Kevin Long's Winter Vacation

Kevin Long has had a busy offseason. He traveled to Tampa to visit with Jorge Posada, Miami to see Alex Rodriguez, and also to the Dominican Republic to meet with Robinson Cano. He spoke with Pete Caldera for this article, and here's what he has to say about the three.

First on Jorge:

"Posada gives us that leadership, and that kind of grit we were missing,"...

Earlier this week, Long spent three days in Tampa, Fla., with Posada, who has increased his throwing to 90 feet and expects to be ready by opening day.

"Looking at his swing, it was just like I remember it – short, compact, explosive from both sides," Long said, speaking from the Philadelphia airport on his way to a coaching clinic in Cherry Hill.

And A-Rod:

Long's first winter destination was Miami, where he spent another four-day stay with A-Rod. It was the third straight off-season session between Long and Rodriguez at A-Rod's home, and Long intends to visit the slugger once more before spring training begins.

"It's not so much mechanical anymore," Long said of his visits. "It's about him feeling good, making sure his mind's right."

"If I went through a divorce, I can tell you I wouldn't be the same person at work," Long said of Rodriguez, who also lost a month due to a quad injury. "I would have been heavily burdened."

But now, as far as A-Rod's mental state is concerned, "I think he's in a much better place," Long said. "He's anxious, fired up – ready to go."

And Cano:

"There were a lot of changes that occurred in September, from the standpoint of how he played the game," said Long, who felt the second baseman might have gone from "80 percent to maybe 100 percent" in his daily concentration level.

Late in the season, Cano finally decided to incorporate Long's ideas about less movement in his stance, and, "I think he was amazed, and I was amazed, at how quick that transformation happened," Long said.

Cano took those mechanics into winter ball, and also hired a personal strength and conditioning trainer. "That says a lot about where this kid wants to be.

"That [benching] was a stab to [his] ego a little bit, and he was able to come back from that – he made it a positive," said Long, who made his first-ever trip to the Dominican Republic this winter to work on Cano's hitting and his mental approach.

"Personally, our relationship is as strong as it's ever been."

I've never been a big fan of Kevin Long, but one thing I'll say about him is I like his optimism. Optimism is a very important part of not only being a hitting coach, but to hitting in general. If you don't have the utmost confidence that you will succeed at the plate, there is a pretty darn good chance you won't.

I also think his hands-on approach will be a help to certain players, specifically Cano and other young players on the team. Gaining a player's trust is also a very important part of coaching.

As far as Cano himself is concerned, I hate the fact that it took him until September to listen to his coach. That really bothers me a lot. A player, no matter how good they are, or think they are, will have a lot of problems in this game if they remain pigheaded and always believe they know best. The reason coaches are there is to fix a players problems if they fall into bad habits, and a player must be mature enough to take the advice given. Hopefully he has realized this and is ready to be the player we all know he can be.

A-Rod will be fine, I don't think anyone is worried about him, and the same can be said for Jorge, as long as he's healthy.