O’s Hot Stove Shows air on Thursdays

[Frobby]

I listened to the12/21 interview with Drew French.   Here are my takeaways:

- He described the O’s as “forward thinking” and mentioned the strides they have made not only in use of analytics but “health and performance.”  I found the “health” reference interesting, as it implied the O’s are doing some systematic things to keep their pitchers healthier than most teams’.   If they are actually ahead of the curve there and it’s not just good luck, that’s fantastic.  Obviously no team can avoid all injuries and there always will be some luck involved, but if the O’s have found ways to minimize them better than other teams, that’s a huge advantage.  

- He said he feels it’s his job to fit in with the O’s organization and what they’re doing, and with the other pitching coaches in the system, rather than expecting them to fit In with him.

- French said he’s spoken with just about every pitcher on the 40-man roster, some of them two or three times.  He’s planning on visiting many of them in person in January.  He’s also spoken with the minor league pitching coaches. He’s been watching video of all the pitchers and actually was doing that during the interview process.  

Asked if there were any pitchers he was particularly excited to work with, he of course said “all of them.”  But then he singled out Tyler Wells, noting how impressed he was with Wells when he pitched in relief against Atlanta in 2021.   He also mentioned Bradish of how impressed he was with his two breaking pitches when he faced the Braves last year.  

Overall, French struck me as very down to earth and personable.  To the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report that some pitchers had difficulty communicating with Chris Holt, I doubt that will be an issue with French.  

Two questions they didn’t ask, that I wish they had:

1.   What do you expect your relationship with Chris Holt will be?

2.  Do you plan to hire an Asst. Pitching Coach, and where are you/the O’s in that process?   

All in all though, it was a good interview.  






 

[interloper]

22 minutes ago, Frobby said:

- He said he feels it’s his job to fit in with the O’s organization and what they’re doing, and with the other pitching coaches in the system, rather than expecting them to fit In with him.

You're damn right it is! Love this. Gone are the days of Leo Mazzone coming in here with some whack philosophy. The Orioles have philosophies and systems in place and it's the same from the majors down to the DSL. So it's about translating all that to the pitchers effectively. 

Edited January 4 by interloper

[wildcard]

28 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I listened to the12/21 interview with Drew French.   Here are my takeaways:

- He described the O’s as “forward thinking” and mentioned the strides they have made not only in use of analytics but “health and performance.”  I found the “health” reference interesting, as it implied the O’s are doing some systematic things to keep their pitchers healthier than most teams’.   If they are actually ahead of the curve there and it’s not just good luck, that’s fantastic.  Obviously no team can avoid all injuries and there always will be some luck involved, but if the O’s have found ways to minimize them better than other teams, that’s a huge advantage.  

- He said he feels it’s his job to fit in with the O’s organization and what they’re doing, and with the other pitching coaches in the system, rather than expecting them to fit In with him.

- French said he’s spoken with just about every pitcher on the 40-man roster, some of them two or three times.  He’s planning on visiting many of them in person in January.  He’s also spoken with the minor league pitching coaches. He’s been watching video of all the pitchers and actually was doing that during the interview process.  

Asked if there were any pitchers he was particularly excited to work with, he of course said “all of them.”  But then he singled out Tyler Wells, noting how impressed he was with Wells when he pitched in relief against Atlanta in 2021.   He also mentioned Bradish of how impressed he was with his two breaking pitches when he faced the Braves last year.  

Overall, French struck me as very down to earth and personable.  To the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report that some pitchers had difficulty communicating with Chris Holt, I doubt that will be an issue with French.  

Two questions they didn’t ask, that I wish they had:

1.   What do you expect your relationship with Chris Holt will be?

2.  Do you plan to hire an Asst. Pitching Coach, and where are you/the O’s in that process?   

All in all though, it was a good interview.  






 

Do you believe everything that Rosenthal says?   The facts are that the team ERA was better the his 2nd year than the first.  And better the 3rd year than the 2nd.     No matter how he did it the pitching got better each year under Holt.

The relationship with Holt?  Holt is his boss.  They were in Houston together.  Holt played a big role in his hiring.  I guess that makes Holt his mentor.

Bottom line:  I don't like having a rookie major league pitching coach when the team is trying to win the World Series.   Best thing about it is that Holt will be there if needed.

Edited January 4 by wildcard

[interloper]

9 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Do you believe everything that Rosenthal says?   The facts are that the team ERA was better the his 2nd year than the first.  And better the 3rd year than the 2nd.     No matter how he did it the pitching got better each year under Holt.

The relationship with Holt?  Holt is his boss.  They were in Houston together.  Holt played a big role in his hiring.  I guess that makes Holt his mentor.

Bottom line:  I don't like having a rookie major league pitching coach when the team is trying to win the World Series.   Best thing about it is that Holt will be there if needed.

I think you are probably too concerned about this. The Orioles have a system in place and like you said, Holt is part of that at a very high level. I think he probably just feels more comfortable in that role. It was his first stint as a pitching coach the last couple years and it sounds to me like everyone thought it best he return to more of an oversight role, for whatever reason. The reason honestly doesn't matter. If the team and Holt believe he's better in a supervisory role, then who are we to question that? 

We can't get too hung up on specific people in the Elias system. The system is there so that it can handle changes in staff. 

Edited January 4 by interloper

[wildcard]

8 minutes ago, interloper said:

I think you are probably too concerned about this. The Orioles have a system in place and like you said, Holt is part of that at a very high level. I think he probably just feels more comfortable in that role. It was his first stint as a pitching coach the last couple years and it sounds to me like everyone thought it best he return to more of an oversight role, for whatever reason. The reason honestly doesn't matter. If the team and Holt believe he's better in a supervisory role, then who are we to question that? 

We can't get too hung up on specific people in the Elias system. The system is there so that it can handle changes in staff. 

Pitching coach is a key role especially on a contending team.  It's not a change that Is made without a lot of thought.  The system is the system but pitching coach is often about the individual.

[interloper]

8 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Pitching coach is a key role especially on a contending team.  It's not a change that Is made without a lot of thought.  The system is the system but pitching coach is often about the individual.

Well I guess we'll see. Don't thnk a change would have been made without good reasons. So knowing that, I can only really see it as a good move. Especially bringing in another guy who gets what we're doing and has experience working with Elias. And especially with Holt agreeing to still be around. To me that means he himself thinks it's the best move going forward. 

[rm5678]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

I see that the radio show featured the new pitching coach as a guest back on 12/21.  I need to give that a listen. 

Yes, that was a good episode. The new pitching coach sounds like a winner so far. Ben McDonald was the other guest that night. The WBAL show has been better than the MASN show.

[rm5678]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I listened to the12/21 interview with Drew French.   Here are my takeaways:

- He described the O’s as “forward thinking” and mentioned the strides they have made not only in use of analytics but “health and performance.”  I found the “health” reference interesting, as it implied the O’s are doing some systematic things to keep their pitchers healthier than most teams’.   If they are actually ahead of the curve there and it’s not just good luck, that’s fantastic.  Obviously no team can avoid all injuries and there always will be some luck involved, but if the O’s have found ways to minimize them better than other teams, that’s a huge advantage.  

- He said he feels it’s his job to fit in with the O’s organization and what they’re doing, and with the other pitching coaches in the system, rather than expecting them to fit In with him.

- French said he’s spoken with just about every pitcher on the 40-man roster, some of them two or three times.  He’s planning on visiting many of them in person in January.  He’s also spoken with the minor league pitching coaches. He’s been watching video of all the pitchers and actually was doing that during the interview process.  

Asked if there were any pitchers he was particularly excited to work with, he of course said “all of them.”  But then he singled out Tyler Wells, noting how impressed he was with Wells when he pitched in relief against Atlanta in 2021.   He also mentioned Bradish of how impressed he was with his two breaking pitches when he faced the Braves last year.  

Overall, French struck me as very down to earth and personable.  To the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report that some pitchers had difficulty communicating with Chris Holt, I doubt that will be an issue with French.  

Two questions they didn’t ask, that I wish they had:

1.   What do you expect your relationship with Chris Holt will be?

2.  Do you plan to hire an Asst. Pitching Coach, and where are you/the O’s in that process?   

All in all though, it was a good interview.  






 

If I remember correctly, he said during that interview that he "can't wait to get his hands on" the O's pitchers.  I think I'm going to like this guy.

[Since1984]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I listened to the12/21 interview with Drew French.   Here are my takeaways:

- He described the O’s as “forward thinking” and mentioned the strides they have made not only in use of analytics but “health and performance.”  I found the “health” reference interesting, as it implied the O’s are doing some systematic things to keep their pitchers healthier than most teams’.   If they are actually ahead of the curve there and it’s not just good luck, that’s fantastic.  Obviously no team can avoid all injuries and there always will be some luck involved, but if the O’s have found ways to minimize them better than other teams, that’s a huge advantage.  

- He said he feels it’s his job to fit in with the O’s organization and what they’re doing, and with the other pitching coaches in the system, rather than expecting them to fit In with him.

- French said he’s spoken with just about every pitcher on the 40-man roster, some of them two or three times.  He’s planning on visiting many of them in person in January.  He’s also spoken with the minor league pitching coaches. He’s been watching video of all the pitchers and actually was doing that during the interview process.  

Asked if there were any pitchers he was particularly excited to work with, he of course said “all of them.”  But then he singled out Tyler Wells, noting how impressed he was with Wells when he pitched in relief against Atlanta in 2021.   He also mentioned Bradish of how impressed he was with his two breaking pitches when he faced the Braves last year.  

Overall, French struck me as very down to earth and personable.  To the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report that some pitchers had difficulty communicating with Chris Holt, I doubt that will be an issue with French.  

Two questions they didn’t ask, that I wish they had:

1.   What do you expect your relationship with Chris Holt will be?

2.  Do you plan to hire an Asst. Pitching Coach, and where are you/the O’s in that process?   

All in all though, it was a good interview.  






 

Thanks Frobby! I am watching these shows because of this thread and appreciate the insights too. 
 

Any chance we can get you on the show to ask some hot stove questions (e.g. what do you think about Cease and some of his velocity changes from 2022 to present day, please elaborate)

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Do you believe everything that Rosenthal says?   The facts are that the team ERA was better the his 2nd year than the first.  And better the 3rd year than the 2nd.     No matter how he did it the pitching got better each year under Holt.

The relationship with Holt?  Holt is his boss.  They were in Houston together.  Holt played a big role in his hiring.  I guess that makes Holt his mentor.

Bottom line:  I don't like having a rookie major league pitching coach when the team is trying to win the World Series.   Best thing about it is that Holt will be there if needed.

I don’t know why you feel the need to carry Holt’s water all the time.  No, I don’t believe everything Rosenthal says.  That’s why I said, “to the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report.”   I don’t know if there is or isn’t.  But I don’t think he just said that without someone telling him that.  

I guess you can say Holt is French’s boss, but that’s not clear.  Hyde is really his boss.  But what I want to know is what kind of communication he’s expecting to have with Holt and how much input will Holt have on a day-to-day basis.   And I’d bet you’d like to know that too.   
 

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I don’t know why you feel the need to carry Holt’s water all the time.  No, I don’t believe everything Rosenthal says.  That’s why I said, “to the extent there was any validity to Ken Rosenthal’s report.”   I don’t know if there is or isn’t.  But I don’t think he just said that without someone telling him that.  

I guess you can say Holt is French’s boss, but that’s not clear.  Hyde is really his boss.  But what I want to know is what kind of communication he’s expecting to have with Holt and how much input will Holt have on a day-to-day basis.   And I’d bet you’d like to know that too.   
 

The Orioles after years and years of trying to develop pitcher to the majors Holt as director of pitching/pitching coach has done that.   Bradish, GRod, Kremer, Wells, Bautista, Cano, Hall and then there are guys taken off the waiver wire or small trades that he has made into major league pitcher like Perez and  Coulombe.  

I respect Holt for what he has done to  improving the O's pitching.  It's that simple.  Why would you  talk about me carrying his water.  Sounds like you don't respect what Holt has done.

Edited January 5 by wildcard

[foxfield]

I think you both see the same things here guys and are quibbling around the edges. 
 

WC, I think Frobby has expressed his respect for Holt plenty of times. I think his reference to Rosenthal’s comments were very well couched. 
 

Saying you are carrying water for Holt may be excessive but it is clear that you unfailingly give him credit for almost everything pitching related. Holt deserves plenty of credit and it is possible he is moving this group in ways that no one else could. 
 

But it is also possible that he is simply doing a good job with the talent that he is provided. 
 

I mean Leo Mazonne looked like a wizard with Atlanta but once here…he became decidedly less. Maybe Holt deserves credit but the system does too. 
 

All that is to say the move for Holt doesn’t bother me at all. I think they have him where they want him and where he will continue to have a successful impact. 

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

The Orioles after years and years of trying to develop pitcher to the majors Holt as director of pitching/pitching coach has done that.   Bradish, GRod, Kremer, Wells, Bautista, Cano, Hall and then there are guys taken off the waiver wire or small trades that he has made into major league pitcher like Perez and  Coulombe.  

I respect Holt for what he has done to  improving the O's pitching.  It's that simple.  Why would you  talk about me carrying his water.  Sounds like you don't respect what Holt has done.

To the contrary, I have great respect for what Holt has done.  And that’s why I’d like to know what input he’ll continue to have at the major league level and how his relationship with French will operate.  

Just because I think Holt has done a good job doesn’t mean I think he worked perfectly with every pitcher or that some pitchers may not have liked his communication style.  He’s a pitching coach, not Jesus.  He doesn’t walk on water.  
 

[wildcard]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

To the contrary, I have great respect for what Holt has done.  And that’s why I’d like to know what input he’ll continue to have at the major league level and how his relationship with French will operate.  

Just because I think Holt has done a good job doesn’t mean I think he worked perfectly with every pitcher or that some pitchers may not have liked his communication style.  He’s a pitching coach, not Jesus.  He doesn’t walk on water.  
 

So you are carrying Rosenthal's water.  You think Holt has done a good job but because Rosenthal said something that you admit might be true or might not be true, you think Holt was taken out the pitching coaches job.   We have not heard it from anyone but Rosenthal.  So you believe him over any other reason.

I think its more likely that Holt wanted out of the day to day grind of being with the team everyday and ask out.  Maybe he likes the director of pitching job better because he does not have to travel with the team.

The pitchers have been doing very well with Holt as pitching coach so the only communicating problem that gets Holt moved from the pitching coach job is if its with Hyde.  Whatever.  The communication problem thing is all Rosenthal's idea and you apparently have bought into it.

I have not.

[Just Regular]

I think its a reasonable guess Rosenthal's source was someone or someones out of Flaherty, Gibson, Lopez and Fujinami.    We know the organization has a good process for running quiet, and Rosenthal has his reputation here for liking to stir the Orioles pot.    

With all the Driveline students of the week (a label I'd loosely put on Fujinami and Lopez too), today's pitching coaches maybe have 20 guys instead of the 7 guys Ray Miller did they need to keep fine tuned all season long.