Pitching coaches

[Scarey]

There is a very memorable thread from a while back where we wondered about how much of an impact a pitching coach has on the team. I saw over on NSBB that someone had posted a Baseball Prospectus Q&A with Kerry Wood and it had some good info on the subject.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/articl...cleid=9739

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->DL: You mentioned Marty DeMerritt earlier. Have other pitching coaches made a notable impact on your career?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->KW: One of my pitching coaches, a guy who actually passed away in a car accident a few years ago in the Dominican, was Oscar Acosta. I had him in both the minor leagues and in the big leagues. He was probably the biggest influence. He was my first pitching coach in Rookie ball, and we kept in touch. Then he made it to the big leagues with us, so I had him there, and he was probably the most influential. Of course, I also spent seven years with Larry Rothschild. Pitching coaches matter. They’re essential for anybody, even veteran guys. We all need to get back on track, and we all need somebody, especially when we’re throwing on the side, to be able to say, "Hey, you’re doing this, fix it," and boom, you go right back to it. It would be great to have a guy standing behind you on the mound, during the game, to tell you, pitch by pitch, what you’re doing wrong, but like I was saying earlier, the more you’re out there, the more you’re able to kind of fix it yourself. Even veteran players need pitching coaches to say, "Hey!" When you get out there, you don’t always think as clearly as you do when you’re sitting and watching it from the side. So it’s always beneficial, and for the young guys it’s huge. It’s their first taste of someone teaching them at this level, or maybe it’s their first professional coach. I think they’re essential.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[jstraw]

<!--quoteo(post=69327:date=Nov 17 2009, 11:36 AM:name=Scarey)-->QUOTE (Scarey @ Nov 17 2009, 11:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->There is a very memorable thread from a while back where we wondered about how much of an impact a pitching coach has on the team. I saw over on NSBB that someone had posted a Baseball Prospectus Q&A with Kerry Wood and it had some good info on the subject.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/articl...cleid=9739

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->DL: You mentioned Marty DeMerritt earlier. Have other pitching coaches made a notable impact on your career?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->KW: One of my pitching coaches, a guy who actually passed away in a car accident a few years ago in the Dominican, was Oscar Acosta. I had him in both the minor leagues and in the big leagues. He was probably the biggest influence. He was my first pitching coach in Rookie ball, and we kept in touch. Then he made it to the big leagues with us, so I had him there, and he was probably the most influential. Of course, I also spent seven years with Larry Rothschild. Pitching coaches matter. They’re essential for anybody, even veteran guys. We all need to get back on track, and we all need somebody, especially when we’re throwing on the side, to be able to say, "Hey, you’re doing this, fix it," and boom, you go right back to it. It would be great to have a guy standing behind you on the mound, during the game, to tell you, pitch by pitch, what you’re doing wrong, but like I was saying earlier, the more you’re out there, the more you’re able to kind of fix it yourself. Even veteran players need pitching coaches to say, "Hey!" When you get out there, you don’t always think as clearly as you do when you’re sitting and watching it from the side. So it’s always beneficial, and for the young guys it’s huge. It’s their first taste of someone teaching them at this level, or maybe it’s their first professional coach. I think they’re essential.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'd be surprised if very many MLB pitchers felt much differently. Maybe Bob Gibson wasn't a coachable guy (I really don't know) but I'm sure good pitching coaches earn their pay.

As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.

[The Dude]

not exactly a ringing endorsement for Larry there.

[Runnys]

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So someone that did not go to college cannot form a well-structured literate reply to a question?

[Coldneck]

<!--quoteo(post=69349:date=Nov 17 2009, 02:57 PM:name=Runnys)-->QUOTE (Runnys @ Nov 17 2009, 02:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So someone that did not go to college cannot form a well-structured literate reply to a question?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Absolutely not. They're all morons. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/teh.gif[/img]

[veryzer]

<!--quoteo(post=69349:date=Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM:name=Runnys)-->QUOTE (Runnys @ Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So someone that did not go to college cannot form a well-structured literate reply to a question?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


apparently so. i didn't go to college and i don't know how to capitalize. i can't even spell capitalize.

[jstraw]

<!--quoteo(post=69349:date=Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM:name=Runnys)-->QUOTE (Runnys @ Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So someone that did not go to college cannot form a well-structured literate reply to a question?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Spoken English is rarely constructed as would be written English. Maybe Bill Buckley and George Plimpton spoke in a manner that was indistinguishable from their written commentary but very few of the rest of us do. And forgive my disgusting bigotry but I don't think it's likely that ballplayers drafted out of high school are among the likely candidates to be exceptions to this.

I've heard Kerry Wood speak. Further, I've worked as a journalist and transcribed many interviews and quotes from interviews. Its a tightrope act. If you transcribe most people's actual spoken syntax, they tend to read as stupid...lacking the non-verbal cues that go along with listening to someone formulate speech from thoughts on the fly. As a result, almost all writers will sacrifice a degree of literal accuracy when transcribing quotes in order to prevent this. When writers transcribe accurately, they're often using the cover of accuracy as a weapon against the person they're choosing to let appear unschooled.

My gut tells me that the writer here over-edited Wood to an extreme.

[Rappster]

<!--quoteo(post=69354:date=Nov 17 2009, 02:27 PM:name=jstraw)-->QUOTE (jstraw @ Nov 17 2009, 02:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=69349:date=Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM:name=Runnys)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Runnys @ Nov 17 2009, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->As a side note, that's a pretty well-structured and literate reply from a ballplayer drafted out of high school. I wonder how an actual transcript from the interview would read.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So someone that did not go to college cannot form a well-structured literate reply to a question?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Spoken English is rarely constructed as would be written English. Maybe Bill Buckley and George Plimpton spoke in a manner that was indistinguishable from their written commentary but very few of the rest of us do. And forgive my disgusting bigotry but I don't think it's likely that ballplayers drafted out of high school are among the likely candidates to be exceptions to this.

I've heard Kerry Wood speak. Further, I've worked as a journalist and transcribed many interviews and quotes from interviews. Its a tightrope act. If you transcribe most people's actual spoken syntax, they tend to read as stupid...lacking the non-verbal cues that go along with listening to someone formulate speech from thoughts on the fly. As a result, almost all writers will sacrifice a degree of literal accuracy when transcribing quotes in order to prevent this. When writers transcribe accurately, they're often using the cover of accuracy as a weapon against the person they're choosing to let appear unschooled.

My gut tells me that the writer here over-edited Wood to an extreme.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Wood is actually a pretty good interview. That said, your general assessment is spot-on...

[funkster]

I wonder what Leo Mazzone is up to these days.

[kbwsb]

I've never been nuts about Rothschild, but the truth is, our pitching is the least of our worries.
For the past couple of years, we've been one of the better pitching teams in the league, and it sure isn't because of the sparkling fielding.

Can't complain about the job he's done, of late.