perlozzo and first base coach John Stearns.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- If you're looking for Orioles hitting coach Rick Down about 6: 45 a.m., don't bother checking his hotel room. The bed is empty, the television set is off, the door already has been closed behind him.At this early hour, Down is arriving at Fort Lauderdale Stadium ahead of everyone else, ready to lift weights or sift through some notes. By 8 a.m., he's tossing baseballs underhand behind a screen in the indoor batting cage.When most people are pouring milk on their cereal or wiping the sleep from their eyes, Rick Down is working up a sweat.

MILWAUKEE -- The exposure that comes from being associated with winning organizations continues to move hitting coach Rick Down closer to a managerial job. After losing out to Terry Collins last year for the Anaheim position, Down is regarded as one of the leading contenders to succeed Cito Gaston in Toronto.Down said yesterday that he expects the Blue Jays to go through the formal procedure of contacting him after the Orioles have completed their postseason run. "I hope so. I'm led to believe that, and would think so," he said.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The first thing some of the Orioles hitters noticed about new batting coach Rick Down is that he could go unnoticed. Down will stand behind the cage during batting practice and say nothing, just observing.But as soon as they ask a question, look for some input, he is ready to comply, offering suggestions. His responses often are couched in a positive way: You're doing this really well. You might want to try this, too. . . .This is Down's manner, practiced over years as a hitting coach and minor-league manager.

The Orioles are discussing a multi-faceted position with Terry Crowley, an arrangement that will end his long career as the team's hitting coach but keep him in a prominent teaching role in the organization. The details have not been finalized, according to multiple sources, and the Orioles haven't completely closed the door on Crowley returning for his 13th straight season as the team's hitting coach and his 17th overall on the staff. However, Orioles manager Buck Showalter and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail have had extensive discussions with Crowley recently about a different position, one where the 63-year-old wouldn't travel regularly with the team and be in the dugout during games.

Recently, it has become en vogue for major league clubs to hire two hitting coaches. The Braves, Cardinals and Padres all employed assistant hitting coaches last season, while the Phillies last month hired former major leaguer Wally Joyner to assist newly hired hitting coach Steve Henderson. Last week, the Dodgers hired John Valentin as assistant hitting coach under new hitting coach Mark McGwire. New Red Sox manager John Farrell has said he's considering hiring two hitting coaches to his yet-to-be-completed staff.

A snowplow driver admitted Thursday that he didn't stop after he'd struck a pedestrian during a snowstorm in January. The pedestrian, Richard Francis Oles, a retired Johns Hopkins University fencing coach, died of injuries he sustained after being clipped by the plow while walking on Mountain Road in Pasadena. Maximilian Hopkins Bode, 21, of Pasadena pleaded guilty Thursday to leaving the scene of a fatal accident. He could receive up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine when sentenced in November, when four other counts will be dropped.

With his early-season slump deepening and outside criticism of his offense growing by the day, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters turned to the videotape to try to get some positive reinforcement. What he and first-year Orioles hitting coach Jim Presley found instead was a reminder of a time when Wieters felt a lot more comfortable at the plate than he has recently. "I went back and watched some tapes from '09 and some earlier times in my career, and I think I got a little bit spread out," Wieters said.

When Adam Jones was asked recently about the differences between new hitting coach Jim Presley and his former one, Terry Crowley, the Orioles center fielder inadvertently threw a jab cushioned by the highest form of flattery. "Presley is Crow," Jones quipped. "He's just 30 years younger. " To be fair, Crowley, 64, is only 15 years older than Presley. The important part of Jones' declaration, however, is the apparently seamless transition from one of the most tenured coaches in club history to a man with a wealth of experience but a fairly low profile.

The Orioles' 2011 coaching staff is coming into focus with the hiring of hitting coach Jim Presley and bullpen coach Rick Adair, the first of six slots to be filled by manager Buck Showalter. The club isn't expected to officially announce its hires until the entire coaching staff is finalized, but an industry source said Presley and Adair both have agreed to two-year deals. The source said the Orioles could have the full staff completed within the next week. Don Wakamatsu (bench coach)

The Orioles are discussing a multi-faceted position with Terry Crowley, an arrangement that will end his long career as the team's hitting coach but keep him in a prominent teaching role in the organization. The details have not been finalized, according to multiple sources, and the Orioles haven't completely closed the door on Crowley returning for his 13th straight season as the team's hitting coach and his 17th overall on the staff. However, Orioles manager Buck Showalter and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail have had extensive discussions with Crowley recently about a different position, one where the 63-year-old wouldn't travel regularly with the team and be in the dugout during games.

ATLANTA -- His pupils are busy teaching the New York Mets a lesson, generating enough timely hits to build a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. Two more wins and the Atlanta Braves are headed to another World Series, poised to stake their claim as the team of the decade.This is a good time to be Don Baylor, the Braves' hitting coach who awaits tonight's Game 3 in New York. And it should get even better.Baylor has interviewed with three clubs for their vacant managerial positions and is considered the leading candidate in Anaheim.

When the Cleveland Indians fired hitting coach Eddie Murray in June, Mark Shapiro, the team's executive vice president and general manager, was thinking about the future, no matter how bad the present looked. On June 4, one of the top offensives in the American League a year ago was being labeled as one of the biggest disappointments. The youthful Indians ranked last in the AL in batting average (.244), runs (214), hits (449) and on-base percentage (.308). A dark horse pick to win the AL Central, Cleveland was just 25-29 on that date and had lost four straight games.

Many in the Cubs' front office think they would be foolish to give up Starlin Castro to get Curtis Granderson , but there are a lot of other ways to do the deal. General manager Jim Hendry appreciates all Granderson brings to the table, even though he has had trouble hitting left-handers in two of the last three seasons. Perhaps Granderson would benefit from working with new Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. … The Brewers apparently have decided not to re-sign catcher Jason Kendall (right)

As expected, the Orioles are holding on to longtime hitting coach Terry Crowley for 2008 while they move aggressively toward filling their recently created vacancy at pitching coach. Orioles manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Crowley would be returning for his 10th consecutive season as Orioles hitting coach. Crowley is the only member of the staff who was with the major league team at the beginning of 2006. "I think Crow brings stability to the coaching staff. He's well liked by the players, and ... his work ethic is exceptional," Trembley said.