The Astros have announced that Brad Mills, first base coach Bobby Meacham, and hitting coach Mike Barnett have all been released from their duties. Interim replacements will be announced tomorrow morning.
Pure speculation on my part is that current bench coach Joe Pettini, who was brought over by Luhnow after serving as Tony LaRussa's bench coach for several years in St. Louis, will be named head coach on an interim basis and will get every opportunity to secure the position long term.
More to come.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Mike Barnett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Barnett. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Astros coaching staff to remain intact
Everyone gets another year to prove they deserve a job! Including Astros County! The Astros announced today that Doug Brocail will remain pitching coach in 2012, and Mike Barnett (whom I called "Gary" for a good two months without realizing what an idiot I was) will remain hitting coach.
So you may be wondering, is Ed Wade still calling the shots? It would certainly look that way, and it's something he has every right to do. While Wade's job may be in jeopardy under the Crane administration, it may be another five weeks before Crane gets approved - if he gets approved at all. Wade has an obligation to continue running the team as though he was in charge. Because, for now, he is.
So you may be wondering, is Ed Wade still calling the shots? It would certainly look that way, and it's something he has every right to do. While Wade's job may be in jeopardy under the Crane administration, it may be another five weeks before Crane gets approved - if he gets approved at all. Wade has an obligation to continue running the team as though he was in charge. Because, for now, he is.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Everyone will come back in 2012!
Everybody on the Astros' coaching staff will return in 2012, according to Ed Wade - even if he doesn't.
Wade:
"We think they’ve done a really solid job when you take into consideration that we have so many different developing players on this team."
The only one who hasn't accepted is pitching coach Doug Brocail, who needs to check with his wife:
“Right now, I just have to sit down with Mama (his wife) and the kids. Everybody knows I love the job and big league jobs don’t come every day, but I told her I’d sit down with her and we’d figure out something that’s hopefully compatible and go from there.”
Thoughts?
Wade:
"We think they’ve done a really solid job when you take into consideration that we have so many different developing players on this team."
The only one who hasn't accepted is pitching coach Doug Brocail, who needs to check with his wife:
“Right now, I just have to sit down with Mama (his wife) and the kids. Everybody knows I love the job and big league jobs don’t come every day, but I told her I’d sit down with her and we’d figure out something that’s hopefully compatible and go from there.”
Thoughts?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Mike Barnett brings the noise
Zach Levine had a ridiculous Q&A with Mike Barnett, who shared a number of insights about the younger Astros (meaning, everyone except Carlos Lee). Definitely worth a click.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday Morning Catch-Up
A summary of what you (and we) missed over the weekend:
-Brian McTaggart has a sweet profile on our mate, Ryan Rowland-Smith
-Mike Barnett has the Astros working on situational hitting.
-Rough news about Wandy, he'll miss his next start, with shoulder tendinitis.
-Danny Knobler has a story on Brett Wallace, and one where he lists his likes and dislikes about the Astros.
-Brian McTaggart has a sweet profile on our mate, Ryan Rowland-Smith
-Mike Barnett has the Astros working on situational hitting.
-Rough news about Wandy, he'll miss his next start, with shoulder tendinitis.
-Danny Knobler has a story on Brett Wallace, and one where he lists his likes and dislikes about the Astros.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Everyone loves Jason Castro!
Last year? Don't worry about last year. So says everyone concerned about Jason Castro.
Jamie Quirk:
"There's a reason he's a No. 1 pick. He's got the great mental makeup and really picked things up well. We expect him to get better and better."
Ed Wade:
"He has to figure out the strength and weaknesses of the staff he's catching. You put all that stuff on a guy's plate at the same time, and his own personal statistics become somewhat secondary."
Mike Barnett:
"He's a much better hitter than what he showed last year. He had a lot to be accountable for. His mind is relaxed. He knows what he needs to do mechanically. It's just a matter of time. He's got the intangibles. He knows the strike zone. He doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches. Now it's just a matter of smoothing him out."
Do the numbers agree with Barnett? Well, sort of, yeah.
FanGraphs says Castro swung at 27.4% of pitches outside the strike zone. Chris Johnson took a hack at 43.1% of pitches outside the zone, and Humberto Quintero came in at 44.2%. The only everyday players with lower O-Swing% were Keppinger (20.8%), Berkman (21.2%) and Bourn (23.8%). It's not like the Astros have much of a choice besides giving Castro a season-long look, anyway.
Jamie Quirk:
"There's a reason he's a No. 1 pick. He's got the great mental makeup and really picked things up well. We expect him to get better and better."
Ed Wade:
"He has to figure out the strength and weaknesses of the staff he's catching. You put all that stuff on a guy's plate at the same time, and his own personal statistics become somewhat secondary."
Mike Barnett:
"He's a much better hitter than what he showed last year. He had a lot to be accountable for. His mind is relaxed. He knows what he needs to do mechanically. It's just a matter of time. He's got the intangibles. He knows the strike zone. He doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches. Now it's just a matter of smoothing him out."
Do the numbers agree with Barnett? Well, sort of, yeah.
FanGraphs says Castro swung at 27.4% of pitches outside the strike zone. Chris Johnson took a hack at 43.1% of pitches outside the zone, and Humberto Quintero came in at 44.2%. The only everyday players with lower O-Swing% were Keppinger (20.8%), Berkman (21.2%) and Bourn (23.8%). It's not like the Astros have much of a choice besides giving Castro a season-long look, anyway.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Greg Lucas isn't exactly brimming with excitement over Mike Barnett
Greg Lucas has a new post over at FSH on Mike Barnett:
Let us start off by saying that he has a one thing in common with most of us. He never played major league baseball. In fact he never even played professional baseball at all. An injury during his collegiate days at Ohio University to a shoulder ending his playing hopes. Instead he turned to becoming a real student of the game. When I say that I mean a student of everything about the game...
...Mike Barnett will be no Jeff Bagwell. He won't even be a Sean Berry since he has no personal experiences to relay to his hitters. But he has a keen eye according to all reports and --as they say with players--is fundamentally sound.
The Astros hiring of Mike did nothing for season ticket sales. But if he can help make the club a better offensive team that is what will sell tickets.
Don't ever confuse big names with big results as coaches. Some work out fine. But many of the very best pitching coaches, hitting coaches and managers have come from the ranks of the "who's he's" when they were players.
Let us start off by saying that he has a one thing in common with most of us. He never played major league baseball. In fact he never even played professional baseball at all. An injury during his collegiate days at Ohio University to a shoulder ending his playing hopes. Instead he turned to becoming a real student of the game. When I say that I mean a student of everything about the game...
...Mike Barnett will be no Jeff Bagwell. He won't even be a Sean Berry since he has no personal experiences to relay to his hitters. But he has a keen eye according to all reports and --as they say with players--is fundamentally sound.
The Astros hiring of Mike did nothing for season ticket sales. But if he can help make the club a better offensive team that is what will sell tickets.
Don't ever confuse big names with big results as coaches. Some work out fine. But many of the very best pitching coaches, hitting coaches and managers have come from the ranks of the "who's he's" when they were players.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Decent chance the Astros will need a minor-league hitting coordinator
That's because Mike Barnett, who has been with the Astros in that role for the past two seasons, is in the mix to be Baltimore's hitting coach.
From the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly:
From 1998-2001, he was the hitting coach for Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate. The big-league manager of the Diamondbacks for most of that time was Buck Showalter, the Orioles’ new manager.
Barnett also worked in the New York Yankees’ baseball operations department in the 1980s while Showalter was a minor-league player and manager in the Yankees’ system.
From the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly:
From 1998-2001, he was the hitting coach for Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate. The big-league manager of the Diamondbacks for most of that time was Buck Showalter, the Orioles’ new manager.
Barnett also worked in the New York Yankees’ baseball operations department in the 1980s while Showalter was a minor-league player and manager in the Yankees’ system.
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