Reds tap Bryan Price as the new pitching coach

[missionhockey21]

I am a bit conflicted as I do believe Ted Power deserved a shot after the work he has put in down at AAA with some of our arms, but I also do not believe he was at the level of an MLB pitching coach (at least now.) There is disagreement about the impact he did have down there (such as with Bailey's turnaround) but I am willing to trust Jocketty on this one. I was familiar with Price, more so with his days in Seattle, so perhaps Porter can enlighten us about him more. At the very least, we won't have to hear "rumors" that Jocketty is bringing in Duncan and LaRussa is coming along with him (which you knew would be rampant if the offseason is slow.)

Pole is taking the role of scapegoat I believe. I don't think he is the most amazing coach or anything, but I never like it when someone is fired when there really is not a significant reason for it.

However, what we really need, is an improvement at hitting coach.

By John Erardi

Bryan Price, 47, who built his dossier by helping mold some top pitching staffs with the Arizona Diamondbacks, is the Reds’ new pitching coach.

The Reds announced his hire Saturday afternoon.

It puts to rest the intrigue over whether the Reds might try to hire St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, who had expressed his displeasure with the Cardinals brass for how the trade of his son, Chris, was handled and for not seeking his input into developing pitching in the minor leagues.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said Saturday he had the sense that Duncan was going to stay in St. Louis, and the Reds felt very good about being able to land Price and didn’t want to string out that hire any longer.

“He (Price) was sought-after,” Jocketty said. “He turned down at least two other (major-league) jobs.”

Still in play is what effect Price’s hire might have on Reds Triple-A pitching coach Ted Power, who is highly thought of within the organization and had interest in the top position.

Jocketty said the Reds interviewed Power and two others in the organization: Tom Brown, pitching coach at High-A Sarasota last year, and Mack Jenkins, minor-league pitching coordinator.

The Reds GM said he likes the way Power is able to “finish off” young pitchers as they make their way toward the big leagues and put “back on track” those big-leaguers who are sent down. Jocketty said he is hopeful that if Power isn’t offered a major-league job elsewhere, he will stay with the Reds.

Price said he was familiar with the Reds’ promising pitching, both in the starting rotation and bullpen, and could foresee the Reds being able to develop a pitching staff that is “17-deep,” which is about what a team needs to get through a season successfully because of injuries.

Price said he liked the Reds’ upside and that he was familiar with the emergence of young starter Homer Bailey and some other players who played into the Reds success since late August.

Jocketty said Price is a “teacher” and will relate well to the Reds pitchers.
Price’s hire marks his return to the majors after a season away, when he served as a minor-league pitching consultant to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds were interested in hiring him in a similar capacity this past spring after he resigned from Arizona, but the Phillies got to him first, Jocketty said.

Price referred to it as “dumb luck” that about the same time the Reds decided to hire a new pitching coach he would be available.

But his availability might have been what cost Pole his job. Price was the Major League Coach of Year in 2007 (Baseball America) after the Diamondbacks posted a 4.13 ERA, fourth-best in the National League. Again under his tutelage in 2008, the Diamondbacks again ranked fourth, with their best ERA (3.95) since 2003.

Price resigned from Arizona on May 8 last season when Bob Melvin was replaced as manager. Nobody in the Reds organization said anything at the time, but their eyebrows had to go up when Price became available.

Price reportedly could have stayed in Arizona but left out of respect for Melvin, a friend.

Jocketty referred to Price as “principled.”

In 2001 while with the Mariners, Price earned USA Today Baseball Weekly’s Pitching Coach of the Year Award after leading that staff to the American League ERA title (3.54), an improvement of almost a run per game from the previous season.

Some of that drop was attributable to the Mariners playing in a bigger ballpark and acquiring some high-quality arms – Price said as much during Saturday’s interview – but it certainly looks good on his coaching record.

Price has been a major-league pitching coach for almost 10 seasons: six with Seattle and three-plus with Arizona. He pitched five seasons in the minors.

Reds name pitching coach | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer

[missionhockey21]

The more I have thought about this, and researched Price, the more I like it. Price is young, Jocketty wants a pitching coach that the Reds will build with and I like the prospect of a pitching coach that could be here for 20 years. His age won't hurt either with making him able to relate with Bailey, Cueto, etc. Short of Duncan, Peterson, other big names, this is a solid move and a guy that other teams would have gone after.

Any time there is a Reds move that I don't universally despise, I am pretty happy.

[Slyder]

All the Rumors about Power is that he only worked with the cream of our system. Dunno what success he'd have with a full complement of pitchers with wide ranging skill sets.

[missionhockey21]

Yeah, that is my thought too. I think he is a good organization guy to keep, don't know if he is the one to lead our development and finish a prospect's development path.