Reds announce 2014 coaching staff

[wvu_man]

Reds announce 2014 coaching staff




CINCINNATI - New Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price today announced the club's Major League coaching staff heading into the 2014 season.
Assistant pitching coach Mack Jenkins has been named bullpen coach, while first base coach Billy Hatcher and catching coach Mike Stefanski will return in those roles. New to the Major League staff this upcoming season will be bench coach Jay Bell, hitting coach Don Long, pitching coach Jeff Pico, third base coach Steve Smith and coach Freddie Benavides.

Bell, 47, spent last season as the Pittsburgh Pirates' hitting coach under manager Clint Hurdle. He was Arizona manager Bob Melvin's bench coach from 2005-2006, then from 2007-2009 served 3 seasons as a spring training advisor for the Diamondbacks. In 2012, Bell was the hitting coach for the Southern League champion Mobile Baybears. In 18 Major League seasons, the 2-time National League All-Star infielder hit .265 with 195 HR and 860 RBI for the Cleveland Indians, Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Diamondbacks and New York Mets.

Long, 51, spent the last 3 seasons as minor league hitting coordinator for the Atlanta Braves following a 3-year stint as the Pirates' Major League hitting coach. Before he went to Pittsburgh, in 1999 he was the Philadelphia Phillies' roving hitting instructor and from 2000-2007 served as that organization's minor league hitting coordinator. Long has 11 years of minor league managerial experience, all in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization, and 3 times was voted his league's Manager of the Year. The former switch-hitter was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the 1983 draft and played 3 seasons in their farm system.

Pico, 47, spent the last 11 seasons in the Diamondbacks organization, the last 2 as minor league field coordinator. He was Arizona's minor league pitching coordinator from 2010-2011 and a pitching coach for its affiliates in Class A Yakima (2003), South Bend (2004), Lancaster (2005-2006) and Visalia (2007) and Class AA Mobile (2008-2009). From 1997-2002, Pico was the pitching coach for the independent Western League's Chico Heat. The righthander went 13-12 with a 4.24 ERA in 26 starts and 87 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs from 1988-90. In a 4-0 win vs the Reds on May 31, 1988 he became the first Cubs pitcher in 79 years to throw a shutout in his Major League debut.

Smith, 61, is a 38-year veteran of professional baseball. Before joining Price's staff, he had 14 years' experience as infield and third base coach for the Seattle Mariners (1996-1999), Texas Rangers (2002-2006), Phillies (2007-08) and Cleveland Indians (2010-2012). Smith also spent time in player development for the Mariners as a manager and infield instructor (1991-1995), was a minor league manager for the San Diego Padres (1984-1989), and from 2001-2002 was the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league roving infield instructor.

Benavides, 47, will spend his first season on the Major League coaching staff and will focus on infield instruction. He spent the previous 15 years in the Reds' minor league system, including the last 6 as player development field coordinator. In 2003 he served as a coach with the Major League club from August 5 through the remainder of the season. Benavides played in the majors for the Reds (1991-1992), Rockies (1993) and Expos (1994).


Looks like a fresh start with an almost entirely new staff. Good to see the changes...we needed a fresh start and a new identity.

 

[JohnU]

What does a catching coach coach?

 

[Redsfan1507]

He's the bullpen catcher. Stef is a good one- like an assistant bullpen coach- not just an old hack backstop needing a paying gig.

I don't know Smith, and wishing Mark Berry the best in his recovery from cancer, but Berry was a terrible 3b coach. The man got a dozen runners a year hosed with late signals to lead runners, and /or no signals to trailers. I respect Price noticed.

I like Long and Bell. They will prescribe better medicine to the Reds offensive philosophy, but it is unclear if the patient will benefit if they refuse to swallow it, or are too far diseased to survive such treatment. I have been critical of Benevides inability to develop drafted Reds middle infielders into MLB middle infielders, but have to give him credit for recognizing they weren't going to be MLB infielders anyway. Coaches are always judged by results of players, and unfortunately at the MLB level, most of those results aren't the direct product of MLB coaches. Good ones cure a few slumps, get a player or two to make better contact, or help a rookie or two recognize a curveball or a pickoff play a little earlier. Real success requires the GM to get in on the act, and put a roster together that has both talent and fundamental smarts to make fewer mistakes than the opposition, and capitalize on more of the oppositions mistakes than the guys in the other dugout do. A great coach can't turn dung into diamonds...but bad coaches have made a lot of mediocre players into failures.

I'm not intelligent about Pico, but less concerned because Price is a pitching coach.

It's an improvement, if nothing else it's addition by subtraction...of a condistently inneffective hitting coach in Brook Jacoby, Berry, and Dusty Baker, who was not a pitching coach or a hitting coach, or much of a manager against equal talent. You can't outsmart better talent often, but you sure can get beat by lesser talent with frequent suicide by stupidity. Not sure about the roster talent yet, but it's going to be hard for any dugout staff to be as complacent with stupidity as the previous one of Dusty's.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Well it looks like the sewer system got pumped out. Praise the Lord that management was smart emough to get the rest of that garbage out of the dugout along with the toothpicker. Jay Bell is a winner.

 

[JohnU]

I remain wary of the hitting system. The idea that the hitting coach doesn't make much difference seems to make zero sense to me, if we can assume that pitching coaches help pitchers.

Whatever, I got my wish ... replacing Jacoby. So at worst, we are ahead of that game.

 

[Redsfan1507]

A long time ago, a moderate BA guy with some power got traded from the Cubs to the Cardinals. The hitting coach there suggested a change and the guy became Lou Brock...and no one ever put power and Brock together after that. Back in the days before the Royals were good the first time, a mediocre power, moderate .280 BA hitter named George Brett was just pitcher Ken Bretts little brother. Until a guy named Charlie Lau got his ear.

Both these guys are HOFers. They weren't created by hitting coaches, they just were helped by them to be all they could be. They always had the talent, and it may just be luck they got together with a coach that had skills, and they were willing to work together.

On the opposite end of that concept, there was a speedy guy named Drew Stubbs, that showed zero power, encouraged by 4 levels of a Reds organization to swing for fences, without considering a bunt or a shorter groundball swing, or that a walk could get him to 1b.

If you start with carbon, under the right circumstances where correct pressure is applied, in time you can produce a diamond. It won't work if you start with monkey shit, no matter the environment or pressure. You can also start with the correct material, and screw it up with the wrong process environment.

There is strong evidence the Reds organization wasn't quite a perfect environment for development of precious gems. They did occasionally draft a few already impressive ones and managed not to damage them too much before the arrived in MLB-Votto/Bruce... you can polish zirconia all you want in a MLB environment, you can't change it's chemistry and make it a diamond. There is a mix of both on this roster.

The Reds have forced a few players up before they were ready. Some like Bailey, appear to have arrived late, but un damaged from ill use. Some- like possibly Frazier or Hamilton, the jury is still out. I do think they have a better chance if the don't try to lead them away from their strengths, toward their weaknesses, and without Dusty and Company, who specialized in asking everyone to hit 25 HR, there is a better environment to success in players now. When they build an organization that can actually develop more talent in the minors too, they might have something. Players are born with tools, but they are usually sharpened or dulled in the minors. Dusty tried to make most of them blunt instruments in the end.

I'd like to see the Reds HELP Hamilton get on base in ways he already has shown aptitude for- bunting, chopping, hitting oppage and taking a walk. He knows what to do after he gets on base. Gotta better chance of success that way, than watching him hit .205 trying to pull the ball out of the park in the Drew Stubbs character in Dusty's future autobiography titled "how to waste more opportunities than most people ever have" Since Dusty's gone, I'm more optimistic there in regard to coaching possibilities, but I don't expect magic acts either.

 

[JohnU]

I watched Nori Aoki hit for the Brewers. The annoying shit never hit a ball 200 feet but somehow managed ... what 50 steals? A .280 average. He's 32 years old, plays a corner OF spot, does all that a leadoff guy should do.

Billy Hamilton has a 50 percent chance of reaching first base if the ball hits the grass twice.

Todd Frazier could add 10 doubles to his total by hitting to right field.

As it stands, I think we will see Bruce get 40 doubles and 35-40 HR ... 80 long hits is about as good as I ever expect.

Votto will improve his HR total, I think. His RBI will also go up and nobody will realize that it's not RBI that even matters, but somebody has to get a hit with Hamilton on 2nd or 3rd base.

IF Hamilton gets the chance to play and hit the ball on the grass. Hop hop hop and you got a double.