Perhaps one of the more intriguing free agents this offseason is hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who decided to not return to Texas. Granted, the rangers are coming off a mediocre year offensively but it could also be pointed out, they were never really healthy (Hamilton, Blalock, Saltalamacchia, Young, Kinsler all missing time). Texas for the longest time has always had a great offense.
But was it Rudy Jaramillo? Or Arlington? Or combination of both? A recent example would Milton Bradley, who while with Texas was an all-star with a monstrous OPS. This season with the cubs, he was a black mark on an overall lousy season. Better example, Marlon Byrd faded into nothing with the phillies and has resurrected his career in Texas. Bradley was a bad example, if only because of his pretty shitty personality. But maybe Jaramillo played a part?
There's several teams, or should be several teams, that need to consider hiring Jaramillo if he's interested. It wouldn't hurt, compared to some of the things employed.
Top hitting coach available to Chicago Cubs -- chicagotribune.com