Having wrapped up their search for a pitching coach, the Red Sox are ready to move on to securing their hitting coach--or hitting coaches, rather, as manager John Farrell has indicated he's interested in making that a two-man job going forward. Regardless of how many there are come March, however, the Sox seem to be interested in making Tino Martinez one of them.
According to ESPN's Joe McDonald, the club is in preliminary talks with the long-time Yankee to fill the vacant position. Whether this mean's they want him for sure, want to interview him, or are curious about his grandmother's oatmeal-raisin cookie recipe is unclear.
Actually, I take that back. Nobody could possibly be interested in oatmeal-raisin cookies. Those things are evil, always looking like chocolate chip and then making it so that you can never trust a cookie again!
But I digress--Tino Martinez is, of course, best known for his time with the Yankee dynasty of the late nineties, grabbing four World Series rings while playing first base for the club that we so love to hate. While his career line of .271/.344/.471 isn't exactly dynamite for a first baseman, one doesn't have to have been a great hitter to be a good hitting coach. But just for fun, let's note that Martinez was the exact opposite type of hitter to the incredibly patient Dave Magadan (.288/.390/.377).
If nothing else, Tino Martinez seems to be a well-liked guy who can fit in easily with the new Farrell regime. Add on the fact that Yankee fans seem to really hate the idea of Martinez coming to the Red Sox, and you've even got some added schadenfreude to enjoy.