Article: REPORT: Neil Allen to be Hired as Pitching Coach

[Jack Torse]

As soon they get pitchers with velocity and better stuff they will start missing bats. Doesn't matter who the pitching coach is. Attacking the zone is a philosophy i guess.. Not just Andy's deal but getting k's more consistently is infinitely more dependent on pitching ability than pitching to contact, attacking the zone or who the pitching coach is.

[stringer bell]

I mostly agree that the pitching coach can't make chicken salad out of chicken s$#t. However, it seems that Anderson wasn't able to get expected performance out of a lot of guys recently. Perhaps he was too locked into his "pound the strike zone" philosophy, perhaps he wasn't able to communicate with his pitching staff, perhaps he didn't keep up with the way the game has changed. It was time for a change. Is Allen up to the job? Time will tell.

[Monkeypaws]

Trying to make all pitchers conform to a single philosophy sounds like a bad idea. I'd like a coach to try to maximize the strengths of the individuals, even if it involves two entirely different approaches with two different pitchers.

 

It's like trying to make David Ortiz hit the ball to the opposite field.

[Mike Sixel]

Interesting hire, if true. Completely not their normal mo. I have no idea if he can coach or not. I do find out odd they have no on that has run a staff before. I would have expected them to hire a bullpen coach that had that to fill in the gaps. Maybe Glynn it's going to help with that.

[Seth Stohs]

Interesting hire, if true. Completely not their normal mo. I have no idea if he can coach or not. I do find out odd they have no on that has run a staff before. I would have expected them to hire a bullpen coach that had that to fill in the gaps. Maybe Glynn it's going to help with that.

 

Allen has been a pitching coach for most of the last 20-25 years. I think it's fair to say he's "run a staff before." Pitching coach in the minors isn't (or shouldn't be) any different than at any other level.

[DocBauer]

Allen has been a pitching coach for most of the last 20-25 years. I think it's fair to say he's "run a staff before." Pitching coach in the minors isn't (or shouldn't be) any different than at any other level.

 

Valid point.

 

And partially to that end, does his reputation and the reputation of the Rays do anything to enhance the Twins as a destination place for FA pitchers?

[ashbury]

I think Gardy-Andy's idea of a "good strike" was the low strike. As if simply keeping the ball low kept the ball in the park.

I suspect it sounds so bad because it doesn't reflect the full philosophy.  After all they had Parmelee, reputed to not handle the high fastball very well, to look at anytime they might lapse into thinking low strikes solve everything.  Nobody would be pitching coach if he advised every pitcher the same way, or advised them to treat all batters the same.

[James Richter]

Another problem with the rigidity of the "pitch to contact" mentality is that it's success is heavily dependent upon the quality of the defense. When you've got Span & Gomez in the OF and Adam Everett & Nick Punto in the middle IF, sure, put it in play. But when the defense has all sorts of plodders & guys playing out of position, maybe it'd be a better strategy to have the pitchers try to get guys to chase...

 

I'm hoping the new coaching staff will have a better idea of how all the pieces fit together.

[jokin]

Another problem with the rigidity of the "pitch to contact" mentality is that it's success is heavily dependent upon the quality of the defense. When you've got Span & Gomez in the OF and Adam Everett & Nick Punto in the middle IF, sure, put it in play. But when the defense has all sorts of plodders & guys playing out of position, maybe it'd be a better strategy to have the pitchers try to get guys to chase...

 

I'm hoping the new coaching staff will have a better idea of how all the pieces fit together.

 

One thing is definitely going to change, and that is, I'm sure we'll be seeing much more defensive shifting from Molitor, this should gel nicely with the Allen hiring, who has worked in an organization that has pioneered modern shifting strategies.

Edited November 24, 2014 by jokin

[GoGonzoJournal]

If it is confirmed I think it's a good hire. I'd like to see Marty Mason get a promotion to bullpen coach. Alex Meyer seems to like him.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/alex-meyer-reflects-on-2014-looks-forward-to-2015-r3213

[Mike Sixel]

Allen has been a pitching coach for most of the last 20-25 years. I think it's fair to say he's "run a staff before." Pitching coach in the minors isn't (or shouldn't be) any different than at any other level.

Ah, I rea the earlier comments wrong then. Thanks for the update.

[Rosterman]

If it is confirmed I think it's a good hire. I'd like to see Marty Mason get a promotion to bullpen coach. Alex Meyer seems to like him.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/alex-meyer-reflects-on-2014-looks-forward-to-2015-r3213

I think Eddie is on board as the bullpen coach. Which is fine. I like the idea of basically two pitching coaches rather than the bullpen coach being an old catcher. The Twins have TWO good guys who will work well with the youngsters coming up, and if you look at the Twins pitching as a whole, now, besides Nolasco they are basically VERY VERY young...once the bullpen changes out names.

[Willihammer]

I suspect it sounds so bad because it doesn't reflect the full philosophy.  After all they had Parmelee, reputed to not handle the high fastball very well, to look at anytime they might lapse into thinking low strikes solve everything.  Nobody would be pitching coach if he advised every pitcher the same way, or advised them to treat all batters the same.

You would think not. But if you read the links in Parker's article, you'll find no mention of working up in the zone, in a positive way. Its always down down gotta stay down. Even for Scott Baker, who was more successful up in the zone.

[bird]

You would think not. But if you read the links in Parker's article, you'll find no mention of working up in the zone, in a positive way. Its always down down gotta stay down. Even for Scott Baker, who was more successful up in the zone.

If you carefully read the articles linked in Parker's article, you'll also find very very little mention of working down in the zone, or up in the zone. I think we're overplaying this notion regarding some sort of mantra about staying down in the zone. In those articles, there are at least a half-dozen other concepts stressed repeatedly other than the over-simplified concepts of pitching up or down in the zone. And you certainly won't find any mention of avoiding ever pitching up in the zone.

 

I wonder if we're falsely attributing Blyleven's predictable lazy commentary ( "he left that pitch up" ) to the Twins.

[Mike Sixel]

Doesn't really matter anymore, that's the past. Let's see who the new coach is, and what they team does.....then judge the process. In this case, past is probably not prologue, since there is a new coach.

[Willihammer]

If you carefully read the articles linked in Parker's article, you'll also find very very little mention of working down in the zone, or up in the zone. I think we're overplaying this notion regarding some sort of mantra about staying down in the zone. In those articles, there are at least a half-dozen other concepts stressed repeatedly other than the over-simplified concepts of pitching up or down in the zone. And you certainly won't find any mention of avoiding ever pitching up in the zone.

 

I wonder if we're falsely attributing Blyleven's predictable lazy commentary ( "he left that pitch up" ) to the Twins.

No, we're not.

 

Read the links.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

any update? Allen been made official?