With Gomes gone and Cantu playing third it appears that Josh Phelps is the new Official Pine Rider of the Devil Rays?. I know he wasn't playing well but he's not getting any better sitting on the bench and he has far more potential to be productive than some of the guys playing every day. His struggles are the same as Cantu's were, making a lot of easy outs by swinging at everything.
I'm not saying they're not, I just want to know this: Are guys like Phelps and Cantu being coached to try to be at least disciplined enough to wait for a good pitch to hit? Is it being made clear to them that the "swing at any strike and some pitches that aren't if you think you can get a piece of it" method isn't going to get them anywhere and will get them benched? Lou certainly never talks about it, I'd simply like to know if this staff has any interest in coaching plate discipline or if they're happy to just let them hack.