(06-16-2021 07:20 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Here's a nice 2 1/2 minute video summary of yesterday's festivities...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucihiuh2P1I

Very cool! Thanks for posting!

(06-16-2021 10:57 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  I don't think we're going to see any change in the RBI Club, .... Hopefully, that will now change with Cheito in charge.

So, Walt, which is it?

(06-16-2021 07:46 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:57 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  I don't think we're going to see any change in the RBI Club, .... Hopefully, that will now change with Cheito in charge.

So, Walt, which is it?

It depends whether Cheito takes control of the RBI Club, as opposed to it staying in control of JK. He's got his people running the Club so it's certainly possible. Will also be interesting to see who he hires to take over Head of Baseball Operations. Daniel Watson was excellent (as was Kim Keuhn way back when), and provided a liaison to baseball supporters. Bragga's dad was a nice guy, but was essentially Matt's personal assistant, and didn't interact with the fan base.

(06-16-2021 07:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 07:46 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:57 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  I don't think we're going to see any change in the RBI Club, .... Hopefully, that will now change with Cheito in charge.

So, Walt, which is it?

It depends whether Cheito takes control of the RBI Club, as opposed to it staying in control of JK. He's got his people running the Club so it's certainly possible. Will also be interesting to see who he hires to take over Head of Baseball Operations. Daniel Watson was excellent (as was Kim Keuhn way back when), and provided a liaison to baseball supporters. Bragga's dad was a nice guy, but was essentially Matt's personal assistant, and didn't interact with the fan base.

Paul Doyle and Mike Wilson are two of Cruz Jr’s friends and were instrumental in him landing the job so why would he be incentivized to change it?

Apparently Walt already posted a link to this story from Jesus Ortiz, long-time MLB writer and columnist:

https://ouresquina.com/2021/cruz-sets-to...rominence/

Jesus certainly had advance knowledge of Jose Jr.'s interest after talking to Enrique (and maybe others) early in the search:
https://ouresquina.com/2021/jose-cruz-jr...ater-rice/

(06-16-2021 08:20 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 07:52 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 07:46 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:57 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  I don't think we're going to see any change in the RBI Club, .... Hopefully, that will now change with Cheito in charge.

So, Walt, which is it?

It depends whether Cheito takes control of the RBI Club, as opposed to it staying in control of JK. He's got his people running the Club so it's certainly possible. Will also be interesting to see who he hires to take over Head of Baseball Operations. Daniel Watson was excellent (as was Kim Keuhn way back when), and provided a liaison to baseball supporters. Bragga's dad was a nice guy, but was essentially Matt's personal assistant, and didn't interact with the fan base.

Paul Doyle and Mike Wilson are two of Cruz Jr’s friends and were instrumental in him landing the job so why would he be incentivized to change it?

I didn't say change the leadership, as I acknowledged (implicitly, without naming names) that "his people" (Paul and Mike) were leading the RBI Club. However, if the RBI Club is to retain it's old standing (measured by number of members and annual donations) Rice Baseball needs to retake control of the SIG, and be more proactive in reaching out to current, past and prospective new members.

(06-16-2021 09:19 PM)Jonathan Yardley Wrote:  Worth posting a link to this story from Jesus Ortiz, long-time MLB writer and columnist:

https://ouresquina.com/2021/cruz-sets-to...rominence/

Jesus certainly had advance knowledge of Jose Jr.'s interest after talking to Enrique (and maybe others) early in the search:
https://ouresquina.com/2021/jose-cruz-jr...ater-rice/

Jonathan, I had already posted this this afternoon in Post #138 of this thread.

(06-16-2021 09:37 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 09:19 PM)Jonathan Yardley Wrote:  Worth posting a link to this story from Jesus Ortiz, long-time MLB writer and columnist:

https://ouresquina.com/2021/cruz-sets-to...rominence/

Jesus certainly had advance knowledge of Jose Jr.'s interest after talking to Enrique (and maybe others) early in the search:
https://ouresquina.com/2021/jose-cruz-jr...ater-rice/

Jonathan, I had already posted this this afternoon in Post #138 of this thread.

In addition to the link you provided, Jonathan provided a link to an article from May 25 which indicated Jose's interest in the job.

I would hope that the question of SIGs gets addressed at some point. I think that Joe's taking control of the RBI Club away from baseball was actually a significant factor in baseball's demise. Chris truly embraced the SIG concept. If you remember, on his watch, SIG contributions counted toward your Owl Club status, as long as you also gave a stated amount to the Owl Club. I think we should go back to that.

(06-16-2021 07:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 07:20 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Here's a nice 2 1/2 minute video summary of yesterday's festivities...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucihiuh2P1I

Very cool! Thanks for posting!

Beautiful -- in some important ways, I think this epitomizes who we want to be as a university.

Any idea who Cruz is considering as a pitching coach?

He doesn’t appear to be much of a Twitter user so looking at recent follows is of little utility.

(06-17-2021 02:01 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Any idea who Cruz is considering as a pitching coach?

He doesn’t appear to be much of a Twitter user so looking at recent follows is of little utility.

From the tone of his comments my guess is that the pitching coach will come from the professional ranks and not from an existing college coach.

(06-17-2021 03:57 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-17-2021 02:01 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Any idea who Cruz is considering as a pitching coach?
He doesn’t appear to be much of a Twitter user so looking at recent follows is of little utility.

From the tone of his comments my guess is that the pitching coach will come from the professional ranks and not from an existing college coach.

I'm wondering if Javier Vazquez might be a possibility. He worked with Jose at MLBPA.

(06-17-2021 03:57 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-17-2021 02:01 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Any idea who Cruz is considering as a pitching coach?

He doesn’t appear to be much of a Twitter user so looking at recent follows is of little utility.

From the tone of his comments my guess is that the pitching coach will come from the professional ranks and not from an existing college coach.

That is my guess as well. Including his comments about what he learned from Wayne, I get the impression that he is really focusing on having the Rice baseball program be a clear path to the pros, INCLUDING knowing how to handle your business and succeed, not just survive beyond your career (with the education)

I think its absolutely the right thing... and a way to keep kids from leaving early to play in the minors. I suspect this is what Wayne sold to him and Cheo a long time ago, and I can't imagine that has really changed. What that LOOKS like may have changed, but the story remains.

Regarding the pitching coach I also gleaned from his press conference that understanding analytics and applications will be a high priority. As I've mentioned before, having the tools (Trackman, Rapsodo etc.) are great but understanding and applying the data is key to development. With Jose's MLB background I'm very confident that he has had a lot of exposure to these tools and has multiple options on who he feels is a good fit for the college game.

I really liked the job Xavier Hernandez did as pitching coach at HBU and since they have made the coaching change, he is looking around...Ties with high school coaches in Texas...grew up in Port Arthur...pitched for the Astros, Yankees and Rangers...I think he's a really good guy

I was curious why was Bragga not successful? Was it poor communication with the players, coaching technique at this level, poor recruiting, etc.?

(06-19-2021 03:56 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  I was curious why was Bragga not successful? Was it poor communication with the players, coaching technique at this level, poor recruiting, etc.?

I’m no expert, but the first thing that jumps out for me is really poor management of the pitching staff. Also, his teams never seemed to have any spark. To me they seemed to play like they didn’t expect to win. JMO

(06-19-2021 04:29 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(06-19-2021 03:56 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  I was curious why was Bragga not successful? Was it poor communication with the players, coaching technique at this level, poor recruiting, etc.?

I’m no expert, but the first thing that jumps out for me is really poor management of the pitching staff. Also, his teams never seemed to have any spark. To me they seemed to play like they didn’t expect to win. JMO

I agree with this as well. Knowing when to get guys up and ready and when to pull the trigger on the starter/reliever currently in the game was always a head scratcher. I do believe that the bull pen guys should have been able to "hang out" in the BP around the 4th-5th inning at minimum and have some idea who is "on deck" should the starter falter so they could start whatever prep they need to be ready to go if called on vs running down there from the dugout (which is all I ever saw at games I attended) and rushing to get hot and likely not being fully ready when needed when the "you know what" hit the fan. Bottom line it was just a bad fit combined with some bad circumstances that were out of Bragga's control.

On another note, any word on potential pitching coaches?

(06-22-2021 09:49 AM)Musicowl1965 Wrote:  

(06-19-2021 04:29 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(06-19-2021 03:56 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  I was curious why was Bragga not successful? Was it poor communication with the players, coaching technique at this level, poor recruiting, etc.?

I’m no expert, but the first thing that jumps out for me is really poor management of the pitching staff. Also, his teams never seemed to have any spark. To me they seemed to play like they didn’t expect to win. JMO

I agree with this as well. Knowing when to get guys up and ready and when to pull the trigger on the starter/reliever currently in the game was always a head scratcher. I do believe that the bull pen guys should have been able to "hang out" in the BP around the 4th-5th inning at minimum and have some idea who is "on deck" should the starter falter so they could start whatever prep they need to be ready to go if called on vs running down there from the dugout (which is all I ever saw at games I attended) and rushing to get hot and likely not being fully ready when needed when the "you know what" hit the fan. Bottom line it was just a bad fit combined with some bad circumstances that were out of Bragga's control.

On another note, any word on potential pitching coaches?

The players loved Bragga, but aside from the much discussed woeful mismanagement of the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen, his practices and intrasquads were NOT intense and game-like. I also didn't understand some of his lineup and batting order logic. Just one example-- Antonio Cruz crushes left-handed pitching, but he was rarely inserted into the lineup when an opposing southpaw was starting.

As for the new coaching staff, I believe Paul Janish is not only being retained, but promoted to Assistant Head Coach and primary recruiting coordinator. Pitching coach should be named this week so long as Cheito gets the guy he wants. Wonder who he's going to bring in as the volunteer assistant.