Tom Haudricourt caught up with Jim Skaalen, Milwaukee's old hitting coach.

Former Brewers hitting coach Jim Skaalen acknowledged that the team struggled mightily at the plate last September, nearly blowing its playoff chance, but he said he still was "confused" about his dismissal.

"I have no sour grapes about what happened. I was (angry), that goes without saying, and very disappointed," said Skaalen, now the hitting coach for the Oakland A's. "But (general manager) Doug (Melvin) and (former manager) Ned (Yost) gave me the only opportunity I’ve ever had to do it at that level. I couldn’t thank them more.

"Having said that, I was confused to be let go. Despite the bad September, despite the skittishness overall with which we hit, the MO of that team, they know. They talked about it in January. It’s a predominantly right-handed hitting team that strikes out a lot.

"What can you do about it? I worked with them, trying to get them improve. That’s all we could do. When they step in the box, they’re on their own." 

[emphasis added]

Skaalen says that he is "confused" about his dismissal from the team, but I think he understands perfectly...

Jim Skaalen was a scapegoat for last season's offensive swoon.