MLB News: Hafner Placed on 15 Day DL; Donald Recalled
August 9, 2012Box Score: Indians 5, Red Sox 3
August 9, 2012The bus holds a lot of people, but soon enough there won’t be any room left underneath it either. The Indians have dismissed pitching coach Scott Radinsky and replaced him with minor league coach Ruben Niebla on an interim basis.
Niebla is currently in his 12th season in the Indians organization, having spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons as the Pitching Coach for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. In 2011 the Clippers captured the Triple-A Championship while posting their lowest team ERA (3.94) since 1992. The 2012 Columbus pitching staff currently owns an ERA of 3.91 (1031.1IP, 1012H, 448ER, 330BB, 887K), which is 6th lowest in the International League. Five members of the current Major League staff pitched under Niebla’s tutelage for AAA Columbus over the last two campaigns.
Niebla, 40, has been a Pitching Coach within the Indians Player Development System since 2001 and spent the 2010 season as an assistant to the Major League Coaching Staff. He played professionally for six seasons from 1995-2000 in the Expos and Dodgers organizations…
We all knew there would have to be some changes amidst one of the worst collapses and losing streaks. Players paid with DFAs and now Radinsky is the first staff member to fall. Will he be the last?
[Related: MLB News: Hafner Placed on 15 Day DL; Donald Recalled]
13 Comments
mgbode finally got through to the FO.
On a related note, Captain Edward Smith was reportedly last seen on deck with a small bucket, bailing, bailing, bailing . . .
it is possible that the epic collapse of our pitching staff where every single SP that has pitched for the Tribe in 2012 is worse than 2011 no matter where they pitched last year was not the fault of Mr. Radinsky.
however, when you fail at nearly every measurable aspect of your job, even if only for a year, then there will be consequences.
Mr. Antonetti…umm, can you step into Mr. Shapiro’s office?
The front office should be let go with their blunders of “cheap” players! Also, until the Dolan’s decide that their going to spend some money, kiss this franchise goodbye for the foreseeable future. I mean the drafting stinks, the personnel stinks, and blaming the pitching coach is just a smoke screen to let the fans know that the regime is doing something. The front office, dolan’s lack of spending and players have to be held accountable. Otherwise, what’s the point of following the team!
an August coaching change means Manny and his other coaches just grabbed their necks to make sure that sword-slashing noise wasn’t their own. Guessing this is Antonetti looking for fall guys. Not saying he was a great pitching coach, but a GM with job security doesn’t do this mid-season.
That’s not true at all. Shapiro has fired a hitting or pitching coach mid season at least three other times and he was about as secure as anyone in baseball with his job. The pitching staff is historically bad. Regardless of the GM’s security the pitching coach needed replaced immediately.
Conspiracy talk- I wonder if Belcher saw the writing on the wall with this rotation (Ubaldo’s mechanics, Masterson/Tomlin peaking in 2011, Lowe being done) and decided to leave the position rather than risk his reputation and job.
I feel bad for Radinsky but mgbode is right, you simply cannot ignore the regression of the entire rotation. And firing position coaches midseason is nothing new, we changed hitting coaches in the middle of 2011 when Bruce Fields replaced Jon Nunnally.
I heard that he wanted nothing to do with that immature child Fausto Carmona and was just frustrated that the Indians never signed a savvy veteran like Roberto Hernandez.
Mr. Shapiro would you please step into Mr. Dolan’s office.
Mr. Dolan can you please step into…into… Dammit!
Hell.
you’re probably right, Josh. My Tribe comments the last week have been more emotion than intellect-based. I’m seeing systemic-level failures and I’m looking for a fall guy. To me that’s Antonetti badly running a questionable Shapiro system.