Good idea. You should listen to the Raul Gonzalez interview I have posted. Good stuff.Originally Posted by RedsManRick
*cough* future podcast interview *cough*
Good idea. You should listen to the Raul Gonzalez interview I have posted. Good stuff.*cough* future podcast interview *cough*
Cedric 3/24/08It's absolutely pathetic that people can't have an opinion from actually watching games and supplementing that with stats. If you voice an opinion that doesn't fit into a black/white box you will get completely misrepresented and basically called a tobacco chewing traditionalist...
I just wonder if Ray Miller was contacted. Ray is probably one of the 5 best Pitching Coaches of ALL time. I know he's available.
Cedric 3/24/08It's absolutely pathetic that people can't have an opinion from actually watching games and supplementing that with stats. If you voice an opinion that doesn't fit into a black/white box you will get completely misrepresented and basically called a tobacco chewing traditionalist...
Greg Maddux 1987
6-14 5.61 ERA
Greg Maddux 1988
18-8 3.18 ERA
1993 Giants 3rd in Runs allowed
1994 Giants 5th in Runs allowed
Face it. The Reds made good solid hires at both coaching positions.
Huh?
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
I wondered the same thing but was not for sure he was available...since he got the boot from the O's what has he been doing?
"Sometimes, it's not the sexiest moves that put you over the top," Krivsky said. "It's a series of transactions that help you get there."
It depends only how Randy the pitcher...ummm...*cough* penetrated the strike zone.
Some people play baseball. Baseball plays Jay Bruce.
In 1954, it was possible for Baltimore Orioles outfielder Dick Kokos to face Detroit Tigers righty Dick Weik.
1. Greg Maddux was a 21 year old rookie in 1988.
2. You can thank Roger Craig.
The Reds just hired a hitting coach without much of a history and a pitching coach with a very spotty history to join a GM without much of a history and a manager with a very spotty history. Pardon me if I don't much like filling those positions with "first chance" and "last chance"- especially if any of them have been within earshot of Dusty Baker.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
We had a guy run for governor once named Peter D. Beter (and Beter was pronounced "beater). I was 14 and laughed through the election. I haven't grown up much because I'm been laughing at all this stuff. An adolescent again at 50 plus. Feels good.
www.ris-news.com
"You only have to bat a thousand in two things; flying and heart transplants. Everything else you can go 4-for-5."
-Beano Cook
Pole was Sabathia's first pitching coach, when he was 20.
He still has some interaction with the O's. He was replaced when he took ill which paved the way for the Mazzone hiring. If memory serves he had an anyeurysm. My understanding is that he is 100% healthy and ready to go. That guy gets results.
Cedric 3/24/08It's absolutely pathetic that people can't have an opinion from actually watching games and supplementing that with stats. If you voice an opinion that doesn't fit into a black/white box you will get completely misrepresented and basically called a tobacco chewing traditionalist...
I can see your point about Baker but if you'll look it up some of the staffs he's worked with have been pretty bad. He can only work with what he's given. Some of the #2 and #3 starters he had wouldn't make the AAA pitching staff on most teams. We are talking Dave Williams bad. He's worked with a lot of quality pitchers and has not screwed up a single one and got some good seasons out of some pretty ordinary pitchers. Maddux himself has said how important he was to his success. High praise in my book. You can be the best pitching coach in the game but if you're working with a bunch of jabronies and the manager is crappy and gets fired what can you do? The Reds got the protege of the best hitting coach in the majors and as a pitching coach the guy who made Greg Maddux a Hall of Famer. They hired as a GM a guy who was Assistant GM on three Division winners. The manager led a team picked to finish last to a 80-82 record this year and is 2 games under .500 for his career here. This with a team that throws Eric Milton out there every fifth day.
That's the spirit of optimism that will sustain us into spring training. "Benefit of the doubt," I say.
Didn't know Pole was spelled "M-a-z-z-o-n-e".
Or maybe an outlier like Greg Maddux was going to be Greg Maddux regardless of who his pitching coach was? Seems a better theory than crediting a pitching coach with turning a 21-year-old who took the same lumps most 21-year-old's take (19 years ago) into a Hall-of-Famer. Again, 19 years ago. In a game ruled by "What have you done for me lately", 19 years ago doesn't seem to fit the definition of "lately". Heck, if we want to look at "lately", we could consider Tom Hume, who was passed over for the job, to be the guy who turned Bronson Arroyo into an All Star. But then, I expect that correlation isn't any more causality than Dick Pole Re: Greg Maddux.
And it appears no one noticed what the following quote (attributed to Pole by Maddux) translates to:
"Why don't you stop trying to strike guys out? Just try to get them out, and you'll probably strike out just as many guys, if not more."
Translation: "Pitch to contact."
My apologies in advance if you perceive that any of my venom is directed at you, Handofdeath. It's not. I'm just completely ticked off that we've been there and done that and now we're back after a five-minute search for the best possible option at pitching coach.
But being connected (even loosely) with someone like Greg Maddux can perpetuate a career, that's for sure. Since then, I haven't seen anything remotely resembling a real reason to give Dick Pole the job of Pitching Coach at the Major League level. But not only do the Reds do it- they take five minutes to do it. Now they've got a "first chance" hitting coach and a "last chance" pitching coach. And I'm about 100 times more enthused about the unknown of Jacoby than I am about Dick Pole.
However, I'd be twice as enthused about Dick Pole if his middle name were Harry.
Look, I know you're just trying to be hopeful, so I'm not going to address the Krivsky and Narron points (particularly as they've been covered ad nauseum). That'd start some tangents we really don't need on the thread.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
[QUOTE=SteelSD;1189591]
And it appears no one noticed what the following quote (attributed to Pole by Maddux) translates to:
"Why don't you stop trying to strike guys out? Just try to get them out, and you'll probably strike out just as many guys, if not more."
Translation: "Pitch to contact."
QUOTE]
How do you figure that? Pitch to contact means to limit walks as much as possible by allowing the batter to see more strikes. I think what Pole (or whatever name you are choosing to call him before he actually gets a shot to make a difference) is referring to here is not overthrowing the ball or trying to make a perfect pitch with two strikes. This quote suggests to me that Maddux learned here to stay within himself in his delivery, stay with his strengths (location and speed change), and become much more of a pitcher then a thrower. I don't think anyone in the Major Leagues barring someone that can throw a fastball by the majority of hitters is ever thinking of striking out every hitter. Few have it and those that do not and still try have little sucess in the majors. I think your jumping to conclusions here about Pole. He has made a difference for alot of pitchers who were so so before they were under his wing. Let's the year play out before we pass judgement.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
