Interesting quote from the Altoona Mirror

[81omar]

   Before I post the quote,I'll mention that Cory Giger does a great job covering the Curve,I doubt many minor league teams have better coverage than the Curve do. He graded the teams first half today,basically giving them a well deserved F overall for their 23-44 record. The quote about the coaching staffs grade was very interesting though(at least to me)


<<<<The staff's hands are tied in part because of a ridiculous policy of the Pirates. The organization forces its minor leaguers to show up way, way too early for pregame drills, often times with players on the field shortly after 1 p.m. That leads to burnout and tired players by the time the game starts.>>>>


   He went on to say he wasnt making an excuse for the players but it should be noted that if what he says is true and its an organization thing then the Curve are basically just playing bad because no other Pirates team is doing as as them bad and it shouldnt have been mentioned. They have some good players there not playing up to their potential(or what we expected of them) Sues,Negrych,Tabata,Romak and even Brian Friday since his early season hot start has been hitting about .250 and some veteran type players are struggling as well. When you have no one really exceeding expectations and plenty of level-appropriate guys struggling, its hard not to blame the coaching staff for having them ready but he gave the coaching staff a C+

[Woobie]

Sorry, but I don't see the parallel between a struggling player and coaching. After a certain point, players have to produce.

[81omar]

   Could you give a coaching staff a grade that much higher than the team when they have good players but the worst record in all of full season ball?  Usually something like that would get coaches fired on the major league level. I dont think anyone could look at Altoona's roster and say thats the worst team in organized pro ball.

  Part of the interest,which I forgot to mention in the first post,was the fact they do so much pre-game work. I think most teams show up at the earliest by 1pm for a 7pm game,forget actually being on the field at that point doing work

[Woobie]

Could you give a coaching staff a grade that much higher than the team when they have good players but the worst record in all of full season ball? Usually something like that would get coaches fired on the major league level.

Good point.

What's the problem then? Are these coaches too overbearing? Are they morons? Is there bad clubhouse chemistry?

I'd like to know, because I just don't buy the 1 p.m. practice thing.

[WTM]

<<<<The staff's hands are tied in part because of a ridiculous policy of the Pirates. The organization forces its minor leaguers to show up way, way too early for pregame drills, often times with players on the field shortly after 1 p.m. That leads to burnout and tired players by the time the game starts.>>>>

Obviously, Corey Giger, like the guy who writes for the Center Daily Times, knows more about player development than Kyle Stark.  You know, the guy who condemned the Pirates' use of mandatory pitch limits, which certainly explains why Rudy Owens, Ron Uviedo and Brad Lincoln are having such awful seasons.  Just like this ridiculous workout policy that leaves the players exhausted for games explains why Lynchburg is winning way beyond expectations.  I don't understand why the Pirates don't hire some penny ante sportswriters to run their player development operation.

[Woobie]

Obviously, Corey Giger, like the guy who writes for the Center Daily Times, knows more about player development than Kyle Stark.  You know, the guy who condemned the Pirates' use of mandatory pitch limits, which certainly explains why Rudy Owens, Ron Uviedo and Brad Lincoln are having such awful seasons.  Just like this ridiculous workout policy that leaves the players exhausted for games explains why Lynchburg is winning way beyond expectations.  I don't understand why the Pirates don't hire some penny ante sportswriters to run their player development operation.

I wouldn't pull all writers on the same island.

But Giger and the CTD guy seem to inject opinion into their work -- they can't all be considered columns, can they? -- far too often.

[WTM]

Obviously, Corey Giger, like the guy who writes for the Center Daily Times, knows more about player development than Kyle Stark.  You know, the guy who condemned the Pirates' use of mandatory pitch limits, which certainly explains why Rudy Owens, Ron Uviedo and Brad Lincoln are having such awful seasons.  Just like this ridiculous workout policy that leaves the players exhausted for games explains why Lynchburg is winning way beyond expectations.  I don't understand why the Pirates don't hire some penny ante sportswriters to run their player development operation.

I wouldn't pull all writers on the same island.

But Giger and the CTD guy seem to inject opinion into their work -- they can't all be considered columns, can they? -- far too often.

I can understand a certain amount of opinion.  It's stupid opinions I don't like.

[Thunder]

Could you give a coaching staff a grade that much higher than the team when they have good players but the worst record in all of full season ball? Usually something like that would get coaches fired on the major league level.

Good point.

What's the problem then? Are these coaches too overbearing? Are they morons? Is there bad clubhouse chemistry?

I'd like to know, because I just don't buy the 1 p.m. practice thing.

My obvious question would be what is getting done at a 1 pm practice for a 7 pm game?? Are the fundamentals that bad at Altoona?? I'm 1200 miles away...so I don't have a clue. But 10 hours at the park every day...does seem like it would make for a long day.

[Dogknot3]

1 PM seems pretty early to me too.  How long do they practice?  What do the players do for six hours before game time?

I went to a game last year and was there early (4 PM) for a stadium tour.  The clubhouse was pretty empty as the other team was in the indoor batting cages. 

[Whiffle Pimp]

Cory Giger is easily one of the worst minor league baseball writers I have come across. I am not just referring to this piece either. His entire body of work is simply awful.

[WTM]

Could you give a coaching staff a grade that much higher than the team when they have good players but the worst record in all of full season ball? Usually something like that would get coaches fired on the major league level.

Good point.

What's the problem then? Are these coaches too overbearing? Are they morons? Is there bad clubhouse chemistry?

I'd like to know, because I just don't buy the 1 p.m. practice thing.

My obvious question would be what is getting done at a 1 pm practice for a 7 pm game?? Are the fundamentals that bad at Altoona?? I'm 1200 miles away...so I don't have a clue. But 10 hours at the park every day...does seem like it would make for a long day.

Well, that's a pretty obvious question but Corey Giger apparently didn't ask it.  If he's going to blast the Pirates for "ridiculous" practices, shouldn't he ask them why the players show up so early and what they do with the time, rather than let fly blindly?

[81omar]

   What Im wondering is if one or more of the players actually said something to him,maybe off the record,about the long hours before the games. If not,hes probably either mentioned it before or kept his dislike for their practices bottled inside for awhile.Those are pretty strong words from a minor league reporter. No matter what it is,all he has to do is look at the records of Indy and Lynchburg to see other teams arent too tired to play hard because of long practices

[WTM]

   What Im wondering is if one or more of the players actually said something to him,maybe off the record,about the long hours before the games. If not,hes probably either mentioned it before or kept his dislike for their practices bottled inside for awhile.Those are pretty strong words from a minor league reporter. No matter what it is,all he has to do is look at the records of Indy and Lynchburg to see other teams arent too tired to play hard because of long practices

I imagine it came from a player.  I've heard of specific instances of players griping to people about stuff like that and it just sounds like that.

[Xiga]

   What Im wondering is if one or more of the players actually said something to him,maybe off the record,about the long hours before the games. If not,hes probably either mentioned it before or kept his dislike for their practices bottled inside for awhile.Those are pretty strong words from a minor league reporter. No matter what it is,all he has to do is look at the records of Indy and Lynchburg to see other teams arent too tired to play hard because of long practices

My first thought was that he's had players complain to him about it off the record. Doesn't really say too much good about whoever it is doing that. Don't make excuses for why you're not winning.

[Babe Adams]

I'm guessing somewhere between reporting and the beginning of the game these guys are getting fed?