Can not argue that chaging the pitching coaches is doing something when something was needed. The team pitching speaks for itself and someone has to take the blame. These two guys are being scapegoated IMO. Not that I really mind. They are great people and baseball professionals which translates to you got to go to make it look like we are doing something.
The pitching sucks not because of the coached but because of the entire organization is not committed to it. Start with recent history where we traded away Young, Danks and Volquez in the past three years. Not getting into the value of what we received in return but why trade away piching when you have been preaching for years about building from within. Then go onto free agents. The price of a SP via FA is riduculous but that is the price so why complain. MIllwood was the last FA signed and he replaced Rogers slot in the payroll according to many. IF it is needed then pony up and pay the price. Finally look at other signings like Milton Bradley, Frank Catalanotto, and see where the money goes on this team.
The Rangers have a low to middle of the road payroll, middle of the road budget for scouting and development (saw that in a recent article on DMN but no link) and have historically been an all hit no pitch team. It will take more than firing a few coached to change that reputation. But the firings can be a start.

Despite the valiant efforts by some, pitching cannot be considered a science (yet); it is a chaotic soup composed of millions of variable- rising, sinking, coalescing, and dissociating in unpredictable ways. Yet despite of all of the uncertainty, there are occurrences which appear with greater regularity, and dominating trends that are sometimes obvious even to the untrained eye, and the pitching coach does his best Troy Dungan impersonation to detect these trends quickly and as accurately as possible in order to avoid major disaster or capture potential opportunties.

But how much foresight does he really have? The experienced, which encompass virtually every pitching coach in the league, will detect the obvious trend very easily, and those who cannot do this will quickly be in line for his unemployment checks. Differences are only in trends that are not so clear, in other words, the willingness to take risks. I bet virtually every pitching coach has some personal insights on the craft of pitching that are not prescribed by the conventional and cannot be proven to work one way or another. Of course, some insights holds more wisdom than other, and the desire to act upon these insights are also different. A risk taker can reap greater rewards by acting on these ideas, but he is also liable for more spectacular failures. These spectacular failures sometimes cost people their jobs, so most adapt a cautious approach.

I think Mark Connor’s reign is mostly characterized by a hands-off approach, relying on small tweaks and adjustments. He doesn’t do much groundbreaking, and avoids mistakes. For a team with abundance of good arms, this is a great approach to take, but this might not be the best option for a team that has historically struggled with pitching development – the status quo is not good enough.

On the other hand, I wonder how much influence the pitching coach actually possesses, especially a newer hire. He is limited by his personnel and sometimes organizational philosophy. Contrast the 2007 and 2008 bullpen. It’s clear that the 2007 bullpen was better talent-wise with Aki and Gagne in the early part of the season, but the same actors who performed admirably in 2007 have lost all composure in 2008. Perhaps it is caused by moving them into more difficult roles, but they have been there the entire second half of 2007 and never lost a beat. What is the reason for such a dramatic shift (same thing happened between 2004 and 2005, though the circumstances were different) in consecutive seasons? Did Chiti forget his pitching bible on a train? How much is he really responsible? Connor has been swamped in the stench of Rangers starting pitching for a while and saw some flowers blossom elsewhere. Was he incapable of unleasing their talent?

Finally, there is the question between an organizational philosophy and the personal philosophy of pitching. Is it better to hire a pitching coach who will dutifully adhere to the pitching philosophy in place or should the front office allow the new pitching coach to act to what he feels best? If it is the former, then I am not sure how much other than incremental improvement there will be to make regardless of who the new coach is. In addition, those who are more confident of their abilities may not wish to subject themselves to this kind of a ceiling.

By firing Connor and Chiti, the team opened up a new opportunity. I think it’s time to take some risks and target someone who will have some ideas that someone like Connor would be unwilling to try. This is of course going to be a much tougher hire for JD, since without a keen eye, it is not easy to distinguish between someone who really has an idea and someone who is a cunning salesman of a defective product.

How does a kid that has never had a history of arm problems or been injury prone for that matter land on the disabled list after being here for less than a month?

Hurley was on the DL twice in four year in the minors. One time, he dropped weight on his pitching hand and he was put on the 7 day DL. The other time, he strained an oblique with two weeks left in the season. Both times he was in the weight room when they happened. Hurley has never been injury prone. Hurley was very, very good in his four starts before landing on the DL. I just hope he gets better for next year. I will very much enjoy a starting rotation next year of Padilla, Millwood, McCarthy, Fedlman, and Hurley.

Is it time for people to start pointing fingers at the strength and coditioning coordinator? I think so. Did I think it was fair that Connors and Chitti were fired? No, not really. But I can see why the Rangers decided a change was in order.

Pad’s, Milly, and the kids? Bmac has not pitched yet this season, Feldman a suprise has long been considered a reiever can he do it again and Hurley?

ANy chance of adding a CC or Sheets?

What about the pen? Do we add there?

Let’s see what happens in the next two months and then go into the offseason with a mssion. FIX THE PITCHING!

I cant believe that CJ Wilson isnt being booed off the mound when he pitches. This guy has stunk for over a month. Eddie Guarardo should be closing based on performance and experience. C’mon Ron Washington make a change.

Speaking of Ron I like the guy but I’m starting to get the feeling that he may not be the one to take this team to a championship level. We commit too many errors which was suppose to be an improvement under his managerial style. Am I the only one that thinks we bunt too often ( often unsucessfull ) in key situations ? We rarely use the hit and run. The way this team hits the ball, quit wasting outs to either screw up a sacrifice or move runners one base then leave them stranded.

But it looks like High-A Bakersfield may be moving to the Carolina League next year…

http://www.bakersfield.com/136/story/513497.html