Finding fault is easy
Eleven seasons of McDowell were followed by Chuck Hernandez, promoted from within to the role he filled for Brain Snitker in the minors for two years. When Alex Anthopoulos took over, Snitker’s guy was replaced by Rick Kranitz. The Phillies let Kranitz go because they wanted his number two, who was reportedly more analytically oriented. He lasted one season and got the boot.
Kranitz never worked with the Atlanta Braves minor league pitchers outside of their time in spring training. He’s had one full season (2019), the chaos of 2020, and the current roster provided to him.
Adjusting the way a player does his job is hard
"“My part in it is, I have wisdom, I have knowledge. But if I give it to him and he doesn’t get it, my wisdom and knowledge is worthless. So anything that he accomplishes, the credit goes to him.” – Ron Washington in The Athletic"
Coaches can suggest, recommend, guide, and inform, but it’s always up to the player to make the needed adjustments to improve.
If a pitcher suddenly picks up a bad habit like tipping pitches, or in the case of Max Fried, rushing his delivery, a coach can point out what he sees and help with a fix. Adjustments like that are merely putting the train back on track. Changing something a player’s done for years requires the player to buy into it, work at it, and make it happen.
Sean Newcomb was a top 100 prospect for three seasons. He had walk rates of 5.0, 4.6, and 5.2 per nine in those seasons, a full season WHIP under 1.272, or a K/BB rate higher than 2.21. His best K/BB rate was 2.24 in 2019. Why does the club expect anything different? Kyle Wright has always had around a three per nine walk rate in the minors; we know those increase in the majors.