Vernon Wells Off Season Hitting Sessions Yet Another Indictment On Mickey Hatcher?

Vernon Wells thought outside of the box this off season.  Hoping to solve a year long hitting slump that saw him hit dozens of pop ups, roll over on hundreds of outside pitches, resulting  in an outbreak of weak ground balls AND  the untimely deaths of  hundreds of infield dwelling insects across Major League ballparks.

Vernon went to get some help.  The assistance was from someone not employed by the LA Angels.

What I find revealing about this whole thing is not that Vernon was able to recognize he  had an issue. Any casual fan could notice Wells’ pull happy approach. No thats not the issue here. The problem is that like many Angel fans its clear Vernon does not have full confidence in Angels prank man Hitting Coach Mickey Hatcher. You see Vernon sought out the tutelage of  Cubs hitting aficionado Rudy Jaramilllo.

To hear Wells tell it, It was Rudy not Mickey who noticed and pointed out the obvious flaws in Vernon’s swing and approach. Not getting on top of the ball, pulling off  pitches etc. Did Mickey Hatcher not see these things and then work to drill these improvements with Wells during his epically poor 2011 season?

"“With all the preparation and everything I’ve kind of gone through and gone over this offseason,” Wells said, “I’m expecting this to be one of the best years that I’ve had.”"

Granted comparing Mickey to Rudy is probably not fair for Hatcher. Jaramillo is  widely regarded as one of the best in his profession meanwhile Hatcher is well…not regarded as highly , but still the questions persist.

Why didn’t Wells work on his technical hitting flaws during the season and why was Hatcher not a part of his off season swing revival? Unfortunately Halo fans will likely never know. The Angels offense is almost assured to be better in 2012 and the Mickster will get yet another reprieve.

This time the joke is on you Mickey.