M’s purge coaching staff
The M’s overhauled their coaching staff today, relieving everyone except for hitting coach Jeff Pentland of their duties. Gone are pitching coach Rafael Chaves, third base coach Carlos Garcia, bench coach Mike Goff, and bullpen coach Jim Slaton. First base coach Gary Thurman has been reassigned back to the minor leagues, where he’s spent most of his time with the Mariner organization before this year.
This is basically all about letting John McLaren choose his own staff. None of these guys were his hires, and it’s standard practice in baseball to let a manager surround himself with coaches of his own choosing. Some advice to the people McLaren chooses, however – rent, don’t buy, because your future is tied to that of your manager, and you better win a lot next year or this will be a twelve month gig.
96 – And what would the Mariners get in return. Maybe some pitching would be nice, but I’m just scared what Bavasi would choose in return. I could picture it being a deal where Raul has a 30 HR – 100 RBI, (and Leyland would actually know not to play him in LF, and maybe platoon him with Sheffield in 1b – DH), and Im guessing someone like Jeremy Bonderman, who will stink up safeco and have elbow problems all year or something like that, and make Bavasi look worse than he even is.
And I am thinking they should trade Sexson to somewhere where they have a hitter’s park. If i was a GM trying to trade sexson, I would tell the other GM that atleast a few of the flyballs hit in spacious safeco would turn into homers for their smallers parks. Maybe Baltimore? They seem like the place who would try sexson.
speaking of things on cable not every one can see, TCM has several hours of baseball movies tonight–
7:00 is 1962’s “Safe at home”, with a small boy bragging he knows some Yankees personally– of note mainly for the tremendous awkwardness with which Maris & Mantle portray themselves.
9:00 is “Headin’ home” a 1920 silent starring Babe Ruth as himself — to quote from the original Variety review: “The picture has been thrown together to capitalize Ruth’s tremendous popularity and, as such, it will do a success. Ten thousand people sat patiently through the dreary preliminary scenes waiting for their idol to reach his specialty which is the promulgation of home runs. This is an age of specialists, and as a picture star, Ruth qualifies as the greatest batsman that baseball has ever developed.”
10:30 has two shorts– His last game (1909) about ‘Choctaw Bill Going’ and The ball player and the bandit (1912) where a college boy uses his baseball skills out West
hmm. if you undid Manny’s braids, would he have Polamalu hair?
100: I agree with the O’s seeming like a good fit for Richie…after all, they seem to be following the classic “one step forward, two steps back” theory of franchise development in recent years, anyway.
huh. you’d think it was our Weaver pitching.
Here he come now singin’ MAN-NAH MAH-NAH! 🙂
I see Little Spicoli only lasted about as long in that game as his brother typically does, too.
And yet another team that has no interest in winning.
Even when the score was 0-0, the Angels looked flatter than a Sunday brunch crepe.
Somehow I knew OC was gonna go down in flames in the first round…oh well.
And of course, what are these jerks from ESPN radio talking about? Well, they seemed to sound as if it was the end of the world because of series sweeps — and that it “will have to be up to the Yankees to keep things going.”
YEECCH!
Oh good, the TBS broadcasters are obviously cheering for the Yankees. I was afraid they’d remain impartial and simply comment on the play.
Jeter hits into a DP he couldn’t’ve made himself. After not being charged with an error he deserved. Karma.
Maybe there is a little Weaverness that runs in the whole family.
Oh, yes, I’m breathlessly waiting to see A-rod’s reception for his first at bat. But first, the Indians have to stop getting hits.
TBS announcers during A-Rod ab: “They green light him 3-1, how’bout that?”
Wait, did we just see the end of Clemens’ career?
How anti-climatic.
Then again, we’ve seen his retirement tour a couple of times; we can all just flashback to all those standing O’s.
Clemens and Glavine both fell pretty hard at the end.
While we’re on the topic of syndicated Yankee honks, I wonder how much Steinbrenner paid Jon Miller to sell his soul to him for this series.
Well, if that is the end of Clemens, at least he went out on a K.
I’ve been switching back and forth between the TV and radio coverage, and both of them are annoying: no excitement unless the Yankees are hitting (or at least threatening). All the Indians’ hits are the result of bad Yankee pitching, with no credit to the Indians hitters. All the double-plays and ground outs are because the Yankee batters are straining or otherwise messing up, with no credit to Westbrook.
I’ve been pulling for an Indians-Colorado series all along, but when I mentioned this last night somebody said “Oh, that would be the networks’ worst nightmare, two small markets not on the coasts” — and I realized that makes the prospect even sweeter. And now I can add to that: the announcers will have to actually pay attention to at least one of these non-Yankees non-Red Sox teams. Though they’d probably just start talking about Dusty Baker’s boat, or something.
I really did not think that Clemons would be a facter when the Yanks were despirit for pitching and tendered him another contract.
114: If today was indeed the “end” of The Rocket’s career (I say that a bit skeptically, since so far, he’s had more encore tours than The Who), at least he went out on a slightly more positive note than that of his idol, Nolan Ryan. While Clemens’ performance wasn’t pretty, either, better to go out to a PS crowd of 56k at home in a game where at least there was something at stake than an early-season road game in front of about 6k where there really wasn’t.
I’m hoping it’s the end of Clemens career and I’m happy that it ended with another big game that he didn’t come through on. There’s no doubt he was a great pitcher, but he’s also a headhunter. Good riddance.
117: Joser, I hear ya, bro. Gee, I wonder sometimes what we ever did before Fox started butting their big corporate nose into post-season baseball — and heaven forbid, teams from, uh, “small market” cities were actually allowed to WIN the freakin’ WS once in a while!
And now, of course, ESPN brings you the obligatory soundbite of Scioscia whining about how the Angels “didn’t get the job done.”
WHOOP-DEEE!
I think it’s funny the last postseason game Clemens won when his team was facing elimination was game 7 of the ALCS… in 1986, when he was pitching for Boston. Sure, he’s won a lot of PS games and he hasn’t been on many teams that actually faced elimination (or did so for more than one game) so it’s not like he had many opportunities. But 1986. That’s the Bill Buckner Red Sox. That’s Cyndi Lauper and Madonna and the Bangles. That’s Huey Lewis and the News. 1986!
Meanwhile, in the vets vs kids debate, the vets aren’t doing so well, and the kids are doing great. But, hey, I’m sure the intangibles are off the charts.
Speaking of Bruckner…. I’d like to introduce you to Trot Nixon.
And as a long suffering Sox fan, I must point out that Nixon came from through Sox (as did Clemens). Apparently, losing is an infectious disease.
On a team which had an otherwise great season, Trot’s pretty much had a stinker year.
But, ah, you gotta love that “veteran goodness.” Watch Bavasi go out and pick him up in the off-season.
I don’t know, we’re looking for pitching and Schilling’s been hurt this year. It seems like that makes him Bavasi’s target.
121: I know, right? Those damn Yankees and Mets win every year!
Oh wait.
I see the names of Perlozza and Lee Mazzone as possibilities. Would O’s get rid of Mazzone?
127: Of course not…but unfortunately, Fox and ESPN often show such favoritism toward certain teams they like, it makes you wonder that if they had THEIR way about it, maybe 6-8 cities where they get the best ratings would have major league teams — and nobody else would.
at least he went out on a slightly more positive note than that of his idol, Nolan Ryan [who went out in] an early-season road game in front of about 6k where there really wasn’t.
Your memory is a bit faulty. I was at Ryan’s last game in September 1993. There were 40,000 strong in the Kingdome. But yes, the Rangers were effectively out of it (though given the current 3 division structure, they would have won the AL West that year).
129: Thanks, Adam…I’d actually forgotten there were that many there that night, since attendance at times was kind of sporadic in those days. I remember that being the first year of “Louie Ball”, and that we were playing quite a bit better than the year before, but that we, too, were still uried in that seven-team division (as were the Rangers).
It was kind of a sad end in a way for a legend, but I’m glad you got to see a real piece of baseball history.
*buried
“The A’s have decided to not bring back bench coach Bob Schaefer, third-base coach Rene Lachemann and bullpen coach Brad Fischer next season.
“This isn’t necessarily a reflection on them,” general manager Billy Beane said. “This is more about Bob [Geren] getting the opportunity to bring in some guys of his own choosing.”
Was Chaves some how involved with all the M’s pitching injuries in the minors? It would seem to be an organizational/teaching issue. I know it’s been brought up several times already. I thought perhaps Brian Price shouldered (pun not intended) some of the blame, but he’s been gone for a couple years now. He did work in the minors for a long time, so is Chaves a pupil of his?
I can agree that McLaren as is his choice to hire his own staff of coaches etc…..and as often happens with a change at helm whereever in the MLB.
However the retaining of Pentland as hitting coach is the one that puzzles me.Of all the coaches I thought his firing would have been #1 on that list.
I agree providing his health is good and if Mac asks him Stottlemyre would be an excellent choice to be the next pitching coach for the M’s.
I’d like to see Lee Elia back with M’s coaching either the catchers or bullpen.
I think that Mac should look for a bench coach with some manager experience a good possible is recently fired Tracy as manager of the Pirates.
I feel however Mac really should reconsider retaining Thurman as 1stB coach.He seemed very comfortable there and did in my opinion a very good job at that position.
As for 3rdB coach he should serious consider a former catcher or 3rdBman for the job.