The Brewers hire Rick Peterson as pitching coach, Kyles back as bullpen coach, Bosio back as advance scout

[Invader3K]

Right. But let's quit pretending they aren't going to upgrade the rotation, or at least try to. If they try to trot out the same "worst in MLB" rotation as last year, season ticket holders will be canceling in droves. They're not stupid. They know what they have to do to drive business and put this team in a better position to return to the playoffs.

[kramnoj]

Right. But let's quit pretending they aren't going to upgrade the rotation, or at least try to

 

Why do we need to quit. Who is doing this?

[bklynbrewcrew]

I dont see how any rotation that has Suppan, Looper, Bush and an underachieving at best Parra can be considered average when Parra is the only one of the four with any upside. Melvin cannot under any circumstances bring back the rotation intact if he wants to keep his job past the 2010 season.

[Invader3K]

From McCalvy: Peterson received a three year contract. Stan Kyles will return as bullpen coach and Chris Bosio will also be back in a role TBD.

[RockCoCougars]

Stan Kyles will return as bullpen coach

Good, that means no Castro in uniform next year. Make the guy a scout or something.

[Schlitz001]

Castro was outright fired last year mid-August. I doubt they bring him back in any capacity.

[TheCrew07]

While I don't share X's unbridled enthusiasm for the move, I'm intrigued by it. Peterson isn't perfect, but he's had quite a bit of success with young arms in the past.

 

As far as butting heads with established pitchers, that doesn't surprise me at all. If you're a hitter or pitcher who's established and having success, why would you want to change anything? Generally I've found that even at the high school level players will more readily accept coaching when they are struggling, when they realize change is necessary.

 

Hopefully Peterson gets along well with Yo and Parra as both should be highly motivated to become more effective pitchers. Just Yo becoming more economical and working laters into ball games would be huge for the pitching staff on the whole. Beyond Yo if Parra can make significant improvement and become the sub 4.0 ERA pitcher he has the stuff to be we'll be in real good shape. Add in another SP or two via acquisition or FA (like a Sheets) and all of a sudden I'm really excited about the 2010 season. SP depth for 2010 should not be a concern with the quality young pitchers we'll have between AA and AAA.

[homer]

Also, its weak to continually blame our shortcomings last year on the replacements when Narveson had the best ERA among starters, by a wide margin.

You are seriously going to use a whopping 4 starts as proof that the fill ins were capable last year? Here are the stats for the fill in starters not named Narveson:

 

Burns 8 starts: 6.86 ERA. 1.55 WHIP

Villanueva 6 starts: 6.52 ERA. 1.69 WHIP

McClung 2 starts: 12.27 ERA, 2.318 WHIP

 

Narveson's 4 nice starts do not compensate for the utter crap that these three guys represented.

[sargennm]

I'm listening to him right now on the D-List. I didn't have a strong opinion about him either way. But I tell you what, he sure does talk a good game.

[SeriesFinale]

From McCalvy: Peterson received a three year contract. Stan Kyles will return as bullpen coach and Chris Bosio will also be back in a role TBD.

TH says it's two years, for what it's worth. No idea which one is correct (I'm apt to think McCalvy given TH's recent "typos")

I wish Castro could somehow come back with the organization, but I'm not sure where.

 

 

[MJLiverock]

Also, its weak to continually blame our shortcomings last year on the replacements when Narveson had the best ERA among starters, by a wide margin.

You are seriously going to use a whopping 4 starts as proof that the fill ins were capable last year? Here are the stats for the fill in starters not named Narveson:

 

Burns 8 starts: 6.86 ERA. 1.55 WHIP

Villanueva 6 starts: 6.52 ERA. 1.69 WHIP

McClung 2 starts: 12.27 ERA, 2.318 WHIP

 

Narveson's 4 nice starts do not compensate for the utter crap that these three guys represented.

Don't lose sight of the fact that the guys they replaced weren't exactly world beaters either. Those stats fit right in with

 

Suppan: 5.29 ERA, 1.69 WHIP

Bush: 6.38 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

Parra: 6.36 ERA, 1.83 WHIP

[Invader3K]

Sounds like it's a two year deal. Either way, I'm excited that they're bringing in someone with some fresh ideas for the organization. Like we said, it's ultimately going to hinge on what kind of rotation help Melvin can acquire.

[twobrewers]

Chris Bosio will also be back in a role TBD.

Manny Parra's personal coach?

 

I can't believe how down everyone is on Dave Bush. He had two season with a WHIP of 1.14. When healthy, I think he will be a serviceable #3 and a great #4 starter. His "big innings"might be frustrating - but he also has the potential to throw a no-hitter when on.

 

X apparently thinks Peterson is a God. I don't share his excitement, but I think his name recognition might convince a few "projects" to sign with the Brewers. That alone is very helpful.

[logan82]

Does the guy have a mullet? I have a hard time trusting a guy with a mullet.

 

I hope he doesn't tinker to much with our guys. I would hate to see our minor league guys pushed back a year in their development because of significant changes.

 

My bold prediction is that Bush and Parra pitch closer to expectations(mid 4's for Bush, low 4 for Parra), Melvin picks up a few pitchers improving our depth and Suppan still is a really bad pitcher as expected and Peterson gets showered with undeserved credit for turning around our "horrible" pitching staff.

[JoeHova]

If the staff turns around, I couldn't care less who gets some undeserved credit. Regression is obviously likely for most of the guys, but not assured. If they all pitch better, Peterson can take all the credit he wants.

[hawing]

For what it's worth, I asked my student employee who's a Mets fan what she thought of Rick Peterson. She said she was fine with him as a pitching coach, instead blaming the Mets' pitching WOAHS on the crap Peterson had to work with when he was there.

I think if she had real reservations about Peterson's ability, she would not have hesitated to share them with me - so I'm taking her response as good news (even though her comments also support the assertions of others here that some if not many if not all of the Brewers' pitching problems are beyond the ken of any one pitching coach).

[sbrylski]

Does the guy have a mullet? I have a hard time trusting a guy with a mullet.

Does he still have that? Awesome! Brewers need to lead the way bringing back mullets and handle bars. Can you imagine Prince with a mullet and a handlebar stach?

 

EDIT: Now you don't need to imagine:

 

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d175/sbrylski06/PRINCE.png

[bjkrautk]

So, Kyles / Peterson will be responsible for teaching our pitchers proper mechanics.

 

 

 

(I'll let that one sink in, for those of us who have been Brewer fans for at least a decade now.)

[DatHoser]

So, Kyles / Peterson will be responsible for teaching our pitchers proper mechanics.

 

 

 

(I'll let that one sink in, for those of us who have been Brewer fans for at least a decade now.)

Groan - but a darn good one, bjkrautk!!

 

Back on target. I'm really hoping that this hire is going to turn the corner for Brewers pitching, not just at the major league level but all the way down. Not just fixing mechanics of current pitchers who need it, but also on drafting (yes, I'm looking at you, KP).

[TooLiveBrew]

R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs on the Peterson hire. An excerpt:

 

As for Peterson himself, he wasn't entirely out of baseball last year, as he tried to fix Scott Kazmir mid-season and seemingly did a decent job at it. He's one of the forefront supporters of advanced and rigorous physical testing of pitchers, and for that reason alone Milwaukee should welcome him with wide arms. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but go back and read Derek Zumsteg's excellent series on pitching prospects and attrition for a reminder of just how good the Athletics were at preventing arm injuries during some of Peterson's time there.

 

Peterson also seems to know a little bit about how pitching works. As demonstrated in multiple interviews, he doesn't pound the "first-pitch strike" philosophy; instead he focuses on winning the first three pitches. He knows the value of the swinging strike and groundball, and he doesn't seem to carry a notebook of clichés and labels for each of his pitchers.

 

Milwaukee made a sound hire; now it's time to get the man some talent to work with.

[dlk9s]

As for Bush...He's average at his very best

Actually, at his very best, he comes dangerously close to pitching no-hitters.

[Never Outhustled]

X ellence wrote:

---

As for Bush...He's average at his very best

Actually, at his very best, he comes dangerously close to pitching no-hitters.

 

 

 

 

 

So does Odell Jones. Was he good?

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I'm listening to him right now on the D-List. I didn't have a strong opinion about him either way. But I tell you what, he sure does talk a good game.

I heard the podcast and liked it as well. He seems like he's a big coffee drinker like Ned...the guy has some energy. He mentioned things like averages for different areas of the strike zone and how few pitchers have "swing and miss" pitches (big issue for our pitchers). I don't know if he's right, but there appears to be some thought and analysis beyond the old baseball maxims behind his work.

 

I've also heard some quirky stories on the guy, like havng Chris Carpenter in the minors and making him work on his mechanics in the shower. I hope he doesn't do that with Coffey...someone could get hurt with him charging across the wet floor in the locker room.

[TooLiveBrew]

Gord Ash, from his brewers.com chat:

 

"The hiring of Rick Peterson not only fills the role of pitching coach but brings a defined overall pitching philosophy to the organization. He will work hand in hand with our Minor League pitching coordinator, Lee Tunnell, and our pitching cross-checker, Jim Rooney, to bring a consistent acquisition-development approach."

 

 

So I guess there's the answer to the question of how much of an influence Peterson is going to be, organizationally.

 

 

EDIT: "We will meet in January in Phoenix with all of our pitching coaches and medical personnel in what I will call a pitching symposium to review and possibly amend our pitching program for 2010."

 

That's going to be interesting. I hope we'll be able to get some actual news from this, but I could understand the Brewers not wanting to disclose a lot.

[And That]

"We will meet in January in Phoenix with all of our pitching coaches and medical personnel in what I will call a pitching symposium to review and possibly amend our pitching program for 2010."

 

I kind of wonder why they are waiting until January... that's well in to the free agency period, past the winter meetings, past the time the new Dominican camp opens, and not much more than a month before spring training opens. This seems like kind of important thing - why not get it taken care of once you have your staff together?