More great coaching decisions
The Cubs made another great coaching decision yesterday as they welcomed Alan Trammell onto the team as the Cubs bench coach. I'm not particularly sure what the bench coach does, aside from maybe sitting down for the entire game. I guess it's an ok move though.
Trammell coached the Tigers to a 119-loss season. But, that was as manager, not bench coach. So it's improbable that he can do that kind of damage to the Cubs with Piniella making the final decisions. However, approximately two of the current Tigers were on the team when he was coach, so there's a chance he's helpful with development. Also, he did win 4 Gold Gloves and a World Series MVP, so at least he knows how to play the game. He may be able to translate that knowledge into helping some guys improve their infield fielding skills. That's useful at least. And, really, how much does a bench coach do? Really. I have no idea.
Next up, Larry Rothschild, brought back as pitching coach. This isn't surprising, since Rothschild was Piniella's pitching coach in Tampa, and absolutely no one on that team pitched well. And the Cubs pitched so much better than that last year. They were only 3rd worst in the N.L. in team E.R.A. Two teams were actually worse than the Cubs. Of course, it was only the Brewers and Nationals, two teams who still had better records than the Cubs. Also, I didn't look at walks, but I'm sure that the Cubs led the majors in walks given up. So I'm glad that we're bringing back someone who is ok with giving up walks, since it helped us get to 3rd worst ERA and worst record in the N.L.
Now, Chris Chambliss is considered a top candidate for the Cubs hitting coach. The Cubs finished 5th in the N.L. in hitting this year. So we fired the hitting coach. Now, last year Chambliss was hitting coach for the Reds and he was fired. Also, I didn't look to make sure, but I'm pretty sure just from glancing that the Reds finished in the bottom 3 in the N.L. in hitting. I know they were bottom third.
So, this is exciting. Let's see how much worse we can hit as a team, while still pitching just as poorly, and see how many games we can win.
I realize that some coaches are better suited for certain situations, and probably basing a coach's ability looking at just the past year is kind of unfair, especially if you've got Adam Dunn on your team who only hits .240 (while still having an OBP near .380 (guessing)).
Basically I am going to be as skeptical of this team as I've ever been until some actual player moves are made.
Trammell coached the Tigers to a 119-loss season. But, that was as manager, not bench coach. So it's improbable that he can do that kind of damage to the Cubs with Piniella making the final decisions. However, approximately two of the current Tigers were on the team when he was coach, so there's a chance he's helpful with development. Also, he did win 4 Gold Gloves and a World Series MVP, so at least he knows how to play the game. He may be able to translate that knowledge into helping some guys improve their infield fielding skills. That's useful at least. And, really, how much does a bench coach do? Really. I have no idea.
Next up, Larry Rothschild, brought back as pitching coach. This isn't surprising, since Rothschild was Piniella's pitching coach in Tampa, and absolutely no one on that team pitched well. And the Cubs pitched so much better than that last year. They were only 3rd worst in the N.L. in team E.R.A. Two teams were actually worse than the Cubs. Of course, it was only the Brewers and Nationals, two teams who still had better records than the Cubs. Also, I didn't look at walks, but I'm sure that the Cubs led the majors in walks given up. So I'm glad that we're bringing back someone who is ok with giving up walks, since it helped us get to 3rd worst ERA and worst record in the N.L.
Now, Chris Chambliss is considered a top candidate for the Cubs hitting coach. The Cubs finished 5th in the N.L. in hitting this year. So we fired the hitting coach. Now, last year Chambliss was hitting coach for the Reds and he was fired. Also, I didn't look to make sure, but I'm pretty sure just from glancing that the Reds finished in the bottom 3 in the N.L. in hitting. I know they were bottom third.
So, this is exciting. Let's see how much worse we can hit as a team, while still pitching just as poorly, and see how many games we can win.
I realize that some coaches are better suited for certain situations, and probably basing a coach's ability looking at just the past year is kind of unfair, especially if you've got Adam Dunn on your team who only hits .240 (while still having an OBP near .380 (guessing)).
Basically I am going to be as skeptical of this team as I've ever been until some actual player moves are made.
posted by Jtrouble at 8:02 AM
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