Robinson Tabs Knorr As Bullpen Coach After Wetteland Fired

[ThomasTomasz]

A day after firing bullpen coach John Wetteland for what Manager Frank Robinson considered to be a series of transgressions that upset the mentality of his relief corps, the Washington Nationals hired Randy Knorr, a former major league catcher, to fill the job.

General Manager Jim Bowden announced the move, but Robinson said it was his decision. Knorr, who had been managing Class A Potomac, was at RFK Stadium for last night's game against the New York Yankees, and will hold the position till the end of this year.

"It caught me off guard," Knorr said.

The same could be said for most of the Nationals' relievers, who were surprised Wetteland, 39, was let go despite the fact that Robinson and other Nationals officials had spoken with him repeatedly about cutting down on what Robinson considered to be distracting pranks.

"We've become a family down there," right-hander Gary Majewski said. "It's a guy you hang out with, a guy who played the game for a while, a guy you pay a lot of attention to. It was a surprise, didn't see it coming, so it still hasn't sunk in yet."

Majewski admitted, though, that the tone Wetteland set -- trying to have fun by using fireworks in spring training and playing his guitar in the bullpen -- might have taken away some of the relievers' focus.

"His idea was to make whatever we do on the mound the easiest thing for us to do," Majewski said of Wetteland. "When the phone rang, it was all business. You know, a couple times we may not have been paying attention to the game in certain situations. I can understand where Frank was coming from."

Robinson said he realizes some of the relievers may be upset.

"Whatever way they choose to do it is going to affect the team one way or the other -- in a positive or a negative way," Robinson said. "It's up to them. If they want to be professionals and men about it and understand the situation, they'll go out and be positive about this and go about their job."

Knorr, 37, played parts of 11 seasons in the majors. Robinson kept him with the Montreal Expos at Class AAA in part because of his reputation for handling pitchers. Asked if he thought Knorr might have more control over the bullpen, Robinson said, "I know he will."

Edgar Caceres, who had been the manager for short-season Class A Vermont, will manage Potomac for the remainder of the season. Jose Alguacil, who had served as a roving infield instructor in the minors, will manage Vermont.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...061602054.html

[ThomasTomasz]

This one caught me off-guard. I thought Wetteland would have a major influence on the Nationals, especially on Chad Cordero, and other young relievers.

However, the bullpen has really struggled this year, and turned a 180 from last year, where the Nats were overachieving because of their bullpen. The Nationals were set back from the beginning, when primary setup man Luis Ayala went down with an elbow needing TJ surgery. Not to mention that lefty specialist Joey Eischen has really struggled. Wetteland was dealt a bad hand here, but something had to be done. Bringing in a former "pitcher's catcher" like Knorr should really help, or will turn out like Rick Dempsey in the bullpen for the Orioles, a bad decision.