With a 2-0 lead, Boston now wins the World Series in 83.6% of FanGraphs' simulations.
*Rob Manfred reiterated that the Astros have been cleared.
*FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel, on which teams have the best chance to win a World Series in the next five years:
I was prepared to put the Astros behind the Yankees, since the Bombers' financial edge and superior scouting/development make up for the deficit in short term talent...
[Head explodes]
*Astros minor-league field coordinator Josh Bonifay is headed to Philadelphia to be the Phillies' farm director.
*Scottsdale lost to Salt River 10-9 in the Arizona Fall League.
-Abraham Toro went 1x5 with 2K.
-Ronnie Dawson was 1x3 with 1K:2BB.
-J.B. Bukauskas threw 4.1IP, 7H/4ER, 5K:1BB
*Boston players discuss their penchant for two-out rallies. Two-out RBIs in the ALCS:
Game 1: 0
Game 2: 4
Game 3: 5
Game 4: 7
Game 5: 0
*An NPR report on how far the Red Sox are willing to go to distance themselves from Tom Yawkey's racist past.
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Josh Bonifay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh Bonifay. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Monday, November 28, 2016
Monday Morning Hot Links
*I talked about the Astros last night with Sammy, my friend Joe's 10-year old son, for about half an hour last night.
*You may not have heard of Sammy before, but our guest on Lima Time Time tonight may sound familiar: Lance McCullers, Jr.
*Buster Olney writes that it would be a good idea for A.J. Hinch to tuck Josh Reddick in the #2-hole, and put as much distance between him and Brian McCann in the lineup as possible.
*Ken Rosenthal says that Alex Bregman would have to highlight a trade for Chris Sale.
*Richard Justice gives an overview of the major players and pimps in free agency...dependent on the new CBA being ratified soon.
*Speaking of the CBA, which expires at 11:59pm Wednesday, there are "high hopes" for a deal getting done but the possibility of an off-season lockout remains. Allegedly on the table is MLB cutting the compensation clause of signing big-name free agent.
*Former Astros minor-leaguer, and minor-league manager Josh Bonifay became the Rangers' major-league field coordinator last week. Bonifay was announced as the Astros minor-league player development coordinator in September.
*FanGraphs' David Laurilia wrote in his Sunday links column (scroll down about halfway) that Chris Devenski was 2016's most valuable rookie pitcher.
*This article is missing a pretty major part (fear, violence, terror) of Fidel Castro's reign in Cuba, but here's an article describing the importance of sports - particularly baseball - and culture under Castro.
*SABR: A bomb threat in 1970 gave fans the opportunity to mingle on the field with Twins players.
*You may not have heard of Sammy before, but our guest on Lima Time Time tonight may sound familiar: Lance McCullers, Jr.
*Buster Olney writes that it would be a good idea for A.J. Hinch to tuck Josh Reddick in the #2-hole, and put as much distance between him and Brian McCann in the lineup as possible.
*Ken Rosenthal says that Alex Bregman would have to highlight a trade for Chris Sale.
*Richard Justice gives an overview of the major players and pimps in free agency...dependent on the new CBA being ratified soon.
*Speaking of the CBA, which expires at 11:59pm Wednesday, there are "high hopes" for a deal getting done but the possibility of an off-season lockout remains. Allegedly on the table is MLB cutting the compensation clause of signing big-name free agent.
*Former Astros minor-leaguer, and minor-league manager Josh Bonifay became the Rangers' major-league field coordinator last week. Bonifay was announced as the Astros minor-league player development coordinator in September.
*FanGraphs' David Laurilia wrote in his Sunday links column (scroll down about halfway) that Chris Devenski was 2016's most valuable rookie pitcher.
*This article is missing a pretty major part (fear, violence, terror) of Fidel Castro's reign in Cuba, but here's an article describing the importance of sports - particularly baseball - and culture under Castro.
*SABR: A bomb threat in 1970 gave fans the opportunity to mingle on the field with Twins players.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
The Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2016 election announcement will take place this evening, and you can bet on...some sort of strong reaction either way.
*Things are looking good for Bagwell, writes Ortiz.
*Bagwell doesn't know what to expect with the results.
*The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley thinks any voter who doesn't share their ballot should lose their vote. (Agree).
*Here's FiveThirtyEight with an article on how the BBWAA has ignored the last 50 years of baseball.
*The Astros made some reassignments/hirings yesterday. To break it down (New hirings in italics):
Corpus
Dave Borkowski: Pitching coach
Lancaster
Ramon Vazquez: Manager
Quad Cities
Omar Lopez: Manager
Chris Holt: Pitching coach
Tri-City
Drew French: Pitching coach
Dillon Lawson: Hitting coach
Greeneville
Josh Bonifay: Manager
Bill Murphy: Pitching coach
GCL Astros
Wladimir Sutil: Latin Infield Instructor
Aaron Delguidice (Fresno/Lancaster) and Tommy Kawamura (Corpus/Quad Cities) have been named as development coaches.
*Evan Drellich notes that Omar Lopez was originally supposed to be the Lancaster coach, and was assigned to Quad Cities, while Vazquez was originally the coach for the GCL Astros and got the big jump to Lancaster.
*And here's the rundown on all those changes, from Evan Drellich.
*Uh-oh. Derek Jeter's trainer is linked to the alleged Peyton Manning HGH supplier.
*Things are looking good for Bagwell, writes Ortiz.
*Bagwell doesn't know what to expect with the results.
*The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley thinks any voter who doesn't share their ballot should lose their vote. (Agree).
*Here's FiveThirtyEight with an article on how the BBWAA has ignored the last 50 years of baseball.
*The Astros made some reassignments/hirings yesterday. To break it down (New hirings in italics):
Corpus
Dave Borkowski: Pitching coach
Lancaster
Ramon Vazquez: Manager
Quad Cities
Omar Lopez: Manager
Chris Holt: Pitching coach
Tri-City
Drew French: Pitching coach
Dillon Lawson: Hitting coach
Greeneville
Josh Bonifay: Manager
Bill Murphy: Pitching coach
GCL Astros
Wladimir Sutil: Latin Infield Instructor
Aaron Delguidice (Fresno/Lancaster) and Tommy Kawamura (Corpus/Quad Cities) have been named as development coaches.
*Evan Drellich notes that Omar Lopez was originally supposed to be the Lancaster coach, and was assigned to Quad Cities, while Vazquez was originally the coach for the GCL Astros and got the big jump to Lancaster.
*And here's the rundown on all those changes, from Evan Drellich.
*Uh-oh. Derek Jeter's trainer is linked to the alleged Peyton Manning HGH supplier.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Minor-League Managers and Staff
Building on some news from yesterday, the Astros have announced minor-league staffing assignments.
Morgan Ensberg: Roving Instructor. "Will be with Lancaster for home games and scout the Cal League or serve as a roving instructor while Lancaster is on the road."
Adam Everett: Infield Instructor. Will shuttle between the Major-League team and minor-league infielders.
Vince Coleman: Outfielding/Baserunning Development Specialist, Quad Cities
Managers:
Oklahoma City: Tony DeFrancesco
Corpus: Keith Bodie (2012 Texas League Manager of the Year)
Lancaster: Rodney Linares (Returns for 2nd season with JetHawks)
Quad Cities: Omar Lopez (Greeneville's manager for 2011-12)
Tri-City: Ed Romero (manager of Greeneville in 2010
Greeneville: Josh Bonifay (managerial debut, Lexington's hitting coach in 2012)
GCL Astros: Edgar Alfonzo (previously GCL Astros' hitting coach)
DSL Astros: Johan Maya
Tom Lawless is an infield developmental specialist for OKC, and Mark Bailey will be the catching developmental specialist for Corpus. Former Gold-Glove OF Cesar Cedeno will be Bonifay's hitting coach in Greeneville.
Quad Cities GM Stefanie Brown:
"It's a somewhat unique set-up, but it shows the emphasis on development that is taking place throughout the Astros organization. We're excited about the staff that Houston has sent us in the first year of our affiliation with them."
Monday, May 7, 2012
The stuff of Legends
The Lexington Legends recently passed through my area to play a three game series against the Greenville Drive, where they won two of three to take the series. During their stay in Greenville I was able to learn a bit more about several members of the team.
After hitting just .207/.294/.287 in 49 games last year, 2011 27th round pick Alex Todd has turned things around so far this season. The Lexington shortstop is hitting .321/.404/.432 and has drastically improved his strikeout and walk rates while also improving his defense. He was nice enough to answer a quick question prior to Friday's game.
I was also able to get several minutes with Lexington hitting coach Josh Bonifay and we talked about a handful of interesting players.
Mike Kvasnicka was a first round pick in 2010 as a third baseman, despite being generally regarded as a better catching prospect. After hitting .260/.328/.368 last season while playing a terrible third base, Astros new management decided to move Kvasnicka back behind the plate. So far he's made the transition defensively, but his offense is a different story. His line so far is .143/.200/.274.
Matt Duffy was a 20th round pick in 2011 and, due to the perceived lack of third base prospects in the Astros system, a lot of people were looking for him to breakout this year. After a promising .298/.370/.417 last year, he's working to fulfill those wishes as he's hitting .328/.378/.509 this year for Lexington. He's also doubled his home runs in half the at bats.
Delino DeShields Jr. is in a similar situation as Kvasnicka. As a first round pick in 2010, DeShields has been tasked with a position change as he transitions from center field to second base. Last season was his first at the new position and he struggled to a line of .220/.305/.322. This season he's looked like a different player, especially on defense, as his offense has improved more than his .255/.362/.355 line would indicate. His walk and strikeout rates have both improved and he's a perfect 18 for 18 in stolen base attempts so far.
Zach Johnson exploded onto the scene early this year, but has cooled off as late. The 2011 15th round pick hit .262/.339/.369 last season, showing little power for a first baseman. This season we've seen a dramatic increase in extra base hits as well as a much improved walk rate, leading to a line of .268/.364/.491 with as many extra base hits in just 112 at bats as he had last season in 271 at bats.
Drew Muren is an interesting player. The 2011 20th round pick is a lanky 6'6" 195 pound center fielder with a cannon for an arm. While his .270/.327/.393 line may not look that intriguing his size alone makes him stand out.
The last player we talked about was 2010 14th round pick Jordan Scott. The left fielder was named the Greeneville Astros MVP last year and hit .301/.372/.370 across three levels last season. He started hot this season, but has cooled considerably to a line of .253/.374/.273. He's obviously still getting on base, but needs to get back to making better contact and could stand to hit for a little more power, as well.
After hitting just .207/.294/.287 in 49 games last year, 2011 27th round pick Alex Todd has turned things around so far this season. The Lexington shortstop is hitting .321/.404/.432 and has drastically improved his strikeout and walk rates while also improving his defense. He was nice enough to answer a quick question prior to Friday's game.
I was also able to get several minutes with Lexington hitting coach Josh Bonifay and we talked about a handful of interesting players.
Mike Kvasnicka was a first round pick in 2010 as a third baseman, despite being generally regarded as a better catching prospect. After hitting .260/.328/.368 last season while playing a terrible third base, Astros new management decided to move Kvasnicka back behind the plate. So far he's made the transition defensively, but his offense is a different story. His line so far is .143/.200/.274.
Matt Duffy was a 20th round pick in 2011 and, due to the perceived lack of third base prospects in the Astros system, a lot of people were looking for him to breakout this year. After a promising .298/.370/.417 last year, he's working to fulfill those wishes as he's hitting .328/.378/.509 this year for Lexington. He's also doubled his home runs in half the at bats.
Delino DeShields Jr. is in a similar situation as Kvasnicka. As a first round pick in 2010, DeShields has been tasked with a position change as he transitions from center field to second base. Last season was his first at the new position and he struggled to a line of .220/.305/.322. This season he's looked like a different player, especially on defense, as his offense has improved more than his .255/.362/.355 line would indicate. His walk and strikeout rates have both improved and he's a perfect 18 for 18 in stolen base attempts so far.
Zach Johnson exploded onto the scene early this year, but has cooled off as late. The 2011 15th round pick hit .262/.339/.369 last season, showing little power for a first baseman. This season we've seen a dramatic increase in extra base hits as well as a much improved walk rate, leading to a line of .268/.364/.491 with as many extra base hits in just 112 at bats as he had last season in 271 at bats.
Drew Muren is an interesting player. The 2011 20th round pick is a lanky 6'6" 195 pound center fielder with a cannon for an arm. While his .270/.327/.393 line may not look that intriguing his size alone makes him stand out.
The last player we talked about was 2010 14th round pick Jordan Scott. The left fielder was named the Greeneville Astros MVP last year and hit .301/.372/.370 across three levels last season. He started hot this season, but has cooled considerably to a line of .253/.374/.273. He's obviously still getting on base, but needs to get back to making better contact and could stand to hit for a little more power, as well.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Astros hire Josh Bonifay
The Altoona Mirror says that the Astros have hired former Pirates minor leaguer-turned-coach Josh Bonifay to be Greeneville's hitting coach.
Bonifay:
"Houston called for an opportunity within their player development department as a hitting coach at a low-level rookie team. It was my first opportunity to have a full-time gig as a hitting coach and a longtime goal to continue my career in baseball.
"I am extremely fortunate for the opportunity, and I look forward to a long career as a coach."
Bonifay:
"Houston called for an opportunity within their player development department as a hitting coach at a low-level rookie team. It was my first opportunity to have a full-time gig as a hitting coach and a longtime goal to continue my career in baseball.
"I am extremely fortunate for the opportunity, and I look forward to a long career as a coach."
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