Kevin Long has been the target of criticism before and despite having overseen a Yankees offense that has underachieved all season, the hitting coach insists he’s not going to change his approach.
“You’re always searching for ways to make things better, but as far as the routine we’ve done throughout the years, I think it’s worked in the past and you can’t get too far away from it,” Long said. “It’s like a player who’s had several good years, you don’t want to change too much and get away from what’s worked before.”
And while most people within the organization believe Long’s job is safe, he isn’t spending much time thinking about his future.
“I don’t concern myself with that,” Long said. “I never have. I know what I bring to the table. I know how hard I work.”
He also received a new contract following last season.
“To me, it doesn’t matter if I’m on a one-year deal or the last year of a contract,” Long said. “I can’t work that way. Those aren’t the things I worry about. I worry about the players and getting guys going.”
And while he has had limited success doing that recently, the season hasn’t been a total loss. His son, Jaron, had a strong first full season in pro ball with the Yankees organization.
“That’s been the fun part, watching him develop,” Long said. “Not that there haven’t been fun parts here, too. We just haven’t been able to produce consistently.”
Jaron, a right-hander who turned 23 last month, finished the season 12-5 with a 2.18 ERA in three stops in the minors, finishing the season making 10 starts with Double-A Trenton.
“I can say for the first time, I think he’s going to play in the big leagues,” Kevin Long said, adding he knew it was important Jaron performed well because of the family connection. “We all knew he had something to prove and he went out and did it.”
Now, if he could only fix the offense.
“You always look for the best and some years you’re going to run into more bumps than you anticipated,” Long said. “I don’t know if the grind is any different. You always have sleepless night. You just have more of them when you’re struggling.”
CC Sabathia is still confident that if he had been healthy, the Yankees might not be in a desperate sprint to get to the playoffs.
“Of course,” Sabathia said over the weekend.
But he’s spending most of his time plotting his return in 2015. He had a second stem-cell injection in his right knee two weeks ago and said he is pain-free and expects to start playing catch by the end of the month.
“I’ve been thinking about next year since I had surgery,” Sabathia said. “I feel like I’m going to be fine. And with most of the year off from throwing, I’m hoping that helps my arm.”
Derek Jeter is done catching people on the all-time hit list with Tris Speaker comfortably ahead in fifth place, but Jeter is just two runs scored away from tying Alex Rodriguez for ninth all-time. Rodriguez is at 1,919.