Interesting move.

Can someone please post some additional background and feedback on him? All I have heard is he was one of the stars of 2003 national champ team.

I had heard a rumor of this a couple weeks back. I don't believe he's been hired for the Assistant Coach opening, but rather the student volunteer assistant position. Apparently, Paul has several credit remaining for his degree.

IMO, a strong addition and a guy who should relate well with the players, especially given his major league experience.

(08-10-2017 04:24 PM)Owl1912 Wrote:  Can someone please post some additional background and feedback on him? All I have heard is he was one of the stars of 2003 national champ team.

I wouldn't call him one of the stars of the championship team, though he was our starting SS. Exceptional defensive SS, who developed into a quality college hitter by his Senior season in 2004. Has been in pro ball ever since, and in fact is still playing on Baltimore's AAA club. Over the past 8 years he has bounced back and forth between AAA and the majors-- first with the Reds and then the Orioles-- whenever they were in need of a backup SS. His MLB career has been one of "great glove, no hit"-- typical for middle infielders in the 1960 - late 1970s, but no longer sufficient as the game has gotten much more offensive.

That sounds positive. Thanks.
Now for the big news we are all waiting for from baseball...any news there?

(08-10-2017 04:33 PM)Owl1912 Wrote:  That sounds positive. Thanks.
Now for the big news we are all waiting for from baseball...any news there?

Again, everything I'm hearing is that there will be no announcement until classes begin and the Athletic Department returns from Syndey. Late August at the earliest...and, IMO, this means the Assistant Coach opening will remain vacant for at least another month. Not good.

Here's the FoxSports post...

http://www.fox26houston.com/sports/273127958-story

A little surprised to see this. My first thought was that I hadn't seen any indication he was no longer with the Orioles organization (and that seems to be what latter posts and the Fox blurb indicate as well).

He's hitting .270 at Norfolk, and got called up for awhile to fill in for the Orioles due to injuries. He's spent time on the Orioles roster for small bits of the last 3 years.

I'd quibble in a minor way with Walt's comments that he is considered merely 'good field', as his fielding peripheral numbers (when he's actually gotten on the field) in the majors have been ridiculously good, frankly Gold Glove level had he managed to hit well enough to sustain a starting role anywhere.

With regard to his 'star' definition at Rice, he was all-WAC twice, and his glove was sterling here as well. He also tied for the team lead in RBI in 2004 for Rice. I'm fairly sure he was drafted as a junior.

ETA - Paul J. played for Billings in the Reds organization in 2004, so the Fox article's statement that he was drafted in 2005 is in error.

(08-10-2017 04:48 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  A little surprised to see this. My first thought was that I hadn't seen any indication he was no longer with the Orioles organization (and that seems to be what latter posts and the Fox blurb indicate as well).

He's hitting .270 at Norfolk, and got called up for awhile to fill in for the Orioles due to injuries. He's spent time on the Orioles roster for small bits of the last 3 years.

I'd quibble in a minor way with Walt's comments that he is considered merely 'good field', as his fielding peripheral numbers (when he's actually gotten on the field) in the majors have been ridiculously good, frankly Gold Glove level had he managed to hit well enough to sustain a starting role anywhere.

With regard to his 'star' definition at Rice, he was all-WAC twice, and his glove was sterling here as well. He also tied for the team lead in RBI in 2004 for Rice. I'm fairly sure he was drafted as a junior.

Rick, I said he was an "exceptional defensive SS". "Good field, no hit" was a phrase regularly used for MLB middle infielders in the 1960s - '70s. Think Don Kessinger, Dale Maxwell, Hal Lanier, Bud Harrelson. The "good field" meant GG caliber defensive ability.

Paul was one of the stars and leaders of the 2004 team when he really came into his own as a hitter-- hitting something like .345 with 9 HRs and 20 double/triples. He was our second best hitter that year. However, the "stars" of our 2003 championship team were the Big 3, Aardsma, Sinisi, Cruz, Kohlkurst and Davis. I believe Paul had the lowest AVG amongst our starters that year.

(08-10-2017 04:54 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(08-10-2017 04:48 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  A little surprised to see this. My first thought was that I hadn't seen any indication he was no longer with the Orioles organization (and that seems to be what latter posts and the Fox blurb indicate as well).

He's hitting .270 at Norfolk, and got called up for awhile to fill in for the Orioles due to injuries. He's spent time on the Orioles roster for small bits of the last 3 years.

I'd quibble in a minor way with Walt's comments that he is considered merely 'good field', as his fielding peripheral numbers (when he's actually gotten on the field) in the majors have been ridiculously good, frankly Gold Glove level had he managed to hit well enough to sustain a starting role anywhere.

With regard to his 'star' definition at Rice, he was all-WAC twice, and his glove was sterling here as well. He also tied for the team lead in RBI in 2004 for Rice. I'm fairly sure he was drafted as a junior.

Rick, I said he was an "exceptional defensive SS". "Good field, no hit" was a phrase regularly used for MLB middle infielders in the 1960s - '70s. Think Don Kessinger, Dale Maxwell, Hal Lanier, Bud Harrelson. The "good field" meant GG caliber defensive ability.

fair enough. Dal Maxvill (I'm a Cardinals fan).

Kendall and several others are reporting that Janisch will be the full-time, paid Assistant Coach, replacing Van Hook. If true, that pretty much indicates The OG is going to get a contract extension, or worse yet, no announcement is going to be made in the near future.

Don't forget he played for the Braves! Loved watching an owl play for them even though it was brief.

Okay, just got the inside scoop...

1. Janisch has been hired as the paid, full-time Assistant Coach to replace Van Hook. He'll be finishing up his degree at Rice concurrently.

2. John Pope has found his niche on the recruiting front and it's starting to pay big time bonanza (as we've seen with the recent spate of commits). From what I'm hearing, since we cannot compete with the schools offering full scholarships to just about anybody, what Pope has started to do-- and found success-- is to go after the quality talent (with strong academic credentials) in poorer neighborhoods; those we can offer full scholarships due to hardship....and it's working.

3. Apparently, the Orioles wanted to keep Janisch in the organization in some capacity (e.g., as a roving middle infield instructor), but he wants to get his degree and provide some stability as his child is entering middle school.

(08-10-2017 05:51 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Okay, just got the inside scoop...

1. Janisch has been hired as the paid, full-time Assistant Coach to replace Van Hook. He'll be finishing up his degree at Rice concurrently.

2. John Pope has found his niche on the recruiting front and it's starting to pay big time bonanza (as we've seen with the recent spate of commits). From what I'm hearing, since we cannot compete with the schools offering full scholarships to just about anybody, what Pope has started to do-- and found success-- is to go after the quality talent (with strong academic credentials) in poorer neighborhoods; those we can offer full scholarships due to hardship....and it's working.

3. Apparently, the Orioles wanted to keep Janisch in the organization in some capacity (e.g., as a roving middle infield instructor), but he wants to get his degree and provide some stability as his child is entering middle school.

Mucho mahalo for the info

(08-10-2017 05:51 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Okay, just got the inside scoop...

1. Janisch has been hired as the paid, full-time Assistant Coach to replace Van Hook. He'll be finishing up his degree at Rice concurrently.

2. John Pope has found his niche on the recruiting front and it's starting to pay big time bonanza (as we've seen with the recent spate of commits). From what I'm hearing, since we cannot compete with the schools offering full scholarships to just about anybody, what Pope has started to do-- and found success-- is to go after the quality talent (with strong academic credentials) in poorer neighborhoods; those we can offer full scholarships due to hardship....and it's working.

3. Apparently, the Orioles wanted to keep Janisch in the organization in some capacity (e.g., as a roving middle infield instructor), but he wants to get his degree and provide some stability as his child is entering middle school.

How did we just start doing that? I liked Janisch a lot when he was with the Braves. Don't know much else, but a little surprised by this hire.

Not sure exactly what Walt is referring to about "targeting poorer neighborhoods"....

Sweeny isn't a poorer neighborhood. We have 2 commits from there.

Fredericksburg isn't a poorer neighborhood either.

2nd Baptist certainly isn't poor.

Klein Oak....not poor.

Flower Mound....not poor.

Manvel isn't poor.

The difference is, Pope is just getting after it on the recruiting front.

(08-10-2017 06:56 PM)Owl1998 Wrote:  Not sure exactly what Walt is referring to about "targeting poorer neighborhoods"....

Sweeny isn't a poorer neighborhood. We have 2 commits from there.

Fredericksburg isn't a poorer neighborhood either.

2nd Baptist certainly isn't poor.

Klein Oak....not poor.

Flower Mound....not poor.

Manvel isn't poor.

The difference is, Pope is just getting after it on the recruiting front.

maybe he'd like to have a job next year

(08-10-2017 06:56 PM)Owl1998 Wrote:  Not sure exactly what Walt is referring to about "targeting poorer neighborhoods"....

Sweeny isn't a poorer neighborhood. We have 2 commits from there.

Fredericksburg isn't a poorer neighborhood either.

2nd Baptist certainly isn't poor.

Klein Oak....not poor.

Flower Mound....not poor.

Manvel isn't poor.

The difference is, Pope is just getting after it on the recruiting front.

What I meant to say was he's specifically targeting poorer families whose kids can qualify for full scholarships via hardship. Other schools can augment partial scholarships with merit scholarships. We cannot do that given the high academic credentials of our student body. We are once again succeeding in getting commits because we are finally finding a way to offer full scholarships (by targeting a specific demographic) and, consequently, compete on a level playing field with other programs.

I've always liked Janish. He was a joy to watch at SS defensively at Rice, and hopefully he can help improve Rice's recent defensive woes.

Janish played high school ball at Cy Creek, so both of the assistants will be from the Cy Fair area. I hope we continue to stress recruiting that district. I also liked the fact that Janish bridges the gap a bit between the David Hall and Wayne Graham eras. Janish played high school ball for Coach Hall when he was coaching Cy Creek (before he had to step down due to the illness that took his life at a very young age).

(08-10-2017 05:51 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Okay, just got the inside scoop...

1. Janisch has been hired as the paid, full-time Assistant Coach to replace Van Hook. He'll be finishing up his degree at Rice concurrently.

2. John Pope has found his niche on the recruiting front and it's starting to pay big time bonanza (as we've seen with the recent spate of commits). From what I'm hearing, since we cannot compete with the schools offering full scholarships to just about anybody, what Pope has started to do-- and found success-- is to go after the quality talent (with strong academic credentials) in poorer neighborhoods; those we can offer full scholarships due to hardship....and it's working.

3. Apparently, the Orioles wanted to keep Janisch in the organization in some capacity (e.g., as a roving middle infield instructor), but he wants to get his degree and provide some stability as his child is entering middle school.

Almost all of that is correct...Except his oldest son his starting kindergarten