BEN ASKS: Hi Buck, given the success the Jays young pitchers have had this season, do you think Alex Anthopolous will insist that Bruce Walton stay on as pitching coach or does the new manager always have 100% say?
BUCK: Ben if I were the GM of the Jays I would strongly suggest to the new manager to consider Bruce Walton and Rick Langford for the 2011 staff. What these two have done in a short period of time with the pitching staff is remarkable. Morrow, Romero, Cecil and Marcum have made dramatic strides this season. Morrow under Walton has become a potential front of the rotation guy for a number of years. I understand the new manager might want to bring in his own staff, but he should look at the body of work from Walton and Langford and take that into consideration when filling out his coaching staff.
PETER ASKS: Hi Buck, I was wondering if you could discuss the process involved with a new manager picking his coaching staff? When you got hired as the Blue Jays skipper did you have a ‘dream’ list for coaches, and how hard was it to decide on the final staff? Thanks.
BUCK: Peter, it is one of the most important things a manager does, putting together a coaching staff. I had the choice of my first staff in 2001 with Gord Ash. As a manager you have to decide what your teams strengths and weaknesses are and build the staff accordingly. If you have a strong pitching staff, you need a good tactical pitching coach that can construct games plans to fit your pitchers style like a Bruce Walton or a Dave Duncan. If you have a speed team and stolen bases and bunting are a priority, Dave Collins or Davey Lopes should be on the list. If you have a powerful hitting attack but need to improve on you average and consistency, a coach like Cito Gaston, Kevin Long, Joe Vavra or Charlie Manuel will serve you well. There then is the challenge of communicating with Spanish speaking players. A bilingual coach skilled in his specialty is a must. This is a very big deal and often times gets overlooked. There are many Spanish speaking players in the big leagues today and they need to have a coach they can speak to in their native language. Many issues have to be addressed when you are constructing a major league coaching staff but the most important is to have everyone on the same page working together and never allow the players to see a disagreement among the staff. You don’t always have to agree, but you always have to respect each other and present a consistent philosophy of winning together as a coaching staff.
TIM ASKS: Hey Buck. I have always been curious as to why more pitchers don’t throw the knuckleball. Seems to have worked well for Tim Wakefield. And is it not a good idea to have a knuckleballer on your relief staff? A good knuckler could eat up a lot of relief innings and ease some of the work on the other bullpen pitchers. Not to mention it might throw opposing teams off their game plan. Thoughts?
BUCK: Tim, the problem is the knuckleball is difficult to master. Wakefield is an exceptional pitcher for being able to throw the knuckleball and pitch so effectively late into his career. Many pitchers have tried to throw the pitch but few have been able to control it to the point of being able to throw strikes with it. Charlie Hough, R.A. Dickey, Phil and Joe Niekro, Eddie Fisher and Hoyt Wilhelm are about the only pitchers to master the pitch and have success in the majors. Many position players throw knucklers every day warming up, and some are really good, but they could never throw it consistently enough to use it to pitch.
JOHN FRAME ASKS: Hi Buck, I was wondering how it is that players can be brought up from double-A (ie. Kyle Drabek) without taking a stint in triple-A? How can the Jays tell if he’s “good enough” if he has not played in triple-A? Are both divisions that close in competition?
BUCK: John, there was a time when triple-A was a necessary stop on the path to the big leagues but that is no longer the case. Pitching in the Pacific Coast League is a real challenge for several reasons. There are many parks at high altitude like Colorado Springs and Albuqurque, many parks in hot dry places like Las Vegas and Reno and many parks that are just too small. Pitchers have always been difficult to evaluate in the PCL. Typically it has been a hitter’s league.
With the Blue Jays triple-A club in Las Vegas playing at Cashman Field, the park is small, the air is thin and the infield is rock hard, all tough on pitchers. The competition in double-A is younger but many teams keep their top prospects there to allow them to grow together as a unit. Triple-A has become an older league filled with players 25 to 30 years old that make a real good living keeping their big league dreams alive. For a player like Kyle Drabek, just 22 years old, it is best to keep him in AA at New Hampshire with players of the same age and away from the distractions of Las Vegas. Drabek isn’t too far away from a regular spot in the Jays rotation and triple-A might not be necessary for his development. Remember when Encarnacion and Snider were on rehab assignments, the Jays sent them to AA and not Las Vegas because they thought they would face more challenging pitching.
JOHN KELLY ASKS: With a runner coming in from third on a close play, the catcher will block the plate whenever possible. I’m surprised there aren’t more serious accidents but I feel that the runners (even the big guys) seem to avoid hitting the catcher to cause him to drop the ball. Is this simply to avoid injuring themselves?
BUCK: John there aren’t as many runners crashing into the catchers in today’s game as there was 15, 20 years ago. I was taught the plate was my territory and to protect it at all costs. That is no longer the philosophy. All teams are better off when their players are healthy and on the field and running into the catcher on every routine play doesn’t make a lot of sense. There are situations in a game that call for the catcher to block the plate forcing the runner to barrel into him but a slide and a hand swipe might be the best way to avoid a tag. I am old school for sure, but if I were coaching catchers these days I would encourage him to pick and chose the right situation to put his body in harm’s way by blocking the plate.
RYAN HUTCHENS ASKS: Of all the pitchers that you caught, who would you throw out in a critical game? Do you think Ricky Romero will be as good as that pitcher, two years from now?
BUCK: Ryan I think if I could go back and pitch one guy in the most important game it would be Dave Stieb. Dave had the best stuff of any pitcher I caught and he was a terrific competitor. Because he didn’t have the chance to play on many winning ball clubs he didn’t have a lot of post-season experience, but knowing Dave he would have been great in big games.
As for Ricky Romero, I think he will develop into that type of pitcher as well. He has a great feel for pitching early in his career. As the team improves and games become more meaningful, Romero will grow into a big game pitcher.
STEVE ASKS: Hi Buck, at this point I’m wondering what your gut feeling is on whether Lyle Overbay will be back with the Jays? It seems the entire season he’s been expected to be in a new uniform next year, but with no real heir apparent at first, do you think Alex Anthopolous will try to work on a short term deal? Thanks
BUCK: Steve, Lyle Overbay has been a very good player for the Jays during his time in Toronto and if I were making the decision right now I would bring him back to play first. He is among the best in baseball in the field. The problem the Blue Jays face is that Overbay is at the end of his contract and 15 days after the World Series he can file for free agency. This is a chance for Lyle to pick his team for the next few seasons. Players don’t always get this opportunity and to pass on it without seeing what the market is would be a mistake. Lyle Overbay is from the Northwest and playing in Toronto is a long way from home as is spring training in Dunedin. I wish he was going to be part of the future, but I don’t expect him back next year. There is not a player in the system that can step in at first so I expect that will be on the off season shopping list.