Miller: Twins To Add Jeff Pickler To Coaching Staff

[Seth Stohs]

Star-Tribune's Phil Miller wrote this afternoon that the Twins will add Jeff Pickler to their coaching staff. He also notes that roles will be determined. 

 

Interesting article. Be sure to read through it. Pickler comes from the Dodgers organization where he has been in the front office the last two years. He reached AAA a decade ago, but never surfaced in the major leagues...

 

http://www.startribune.com/twins-to-add-jeff-pickler-to-coaching-staff/407635816/ 

 

[gunnarthor]

Hope he gets a WS ring with us.

[theBOMisthebomb]

Gedney, he's the Minnesota Pickler.

[nicksaviking]

Kind of sounds like he's getting the job that Falvey didn't like to refer to as the quality control specialist.

 

Also possibly the "who are some good under-the-radar pieces the Twins can get the Dodgers to throw into a hypothetical Brian Dozier trade" specialist.

[clutterheart]

 

Pickler, 40, has served as a special assistant for pro scouting and player development under Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, a role that has included some on-field coaching duties with Dodgers prospects.

 

So his job will be to decide which prospects to trade Dozier for?  

 

[HitInAPinch]

Grab a scout from an organization that knows how to build a MiLB system. 

 

Seems odd to see a move like that from the Twins   

[Homer Hanky]

 

Star-Tribune's Phil Miller wrote this afternoon that the Twins will add Jeff Pickler to their coaching staff. He also notes that roles will be determined. 

 

Interesting article. Be sure to read through it. Pickler comes from the Dodgers organization where he has been in the front office the last two years. He reached AAA a decade ago, but never surfaced in the major leagues...

 

http://www.startribune.com/twins-to-add-jeff-pickler-to-coaching-staff/407635816/ 

This is a great article also... excited about the signing... 

 

http://www.truebluela.com/2014/11/5/7165505/jeff-pickler-dodgers-padres-scout

 

 

[jharaldson]

I have no specific concerns with Pickler as a coach but I am disappointed overall that with these 2 openings that we did not find someone born in Latin America to fill at least one of them.  I think our coaching and development staff has an issue that they seem unable to maximize our Latin American talent.  I think that having only 1 Latin American coach (Hernandez) and the fact he is lowest man on the staff as his position didn't exist until 3-4 years ago inhibits our staff from really connecting with these players.  

 

I asked a similar question about why did we hire Mike Quade instead of trying to get a Hispanic coach to Jack Goin a couple of years ago on this site:

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/16731-twins-front-office-to-learn-spanish/?p=304948

 

Jack ignored the cultural aspect and focused on Mike Quade's resume.  I was hoping the new regime would come with a new focus on improving our Latin American talent.  2 hires after a couple of months on the job don't prove that they won't focus on this in the future but it isn't a positive start IMO.

[Thrylos]

He seems that if anything, he will be on the dugout as the bench coach type.  They still need a first base coach, which leaves Vavra, Rudy Hernandez, Gene Glynn for the base coach jobs.   Likely Glynn will keep his 3B job and Hernandez will be the 1B coach.

 

Still no idea what the hey Vavra is doing on that team.

[Doomtints]

Strange that Pickler did not play in the majors.  He was promoted slowly but on paper there was no reason for it.  If you draft a guy after he graduates college and hold him back, pretty soon the guy is pushing 30 and you're stuck with nothing.  But then, no one accuses the Brewers of being prospect wizards. 

 

Pickler has ties to Levine from his time in the Rangers organization.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=pickle001jef

 

 

[David HK]

Tangy choice.  I'm not sour on this at all, I think it's a good dill.  In fact, I hope he can make our club play more crisply, like they're full of p*ss and vinegar...  

 

 

 

Shall I stop now?  

[70charger]

Tangy choice.  I'm not sour on this at all, I think it's a good dill.  In fact, I hope he can make our club play more crisply, like they're full of p*ss and vinegar...  

 

 

 

Shall I stop now?  

Could you have kept going?

[laloesch]

Interesting signing.  One has to wonder if this Falvey & Levine's way of keeping a close hand on the wheel with Molitor through the end of next season.  After all Paul has a tendency to fly off the handle occasionally (especially as a player) and made questionable off the cusp managerial decisions.  Either way i like it.  

[nicksaviking]

 

Strange that Pickler did not play in the majors.  He was promoted slowly but on paper there was no reason for it.  If you draft a guy after he graduates college and hold him back, pretty soon the guy is pushing 30 and you're stuck with nothing.  But then, no one accuses the Brewers of being prospect wizards. 

 

Pickler has ties to Levine from his time in the Rangers organization.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=pickle001jef

 

Wow, yeah that is bizarre. It's hard to imagine a middle infielder put up numbers like that year after year and never got a shot at the majors. He nearly had a 1:1 BB/K ratio for his entire career, the guy could get on base and looks like he had enough speed to take some bases. I guess the Rangers always had good middle infielders but I'm just going to imagine the conversation with his MiLB coach his last year in Rockies organization went something like this:

 

Pickler: So coach, it's August 31, I probably should pack my bags. Do I have to buy my own ticket to Denver or do you guys do that?

 

Coach: Sorry Pickler, it ain't happening this year.

 

Pickler: The team is in last place and will be lucky not to lose 100 games. I'm 29 and having a career year. It's kind of a custom to give a guy like me a taste of the majors.

 

Coach: Yeah, but the big club has that young stud Aaron Miles tearing the cover off the ball.

 

Pickler: Miles is freakin' 28 and he's absolutely useless with the bat.

 

Coach: Miles is batting .281 and you say he's useless! Not everyone can be Joe Morgan!

 

Pickler: Batting average?! The guy has an OBP of .306 to go along with that batting average meaning he's only taken 8 walks all year! ALL YEAR! His RC+ is 62 and he has a negative WAR! He has no speed, no power, can't take a walk and that's not even counting his brutal defense, his UZR/150 is -10.4!

 

Coach: Pickler, I've had just about enough of your mathematic mumbo jumbo, I'm fairly confident everything you just said was has no relevance to baseball, get back to me when you find out how many Game Winning RBI's he had!

 

Pickler: Coach, I think you are in for a rude statistical awakening.

 

Coach: Oh is that right, well why don't you go right ahead and find a job where you can put your numerical non-sense to work because I'll see to it your playing days are over! I hear Arizona is looking for an accountant or something, why don't you take your calculator and nerd glasses over there.!

 

 

[David HK]

 

Could you have kept going?

Sadly, yes....