Coaching Decisions

The Brewers are not wasting much time in filling out their coaching vacancies. In a couple of unexpected (at least to me) moves, the Brewers have filled their Pitching Coach and Bench Coach positions. First up, Bill Castro is your (not-so)new Pitching Coach. After becoming a certainty like death and taxes, Bill Castro is back for another season in the Brewers organization, but he's getting a well-deserved promotion. Castro had become a mainstay in the Brewers bullpen, having served there for the past 17 seasons. As I mentioned in a previous posting, he has a great rapport with the Brewers pitchers, especially the latin-american players. It will be interesting to see his approach with the starters, having mainly coached players who would only see batters once per appearance. Obviously our rotation is far from being set, but I wonder if this decision moves Villanueva back into the mix for a rotation spot. Carlos struggled early on last season and it cost him his spot as a starter, but after moving to the bullpen, he became our most reliable reliever. How much of that was Maddux and how much was Castro remains to be seen, but the Brewers still seem to be pretty high on Villanueva as a starter. Castro is also the pitching coach for the Dominican Republic squad for the World Baseball Classic.

And now the Bench coach, Willie Randolph. The reason this move comes as a surprise is not because he's under-qualified or an unknown, far from it. It is surprising to me because he had already turned down a bench coach position in Washington, and there is still a managerial opening in Seattle. If you ask me which position of the three is most desirable, I don't blame Willie for choosing the Brewers, a young team that shows a lot of promise and has the greatest potential for success in the 2009 campaign. I feel very confident now with the coaching staff Doug has assembled, essentially having three managers in the dugout each with their own style and level of familiarity with the team and the league. So far I give Doug Melvin an A for preparing this team for the 2009 season. Let's see what he can do with the players.

Update on the Pitching Coach Spot

According to Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com, Bill Castro will be given the first chance to interview with Macha, but Rick Peterson will not be considered. This is a curious move as he was the runner-up for the Texas job, given to ex-Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux. One would think that being one of the most sought after pitching coaches and a history of working with the current manager in the past would give Peterson a leg up. Perhaps there was a rift between Macha and Peterson during their time in Oakland. There are only two men that can answer that question and it's doubtful that either will say word one on the matter.

Sidenote: In the same article, Rosenthal believes trading Prince Fielder is highly unlikely and I tend to agree. Just from a fan and marketing standpoint, Prince puts butts in seats and jerseys on fans. He's a rising star in the league and I believe the fact that Doug is "listening" to offers for Prince was just a ploy to see if someone would be desperate enough (Hank Steinbrenner) to sell the farm to get him. So unless we see another "Sexson for the entire D-Backs farm system" type deal, get used to seeing the portly slugger manning first base come 2009.

Replacing Mike Maddux

Mike Maddux informed the Brewers that he will be leaving the team for greener pastures... GREENer pastures, taking the pitching coach position with the Texas Rangers. Mike has been credited with many reclamation projects over the years including the likes of Dan Kolb, Derrick Turnbow and Matt Wise. The thing I will remember most about Maddux? His mustache, and the joy I got in watching him work that thing during a visit to the mound (do teams really still hire lip readers? I can tell you what is said in those meetings, "Throw strikes, get guys out") But in all seriousness, Mike has always been a stand up guy putting the players' achievements above his own accolades and I wish him the best in Texas. Now the Brewers need to look into a replacement. I'm going to throw a few names out there that you may or may not have already heard and what merits them getting a look.

Everyone seems to believe that Chuck Hernandez is the clear frontrunner. While Hernandez has had some great success developing young pitchers like Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, he hit a bit of a rough patch this year. The Detroit Tigers finish 12th in the AL in team ERA in a terribly disappointing 2008 campaign which ended up costing Hernandez his job. The lone bright spot: Armando Galarraga who went 13-7 with a 3.73 ERA.

Doug Melvin also stated that he will give a chance to Bill Castro as well. A mainstay in the Brewers organization, Bill Castro has been very successful in working with the guys in the bullpen, getting them to understand the situations they're in and prepare them for the hitters they will face. The team knows Castro, which is a big plus, and he has built a great rapport with the team's Latin American players, but due to his lack of experience (which seems to be the buzz word in the Brewers front office) at the pitching coach position, this "interview" seems to be a mere formality.

I'm going to throw a couple other less talked about names: Leo Mazzone and Rick Peterson. Peterson has worked with Macha in Oakland which would seemingly give him the inside track. He has a history developing good pitchers into great pitchers: see Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and John Maine. It was the Mets bullpen that was Peterson's undoing. After blowing more saves and big leads than Derrick Turnbow, Peterson paid the price alongside Willie Randolph. Given Melvin's track record for piecing together solid bullpens and Castro's ability to own the player's performance out there, Peterson would seemingly thrive in Milwaukee.

And finally, my favorite, Leo Mazzone. The fact that this man does not have a job is a crime against the game of baseball. Alongside Bobby Cox, Mazzone mentored three Hall-of-Famers in Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine. I've been comparing these three to Gallardo, Villanueva and Parra for some time now to anyone who would listen and I generally get laughed at, but if you compare their numbers at this point in their career and you look at their approach and stuff, this isn't so far fetched. Under the tutelage of Mazzone, this young pitching staff could be something special. Time will tell, but I like the fact that new blood is being injected into the Brewers coaching staff, regardless of who is chosen.