Is it the Phillies pitching coach or starters who matter?
By Rick Soisson
The Philadelphia Phillies signing of Bryan Price has occurred before what the team actually needs in a far worse way: Better starters.
The Philadelphia Phillies announced Oct. 31 they have hired Bryan Price to be their new pitching coach. The baseball lifer has a long history as a pitching coach and a forgettable, brief record as a manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Predictably, the team that just hired him sort of praised him, and seemingly Price has something to offer.
As the hurling tutor in Cincinnati (2010-13), Price saw his team make the playoffs three times and one of his pitchers, Homer Bailey, throw two no-hitters. He probably deserves some credit for all of that, but how much is unclear because people flatter others in their organizations when things go well. It should also be noted Bailey had a winning record three of the four years Price was in charge of pitching, but just barely. Bailey also sported uninspiring WHIPS, oddly enough except in his losing (11-12) season.
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Supposedly, Price will bring to the Phillies a balance of old, blah, blah thinking and blah, blah analytics. About the most controversial thing he has said is: “We can spend more time focusing on matchups instead of focusing on the strengths of a pitching staff.” If you decipher other things he’s said, they seem to indicate a belief in match-up bullpen changes and, um, believing in the relievers.
However, this addition to the Phillies management team ignores the basic problem. Behind Aaron Nola, their starters are only question marks – Jake Arrieta, currently recovering from surgery, and a gaggle of throwers most teams would not actually want. To use a presidential formulation, I call them the Three Failing Amigos and the Guy on the IL (Jerad Eickhoff).
Wouldn’t it be better to actually hire, say, Gerrit Cole first and/or the couple of mid-rotation people the Phillies also need? Then, why not ask them and Nola what they would like in a pitching coach? Now, hiring Cole may prove difficult and time-consuming, but how about the notion of signing at least one mid-level starter soon, and getting his input?
I have yet to see a single word in the sports pages in my lifetime about a pitcher being asked what he would like in a pitching coach. Maybe they’re asked. You’d never know it.
The pitchers execute the pitches, not the pitching coach.
Next. The 10 best MLB teams of the now-concluding 2010s. dark
Yes, yes, the off-season elaborate contract dance of the baseball millionaires is now a “thing,” but whether Scott Boras can help Cole wrangle $250 or $275 million out of whatever team the right-hander signs with is not very entertaining. Right now the Phillies should be looking at Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Wade Miley, and Tanner Roark, and paying for plane tickets for all of them.