USA Today is reporting longtime Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca has asked to be reassigned by the organization. BIB Dan O’Dude, knowing what is best for him, chose the hotel room-doormat publication to break the news. Unsubstantiated talk has bullpen coach Jim Wright sitting-in tonight, with long-term plans unknown. Quoth MFL Jim Tracy, ”we’re trying to tackle this monster.”
Former Rockies starter Jason Hammel, prospering away from Apodaca’s tutelage this season with the Baltimore Orioles is said to have stated “that’s disappointing, but I’m sure he’ll catch on somewhere. He’s a very knowledgeable pitching coach, so I wish the best for him.”
UPDATE: The Rockies have named bullpen coach Jim Wright and AAA Colorado Spring pitching coach Bo McLaughlin co-pitching coaches. Apodaca has been named special assistant to GM.
Scapegoat!
1 down, plenty more to (hopefully) go.
HAHA! Tracy R. just tweeted that Dac is now a special assistant to the GM. Way to get axed into a promotion Bob! Only the Rox…
I believe Jim Wright has been bullpen coach. He and Bo McCormick (Sky Sox pitching coach) will be co- pitching coaches.
Of course this team also needs a new GM. a new manager, plus a base running and bunting coach.
Thanks for the clarification. My bad.
They’re circling the wagons over there now.
Bets on who will be asked to fall on their sword next??
Just updated the article…
Dac actually asked to be reassigned, it was his idea and not the teams…
Rats always know when to get off a sinking ship. Just before it sinks….
My bad. that was wrong of me to use the term ‘Rat’. I’m sure Dac is actually a very nice guy. My apologies to him and the Rockies organization.
“Bo McLaughlin will make mound visits. Jim Wright will remain in bullpen”
Hopefully their first item of business: 6 Man Rotation and 180 Pitch counts all around!!!
Jim Wright was the one who helped Hammel so much while he was in the bullpen last year. He taught him how to pitch and focus more inning to inning.
OK, just throwing something against the wall here.
How about a 6 or even 7 man rotation? I first read it in Houston Street’s comments after leaving the Rockies. I knew it to be true from my own experiences, but I am not a professional athlete, so I was not sure if altitude makes it much more difficult for a body to recover with guys who are in such great shape.
I also took note of Nolan Ryan’s opinion in the Cowboy interview, that he doesn’t think pitchers pitch enough.
Instead of a 4 man rotation with a 75 pitch limit, how about a 6 man rotation (to give a starter an extra day to recover) with no pitch count… yank him when he is no longer effective, no matter how many pitches in, and rely less on situational relievers and go with a group where anybody is capable of doing 2 innings if necessary, including the closer.
Starters do side work and/or long toss on the third or fourth day. Or, if a starter turns in a lousy 2-inning start, let him pitch in long relief on the side work day.
Not saying this is the answer, just turning it over to an astute bunch of fans for your comments.
As for Dac… nice guys lose their jobs every day. The team (and Dac) obviously need a change of scenery for those who don’t play the game, from the coaches to the owner.
Correction on the Nolan Ryan comment… he said they don’t throw enough, not pitch enough.
Also, if altitude makes it difficult for a body to recover, why don’t the Rox get a hyperbaric chamber, or oxygen chamber, or whatever chamber, that the pitchers can use on the day after a start, allowing a higher O2 content to enter their bodies and allow their blood to do its job.
ok, that seems like a no brainier – i’m surprised they don’t have something like that…
Isn’t that the thing Dave Krieger was all on about years ago (pre-humidor)?
I commented on this a couple years ago, a D-Backs pitcher used to suck oxygen during the games he pitched at Coors Field. He said it did not help so much during the game, but it shortened the recovery time. I have been a proponent of all the Rox getting on Oxygen all the time, not just the pitchers.
Tracy: “Rockies pitching coach might be the hardest position in all of baseball”. “Bob had never discussed his decision with me previously. Apodaca was drawn out physically, mentally and emotionally.”
Nice man-thankless job-some good years-HAD TO GO! That said,I’m glad that his work and loyalty for ten years kept him with a job,and the most obvious “no brainer” was finally taken.I mean only congressmen and politicians are supposed to fail repeatedly with out consequences!
A good start. Now let’s see if they have the brains & cajones to finish the job.
3 to go.
No offense to to Dac, however the house should have cleaned late last season when instead J Tracy was given his MFL (manager for life) endorsement by DanO and the Monforts. I have had several, but that may have been my worst day as a Rockies baseball fan ever. Still losing sleep trying to find any possible justification for extending a manager who had clearly lost his team not once but twice late in the season.
While I still did have some limited faith in DanO, with his continued support for J Tracy – well in short he should be gone now as well. You have to ask yourself whether or not the Rockies are better or worse off than they were one year ago? If the answer is worse (and clearly it is) then you are obligated to make some changes – that are well now a year over due.