What I want to know is how he has worked with young pitchers…I know Power has done well at AAA and that Soto did wonders for Cueto and Volquez. This is not something that I am going to get all excited about, at least not at this point.
@KY Chip: so what would have overwhelmed you? it’s not like they ever had a chance at dave duncan. i personally would have loved to see them hire teddy power but i understand the hiring of bryan price. he’s a solid coach with a good major league track record.
i am dissappointed that Power did not get the job. he knows most of the young guys, he has been a starter and a closer in the majors, so he should understand the roles/needs of a staff and how each prep differently. he also probably has contact each spring training with the pitching veterans as well, so at some level has a relation with each. Hope he stays around and does not take some offer elsewhere.
Going back and looking at some of the teams he was coaching, he really didn’t work with that many young guys. Many of the young guys he did work with regressed during his time.
With Seattle he worked with:
Meche
Garcia
Pineiro
All of whom regressed over a three year period.
With Arizona:
Valverde
Cruz
Lyon
Pena
Cruz and Valverde improved, but Lyon and Pena regressed.
I’m not saying he isn’t capable of doing a good job, I’m just not overly optimistic at this point.
Maybe this could be our next poll question…who should have been hired, Price, Power, Soto, or Other. Duncan really had no intention of coming to Cincinnati anyways.
Complete nonsense. Underwhelmed, not impressed? What do you know? Most of all, what do you know it from, reading a few lines on Baseball Reference?
This is a GREAT hire. Price was wanted by every team that had a pitching coach vacancy. ALL OF THEM! He’s an established pitching coach with a great record, a great organizational pitching philosophy and he works terrifically with people. He’s the anti-Dick Pole.
Yeah, he’s not done anything with young pitchers. Fernandez obviously sucks. Webb didn’t win any Cy Young awards. Valverde isn’t a top closer. None of his teams ever won more than 90 games or went to the playoffs. Please.
The Reds signed him to a multiyear deal and he will do something this team hasn’t done in . . . maybe forever. He will institute and oversee a pitching philosophy from the big leagues down to the instructional league. It’s his show. And he’ll be right in Baker’s grill about the use of pitchers during the game.
Scouts all over the game are patting the Reds on the back for coughing up the money to hire Bryan Price. No one believed they could get him, and yet they did. You should be very excited about this young but experienced coach being in the organization.
I told you on this blog Oct. 11 he was the guy, and some of you STILL whine for Ted Power and Mario Soto, who haven’t done squat. Bryan Price has almost 10 years in the big leagues. But you want lazy Soto who gets along with few people and Power, who doesn’t have a proven program or the experience of Price. Why can’t you accept that the Reds did something right? This guy is good.
Well, I would’ve liked to have seen the Reds make at least a serious run at Dave Duncan. They may have and been rebuffed behind the scenes, but who knows? To me, the hire seems pretty quick. If Duncan was a no-go, I would’ve liked to have seen the Reds promote Power or Soto to work with this staff. However, I’m not surprised that the Reds went out of the organization again to fill a coaching position, rather than promoting from within.
I know Price has earned a couple of awards for his coaching in the past 8 years, but he’s also had the benefit of working with guys like Webb, Freddy Garcia, Moyer, Randy Johnson, and Danny Haren. In Seattle, he had a solid, experienced staff in a pitcher’s park and achieved great success in his first couple of years. Price also did a good job with the D’Backs staff in a hitter’s park the past couple of years. He’ll have a young staff (I expect Harang or Arroyo and maybe Cordero to be moved before next year) in a cracker-box of a ballpark that can be punishing to pitchers. Even if those vets don’t go before 2010, he’ll have a lot on his plate to deal with in the wake of Dick Pole.
Price is certainly capable of succeeding in Cincinnati. But I’m not entirely convinced this was the right choice for the Reds to make at this time, considering their needs and the guys they already had on staff in the minors.
Folks, who did you really expect as a better choice than Price? Duncan wasn’t going to happen. Power hasn’t had a lick of experience with major leaguers yet. To say that Power has succeeded with the minor leaguers might or might not be true, but I haven’t heard one iota of evidence that even suggests that Power has been responsible for any pitcher’s improved performance. However, there was at least one instance where neither he or Dick Pole didn’t exactly set Homer Bailey up for success. By all accounts, Bailey was helped most by a High School coach in Texas and Justin Lehr.
I’m not saying that Power hasn’t helped players or isn’t a good choice for a position someday, but Price’s recent history is fairly decent and he is a much better option than Power or a lot of other major-league pitching coaches currently mucking up other teams’ pitching staffs. Price may not have the record of success that we would want, but he hasn’t had a record of poor performance yet either. So, in my opinion, that’s about as good as a small-market team like the Reds can expect for the time-being. At least, not until they start putting more butts in the seats and can afford an upgrade to someone like Duncan.
Soto didn’t want the job, so the fact that he wasn’t hired isn’t on anyone but him. My bet is if he said he wanted the job it was his. But he didn’t want the job.
As for Bryan Price, he spent 9 seasons between Seattle and Arizona. He had 7 better than league average pitching staffs (by ERA+) and just 2 slightly below league average pitching staffs.
Ted Power is my buddy. I’m not happy about this and will have a cocktail or two to soothe my ire that Ted was not given the job. He is a super human being and is well repected throughout baseball. Why he didn’t get the job is just the Reds being the Reds. Knowing TP, it doesn’t bother him a bit.
World,
I don’t think that TP not getting the job is the Reds being the Reds. Honestly TP getting the job would have been viewed as the Reds being the Reds as he likely was the candidate who was going to take the least amount of money. While I would have had no issue with Power getting the job, Bryan Price has a major league track record of success on his resume and was being chased by two other teams who make very good decisions in the Indians and Marlins. He was likely a very good hire.
Doug Gray: World,
I don’t think that TP not getting the job is the Reds being the Reds. Honestly TP getting the job would have been viewed as the Reds being the Reds as he likely was the candidate who was going to take the least amount of money. While I would have had no issue with Power getting the job, Bryan Price has a major league track record of success on his resume and was being chased by two other teams who make very good decisions in the Indians and Marlins. He was likely a very good hire.
@Mr. Redlegs: by “Fernandez” I assume you meant King Felix, which he pitched all of 12 games while Price was there. Webb was already a solid starter, but he did turn into a Cy Young candidate, so I will give you that. His staff’s had an ERA better than this years Reds team 5 times, while 4 times worse. While some of the teams he was on the staff made it to 90 wins, there was a steep decline after that. I’m not saying it is all on him, but I am not going to get excited about it. Meche became a much better pitcher after leaving Seattle, Pineiro has become a much better pitcher after leaving Seattle. I also mentioned that Valverde improved under him. BTW, Owings also regressed during his time as well.
I’m not saying he can’t do a good job, I am interested in what his organizational philosophy will be. I want to see how he will handle the young guys because frankly while he was in Seattle, the young guys didn’t improve much or regressed.
The thing that worries me about this whole situation is that I am afraid that Bravasi has too much input on this team from this point forward.
“Power hasn’t had a lick of experience with major leaguers yet. ”
“and some of you STILL whine for Ted Power”
Bryan Price did not have a lick of major league coaching experience 10 years ago either, instead having to work up thru the Seattle chain before getting the job at Seattle.
@Mr. Redlegs: I’ve never seen a larger slurping of a Reds hire. It’s fine to have an opinion on this which differs from yours. Since there have been very few articles written on this, I’ll assume that half of what you believe is based upon either inside sources or nothing. If it’s inside sources, a more critical examination of a company you work for is appropriate. If it’s nothing, then what makes your opinion more sound?
Hire him for as long as you like. When DB’s contract is up, the current staff will likely be out the door. Hope we find out quickly.
@doktor: It’s pining and whining. Price in the minors was widely considered an up-and-comer because of his physiology skills in mechanics and his approaches, plus people skills.
Ted Power? When have you ever heard anyone in baseball talk about him except Reds fans? Ever heard of Power being an up-and-comer. Ever heard of other teams talking with him about their vacancies? Ever heard of any great body of work? Who has he produced? Hopefully he gets a chance at a big league job. He’s paid his dues.
But when you’re talking about hiring someone with almost 10 years’ of excellence and experience in MLB over some mope in AAA, this is a freaking no-brainer.
Jason1972,
Two things. First of all, why does this guy suck as you say? Secondly, Soto didn’t want the job and never has the other 3 times he has been mentioned as being in the running. You can’t go after a guy who doesn’t want the job.
I, for one, thinks this team needs to spend top dollar on coaches and scouts if we want this team to advance.
I don’t know Ted Power, but in my one encounter with him, he was kind enough to come over and sign my son’s baseball if, for no other reason, to give my son something to be excited about whether it was a player or not (and to keep the player’s from having to worry about signing some young kid’s baseball). It helped tremendously that Power still looks like he could get on the mound and pitch to this day.
That being said, unless Power was the most demanded pitching coach in baseball, I think the Reds made a good choice. With our young staff, we need someone who can guide them through these next few years…we also need someone to go to Dusty and say…”let’s get somebody warming up” and “let’s get this guy out of there” before he’s given up nine runs and goes home and stands under the hot water for about two hours…
How many pitching coaches names’ do we actually know? Price is one name I’ve heard good things about (despite sharing my last name). I would have liked to have gotten Dave Duncan, too, but I didn’t really think that was possible, and I think Price is the kind of coaching talent that we couldn’t wait to let someone else grab.
Price had one fluke good season and some people here act like he’s the next Leo Mazzone. There were awesome choices out there like Mario Soto and Ted Powers, either of whom would have been superior candidates. Soto would have come for the right offer and would instantly be one of the great pitching coaches in Reds history.
@jason1972: Actually, I’ve heard that Mazzone’s success was his pitcher’s abilities and the scout department. But regardless, I just want to hear a plan. He should be here after Dusty is gone, so his philosophy is important to me for continuity sake.
I hope that “keeping pitchers healthy” is one of his main priorities! (I sure hope the Reds brass had the good sense to discuss that with him rather than just accepting that injuries are “dumb luck” that no one has any control over…)
Reds fans are like everyone else,in that they often overrate internal alternatives, be it Oester, Miley, Hanigan, Soto, or Power. The reds don’t pay so much that they’re stockpiling coaches that could work in the bigs elsewhere. Power may be capable, but I’ve seen no reason to believe so with confidence.
Why would Ted Power make a great major league pitching coach? Why would Mario Soto been a great choice? Those here who have advocated those two have done so without reason why? So why were they better choices?
I just want to reiterate that Price may be very good in the long run, I just have no idea. Mr. Redlegs, that was really my point. It wasn’t to be overly critical of your opinion and I hope it didn’t come off that way.
Power may not have been the best choice for the simple reason that Cueto and Bailey have already been handled under Power. They may need someone to point out differences that Power hadn’t noticed i.e. the new voice theory.
I don’t think Price will have any authority as far as organizational philosophy. Baker and Jocketty both strike me as the type that want mediocre people working around them so they appear to be smarter than they are.
After looking through some articles on web search it looks like Price and Rick Peterson were the top candidates out there. Looks like there’s a good chance Peterson will end up a Brewer as he has already been interviewed and he has a prior connection to Macha. The only other name I saw mentioned was Hernandez who was the bullpen coach for the Indians this past season. So if you just go by the top names on everyones list, the Reds got one of the top two.
As far as Soto, he has never had an interest in being a coach. I recall a conversation on the radio last year (when Soto was teaching Volquez & Cueto his changeup) about Soto becoming a coach. It was said then that he had things keeping him busy back home and he wasn’t interested in being tied down and all the traveling.
As for Power, there has been a lot of good talk about his work with the young pitchers in the minors. Can’t say if thats true or not because I’m not there, but if its true it might be a good thing that he stays there to work with Woods, Leake, Boxberger, Thompson, and others.
Jason1972,
Soto was not going to take the job. He really doesn’t want to be tied down and unable to go home during the season. It simply wasn’t going to happen. He really likes his roving abilities because it allows more freedom, where as a MLB pitching coach (or even minor league one for that matter) wouldn’t allow that.
Also, what season with Price are you talking about being fluke? Was it 2001 when his team had a 118 ERA+? Or was it 2003 when his team had a 114 ERA+? Or was it 2007 when his team had a 114 ERA+? Or maybe you meant it was 2008 when his team had a 115 ERA+? For the record, 100 is league average. 110 is usually good enough to be one of the best 5 in the league. So which season was the fluke? Why was it a fluke?
@Mr. Redlegs: ok, you say the Reds organization is so smart for hiring Bryan Price. However, if Powers is such a sucky pitching coach at AAA as I gather you are implying in your thread then why is this same Reds organzation so stupid for keeping Powers around for 4 years.
quote from Walt, “The Reds GM said he likes the way Power is able to “finish off” young pitchers as they make their way toward the big leagues and put “back on track” those big-leaguers who are sent down. Jocketty said he is hopeful that if Power isn’t offered a major-league job elsewhere, he will stay with the Reds.”
so it would seem people with contacts with the reds report Power is very able in his job and good enough the reds would not want to lose him and is not “some mope in AAA.”
Maybe the Reds believe Power is more valuable to them down working with the young pitchers then he would be working on the major league level. I believe there is more “teaching” that goes on in the minor league level and maybe that is where Ted is very good.
doktor: @Mr. Redlegs: ok, you say the Reds organization is so smart for hiring Bryan Price.However, if Powers is such a sucky pitching coach at AAA as I gather you are implying in your thread then why is this same Reds organzation so stupid for keeping Powers around for 4 years.Hal McCoy reported in his articles that Powers was “an-up-and-comer” and “highly praised by by the pitchers from Louisville” http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/cincinnati-reds/could-power-be-the-next-reds-pitching-coach-328958.html?cxtype=ynews_rssquote from Walt, “The Reds GM said he likes the way Power is able to “finish off” young pitchers as they make their way toward the big leagues and put “back on track” those big-leaguers who are sent down. Jocketty said he is hopeful that if Power isn’t offered a major-league job elsewhere, he will stay with the Reds.”so it would seem people with contacts with the reds report Power is very able in his job and good enough the reds would not want to lose him and is not “some mope in AAA.”
The Reds will now most likely lose this talent. This is why Cincinnati hasn’t sniffed the post season in over a decade. The organization might as well be run by blog fanboys and stats nerds for all the decision making ability they have.
@jason1972:
Trust me, the Reds aren’t being run by ’stats nerds’. Otherwise we never would have sniffed guys like Corey Patterson, Willy Taveras or Alex Gonzalez. Instead, we have had guys stuck in the 1970’s making baseball decisions for our team and THAT is one of the reasons why we have not sniffed the post season since 1999. But you can just ignore facts if you want. Just expect to be called out on them when you do.
Ironically…a few years back Baseball Prospectus wrote a story on the Reds about how they were adopting sabermetrics…this was before Wayne Krivsky became GM…in fact, I believe it was the sabermetric group of “assistant GMs” that traded for Aaron Harang.
brublejr: Going back and looking at some of the teams he was coaching, he really didn’t work with that many young guys.Many of the young guys he did work with regressed during his time.With Seattle he worked with:
Meche
Garcia
PineiroAll of whom regressed over a three year period.With Arizona:
Valverde
Cruz
Lyon
PenaCruz and Valverde improved, but Lyon and Pena regressed.I’m not saying he isn’t capable of doing a good job, I’m just not overly optimistic at this point.Maybe this could be our next poll question…who should have been hired, Price, Power, Soto, or Other.Duncan really had no intention of coming to Cincinnati anyways.
It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. The decision making seems about as sound as hiring Dusty Baker though, so at least it’s par for the course. Hey, I bet he never played with Hank Aaron. Meh.
It’s real easy for anyone to feel like they have some grasp of MLB game w/ all the stats and interviews that are available to the public…truly it takes a special & passionate person to do this job as a Professional Baseball Coach. Ted has a very good reputation w/his pitchers and the organization as well.
Price seems to be a pretty good choice based upon his experience and resume. I am all good w/ this decision.
However, I’m not good w/ someone who says that Ted Power is a “AAA mope” or a “sucky” coach, whoever you are, you truly have zero grasp of baseball and doesn’t Respect the Game. I have worked on the player development side for a couple of MLB teams & the REDS are one of them. I have had the pleasure of working w/ Ted Power on a daily basis and learning quite a bit from TP. I am sorry he didn’t get the job, but hope that Price pans out so the REDS & their fans can enjoy getting back to the playoffs.
I hope in a selfish way that TP hangs around long enough to get to the REDS pitching coach position, but if he doesn’t it will be some other team’s gain.
2009 stats: Sarasota 2-1 8 Games 8 Games Started 42.1 IP 4.89 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Carolina 3-2 6 Game 6 Game Started 36 2/3 IP 2.95 ERA 1.09 WHIP
Louisville 2-2 5 Game 5 Game Started 29 IP 2.48 ERA 1.21 WHIP
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I, for one, am completely underwhelmed.
But not surprised.
What I want to know is how he has worked with young pitchers…I know Power has done well at AAA and that Soto did wonders for Cueto and Volquez. This is not something that I am going to get all excited about, at least not at this point.
@KY Chip: so what would have overwhelmed you? it’s not like they ever had a chance at dave duncan. i personally would have loved to see them hire teddy power but i understand the hiring of bryan price. he’s a solid coach with a good major league track record.
i am dissappointed that Power did not get the job. he knows most of the young guys, he has been a starter and a closer in the majors, so he should understand the roles/needs of a staff and how each prep differently. he also probably has contact each spring training with the pitching veterans as well, so at some level has a relation with each. Hope he stays around and does not take some offer elsewhere.
Going back and looking at some of the teams he was coaching, he really didn’t work with that many young guys. Many of the young guys he did work with regressed during his time.
With Seattle he worked with:
Meche
Garcia
Pineiro
All of whom regressed over a three year period.
With Arizona:
Valverde
Cruz
Lyon
Pena
Cruz and Valverde improved, but Lyon and Pena regressed.
I’m not saying he isn’t capable of doing a good job, I’m just not overly optimistic at this point.
Maybe this could be our next poll question…who should have been hired, Price, Power, Soto, or Other. Duncan really had no intention of coming to Cincinnati anyways.
Complete nonsense. Underwhelmed, not impressed? What do you know? Most of all, what do you know it from, reading a few lines on Baseball Reference?
This is a GREAT hire. Price was wanted by every team that had a pitching coach vacancy. ALL OF THEM! He’s an established pitching coach with a great record, a great organizational pitching philosophy and he works terrifically with people. He’s the anti-Dick Pole.
Yeah, he’s not done anything with young pitchers. Fernandez obviously sucks. Webb didn’t win any Cy Young awards. Valverde isn’t a top closer. None of his teams ever won more than 90 games or went to the playoffs. Please.
The Reds signed him to a multiyear deal and he will do something this team hasn’t done in . . . maybe forever. He will institute and oversee a pitching philosophy from the big leagues down to the instructional league. It’s his show. And he’ll be right in Baker’s grill about the use of pitchers during the game.
Scouts all over the game are patting the Reds on the back for coughing up the money to hire Bryan Price. No one believed they could get him, and yet they did. You should be very excited about this young but experienced coach being in the organization.
I told you on this blog Oct. 11 he was the guy, and some of you STILL whine for Ted Power and Mario Soto, who haven’t done squat. Bryan Price has almost 10 years in the big leagues. But you want lazy Soto who gets along with few people and Power, who doesn’t have a proven program or the experience of Price. Why can’t you accept that the Reds did something right? This guy is good.
Well, I would’ve liked to have seen the Reds make at least a serious run at Dave Duncan. They may have and been rebuffed behind the scenes, but who knows? To me, the hire seems pretty quick. If Duncan was a no-go, I would’ve liked to have seen the Reds promote Power or Soto to work with this staff. However, I’m not surprised that the Reds went out of the organization again to fill a coaching position, rather than promoting from within.
I know Price has earned a couple of awards for his coaching in the past 8 years, but he’s also had the benefit of working with guys like Webb, Freddy Garcia, Moyer, Randy Johnson, and Danny Haren. In Seattle, he had a solid, experienced staff in a pitcher’s park and achieved great success in his first couple of years. Price also did a good job with the D’Backs staff in a hitter’s park the past couple of years. He’ll have a young staff (I expect Harang or Arroyo and maybe Cordero to be moved before next year) in a cracker-box of a ballpark that can be punishing to pitchers. Even if those vets don’t go before 2010, he’ll have a lot on his plate to deal with in the wake of Dick Pole.
Price is certainly capable of succeeding in Cincinnati. But I’m not entirely convinced this was the right choice for the Reds to make at this time, considering their needs and the guys they already had on staff in the minors.
Folks, who did you really expect as a better choice than Price? Duncan wasn’t going to happen. Power hasn’t had a lick of experience with major leaguers yet. To say that Power has succeeded with the minor leaguers might or might not be true, but I haven’t heard one iota of evidence that even suggests that Power has been responsible for any pitcher’s improved performance. However, there was at least one instance where neither he or Dick Pole didn’t exactly set Homer Bailey up for success. By all accounts, Bailey was helped most by a High School coach in Texas and Justin Lehr.
I’m not saying that Power hasn’t helped players or isn’t a good choice for a position someday, but Price’s recent history is fairly decent and he is a much better option than Power or a lot of other major-league pitching coaches currently mucking up other teams’ pitching staffs. Price may not have the record of success that we would want, but he hasn’t had a record of poor performance yet either. So, in my opinion, that’s about as good as a small-market team like the Reds can expect for the time-being. At least, not until they start putting more butts in the seats and can afford an upgrade to someone like Duncan.
At least he doesn’t have a pornographic sounding name.
That will cut down on a lot of our comments….
Soto didn’t want the job, so the fact that he wasn’t hired isn’t on anyone but him. My bet is if he said he wanted the job it was his. But he didn’t want the job.
As for Bryan Price, he spent 9 seasons between Seattle and Arizona. He had 7 better than league average pitching staffs (by ERA+) and just 2 slightly below league average pitching staffs.
Ted Power is my buddy. I’m not happy about this and will have a cocktail or two to soothe my ire that Ted was not given the job. He is a super human being and is well repected throughout baseball. Why he didn’t get the job is just the Reds being the Reds. Knowing TP, it doesn’t bother him a bit.
World,
I don’t think that TP not getting the job is the Reds being the Reds. Honestly TP getting the job would have been viewed as the Reds being the Reds as he likely was the candidate who was going to take the least amount of money. While I would have had no issue with Power getting the job, Bryan Price has a major league track record of success on his resume and was being chased by two other teams who make very good decisions in the Indians and Marlins. He was likely a very good hire.
Mario Soto would have NEVER gotten the job. Never.
I will repeat so that it is clear: NEVER!
Agree with all of this.
@Mr. Redlegs: by “Fernandez” I assume you meant King Felix, which he pitched all of 12 games while Price was there. Webb was already a solid starter, but he did turn into a Cy Young candidate, so I will give you that. His staff’s had an ERA better than this years Reds team 5 times, while 4 times worse. While some of the teams he was on the staff made it to 90 wins, there was a steep decline after that. I’m not saying it is all on him, but I am not going to get excited about it. Meche became a much better pitcher after leaving Seattle, Pineiro has become a much better pitcher after leaving Seattle. I also mentioned that Valverde improved under him. BTW, Owings also regressed during his time as well.
I’m not saying he can’t do a good job, I am interested in what his organizational philosophy will be. I want to see how he will handle the young guys because frankly while he was in Seattle, the young guys didn’t improve much or regressed.
The thing that worries me about this whole situation is that I am afraid that Bravasi has too much input on this team from this point forward.
You watch: Price will help fix somebody’s mechanics, and we’ll get a deluge of “Price is right” puns in headlines.
This is after two years of nary a “Dick Pole successful at rearing young pitchers” type headlines. Not once!
If Price is competent and has a plan, I’m sold. We are better off already.
Jaramillo, anybody?
Agreed. He won’t just be a buddy act with Dusty, he’ll be assertive. I’m looking forward to seeing “the plan” unfold.
“Power hasn’t had a lick of experience with major leaguers yet. ”
“and some of you STILL whine for Ted Power”
Bryan Price did not have a lick of major league coaching experience 10 years ago either, instead having to work up thru the Seattle chain before getting the job at Seattle.
Stating a preference is not whining.
This guy sucks, we should have gone after Mario Soto.
@Mr. Redlegs: I’ve never seen a larger slurping of a Reds hire. It’s fine to have an opinion on this which differs from yours. Since there have been very few articles written on this, I’ll assume that half of what you believe is based upon either inside sources or nothing. If it’s inside sources, a more critical examination of a company you work for is appropriate. If it’s nothing, then what makes your opinion more sound?
Hire him for as long as you like. When DB’s contract is up, the current staff will likely be out the door. Hope we find out quickly.
@John: Ha, you’re right. Guaranteed.
@David:
Price will be with the REds after Baker is gone. He made sure of that with his mutliyear contract. Otherwise, he never interviews.
@doktor: It’s pining and whining. Price in the minors was widely considered an up-and-comer because of his physiology skills in mechanics and his approaches, plus people skills.
Ted Power? When have you ever heard anyone in baseball talk about him except Reds fans? Ever heard of Power being an up-and-comer. Ever heard of other teams talking with him about their vacancies? Ever heard of any great body of work? Who has he produced? Hopefully he gets a chance at a big league job. He’s paid his dues.
But when you’re talking about hiring someone with almost 10 years’ of excellence and experience in MLB over some mope in AAA, this is a freaking no-brainer.
Jason1972,
Two things. First of all, why does this guy suck as you say? Secondly, Soto didn’t want the job and never has the other 3 times he has been mentioned as being in the running. You can’t go after a guy who doesn’t want the job.
I, for one, thinks this team needs to spend top dollar on coaches and scouts if we want this team to advance.
I don’t know Ted Power, but in my one encounter with him, he was kind enough to come over and sign my son’s baseball if, for no other reason, to give my son something to be excited about whether it was a player or not (and to keep the player’s from having to worry about signing some young kid’s baseball). It helped tremendously that Power still looks like he could get on the mound and pitch to this day.
That being said, unless Power was the most demanded pitching coach in baseball, I think the Reds made a good choice. With our young staff, we need someone who can guide them through these next few years…we also need someone to go to Dusty and say…”let’s get somebody warming up” and “let’s get this guy out of there” before he’s given up nine runs and goes home and stands under the hot water for about two hours…
How many pitching coaches names’ do we actually know? Price is one name I’ve heard good things about (despite sharing my last name). I would have liked to have gotten Dave Duncan, too, but I didn’t really think that was possible, and I think Price is the kind of coaching talent that we couldn’t wait to let someone else grab.
Price had one fluke good season and some people here act like he’s the next Leo Mazzone. There were awesome choices out there like Mario Soto and Ted Powers, either of whom would have been superior candidates. Soto would have come for the right offer and would instantly be one of the great pitching coaches in Reds history.
@jason1972: Actually, I’ve heard that Mazzone’s success was his pitcher’s abilities and the scout department. But regardless, I just want to hear a plan. He should be here after Dusty is gone, so his philosophy is important to me for continuity sake.
I hope that “keeping pitchers healthy” is one of his main priorities! (I sure hope the Reds brass had the good sense to discuss that with him rather than just accepting that injuries are “dumb luck” that no one has any control over…)
Reds fans are like everyone else,in that they often overrate internal alternatives, be it Oester, Miley, Hanigan, Soto, or Power. The reds don’t pay so much that they’re stockpiling coaches that could work in the bigs elsewhere. Power may be capable, but I’ve seen no reason to believe so with confidence.
Why would Ted Power make a great major league pitching coach? Why would Mario Soto been a great choice? Those here who have advocated those two have done so without reason why? So why were they better choices?
I just want to reiterate that Price may be very good in the long run, I just have no idea. Mr. Redlegs, that was really my point. It wasn’t to be overly critical of your opinion and I hope it didn’t come off that way.
Power may not have been the best choice for the simple reason that Cueto and Bailey have already been handled under Power. They may need someone to point out differences that Power hadn’t noticed i.e. the new voice theory.
I don’t think Price will have any authority as far as organizational philosophy. Baker and Jocketty both strike me as the type that want mediocre people working around them so they appear to be smarter than they are.
After looking through some articles on web search it looks like Price and Rick Peterson were the top candidates out there. Looks like there’s a good chance Peterson will end up a Brewer as he has already been interviewed and he has a prior connection to Macha. The only other name I saw mentioned was Hernandez who was the bullpen coach for the Indians this past season. So if you just go by the top names on everyones list, the Reds got one of the top two.
As far as Soto, he has never had an interest in being a coach. I recall a conversation on the radio last year (when Soto was teaching Volquez & Cueto his changeup) about Soto becoming a coach. It was said then that he had things keeping him busy back home and he wasn’t interested in being tied down and all the traveling.
As for Power, there has been a lot of good talk about his work with the young pitchers in the minors. Can’t say if thats true or not because I’m not there, but if its true it might be a good thing that he stays there to work with Woods, Leake, Boxberger, Thompson, and others.
Jason1972,
Soto was not going to take the job. He really doesn’t want to be tied down and unable to go home during the season. It simply wasn’t going to happen. He really likes his roving abilities because it allows more freedom, where as a MLB pitching coach (or even minor league one for that matter) wouldn’t allow that.
Also, what season with Price are you talking about being fluke? Was it 2001 when his team had a 118 ERA+? Or was it 2003 when his team had a 114 ERA+? Or was it 2007 when his team had a 114 ERA+? Or maybe you meant it was 2008 when his team had a 115 ERA+? For the record, 100 is league average. 110 is usually good enough to be one of the best 5 in the league. So which season was the fluke? Why was it a fluke?
I think this jason guy is just talking nonsense to get a rise out of ppl here.
i mean come on,”awesome”, “superior” lol.
@Mr. Redlegs: ok, you say the Reds organization is so smart for hiring Bryan Price. However, if Powers is such a sucky pitching coach at AAA as I gather you are implying in your thread then why is this same Reds organzation so stupid for keeping Powers around for 4 years.
Hal McCoy reported in his articles that Powers was “an-up-and-comer” and “highly praised by by the pitchers from Louisville”
http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/cincinnati-reds/could-power-be-the-next-reds-pitching-coach-328958.html?cxtype=ynews_rss
quote from Walt, “The Reds GM said he likes the way Power is able to “finish off” young pitchers as they make their way toward the big leagues and put “back on track” those big-leaguers who are sent down. Jocketty said he is hopeful that if Power isn’t offered a major-league job elsewhere, he will stay with the Reds.”
so it would seem people with contacts with the reds report Power is very able in his job and good enough the reds would not want to lose him and is not “some mope in AAA.”
Maybe the Reds believe Power is more valuable to them down working with the young pitchers then he would be working on the major league level. I believe there is more “teaching” that goes on in the minor league level and maybe that is where Ted is very good.
The Reds will now most likely lose this talent. This is why Cincinnati hasn’t sniffed the post season in over a decade. The organization might as well be run by blog fanboys and stats nerds for all the decision making ability they have.
@jason1972:
Trust me, the Reds aren’t being run by ’stats nerds’. Otherwise we never would have sniffed guys like Corey Patterson, Willy Taveras or Alex Gonzalez. Instead, we have had guys stuck in the 1970’s making baseball decisions for our team and THAT is one of the reasons why we have not sniffed the post season since 1999. But you can just ignore facts if you want. Just expect to be called out on them when you do.
Ironically…a few years back Baseball Prospectus wrote a story on the Reds about how they were adopting sabermetrics…this was before Wayne Krivsky became GM…in fact, I believe it was the sabermetric group of “assistant GMs” that traded for Aaron Harang.
Then they were gone…
It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. The decision making seems about as sound as hiring Dusty Baker though, so at least it’s par for the course. Hey, I bet he never played with Hank Aaron. Meh.
It’s real easy for anyone to feel like they have some grasp of MLB game w/ all the stats and interviews that are available to the public…truly it takes a special & passionate person to do this job as a Professional Baseball Coach. Ted has a very good reputation w/his pitchers and the organization as well.
Price seems to be a pretty good choice based upon his experience and resume. I am all good w/ this decision.
However, I’m not good w/ someone who says that Ted Power is a “AAA mope” or a “sucky” coach, whoever you are, you truly have zero grasp of baseball and doesn’t Respect the Game. I have worked on the player development side for a couple of MLB teams & the REDS are one of them. I have had the pleasure of working w/ Ted Power on a daily basis and learning quite a bit from TP. I am sorry he didn’t get the job, but hope that Price pans out so the REDS & their fans can enjoy getting back to the playoffs.
I hope in a selfish way that TP hangs around long enough to get to the REDS pitching coach position, but if he doesn’t it will be some other team’s gain.