Phillies Front Office Changes

[zambonir]

I don't even think Dombrowski is making these moves. This is Fuld putting his mark on the organization, both major league and minor league (Kendrick is his assistant, not Dombrowski's) while Dombrowski focuses more the roster. Don't forget Fuld was also specifically in charge of the training and nutrition program before becoming GM too. (Never mind that he was also part of the failed analytics roll-out too).

[fish]

Re-reading the stories I didn’t realize they’ve been hired to big league positions- a rookie league hitting instructor hired to be assistant big league coach, and an assistant pitching coach with no pro coaching experience….

I mean, how do big leaguers respond to that?

[zambonir]

I don't think that's a big deal these days, especially not for assistants. The Reds' pitching coach (Cotham's former boss) went straight from minor league coordinator to the Brewers job. And the Phillies' previous assistant hitting coach was 29. This new guy has been in the game for almost a decade, just not in the majors. The stars/veterans who respond to older coaches will be managed by the boss, and the younger/developing players may relate more to the new guys.

The "assistant pitching coach" also being the director of pitching development seems like the most significant development (but also another reason why his major league experience doesn't matter).

[Squire]

Every time Jim says "highly regarded" I think of the father from A Christmas Story saying "It's a Major Award!"

https://twitter.com/JSalisburyNBCS/status/1465783043285737472

[nycphils]

It is really hard to believe what an unmitigated disaster the McPhail/Klentak team was - I think some of the problems pre dated them, but it is hard to think of a recent organization that left virtually every fundamental area of baseball infrastructure in worse shape. Player development, scouting, etc.

Honestly, the talent of Harper, Realmuto and Zach Wheeler/Nola have papered over a lot of worse issues by dragging the team to .500 ball the last 3 years.

[fish]

Every time Jim says "highly regarded" I think of the father from A Christmas Story saying "It's a Major Award!"

Must be Italian!

Certainly a very experienced guy, though not exactly in organizations with great track records.

[Philsmania]

It is really hard to believe what an unmitigated disaster the McPhail/Klentak team was - I think some of the problems pre dated them, but it is hard to think of a recent organization that left virtually every fundamental area of baseball infrastructure in worse shape. Player development, scouting, etc.

Honestly, the talent of Harper, Realmuto and Zach Wheeler/Nola have papered over a lot of worse issues by dragging the team to .500 ball the last 3 years.

Sometimes you have to say "Be careful what you wish for." The game and business of baseball had passed the Montgomery/Amaro team by and a change was needed. But, the McPhail/Klentak team actually turned out to be worse. And, Almaraz turned out to be worse than Wolever (though Almaraz comported himself in a more professional manner instead of playing games with picks like Wolever did) and Bonifay probably turned out to be worse than Jordan.

[bkox]

Congratulations to Kevin Gregg on his return to the @Phillies as vice president of baseball communications, effective Jan. 3. He is one of the great people in the baseball industry and was extraordinary in his role with the @RedSox since 2013. @MLB

— Jon Morosi ( @jonmorosi ) December 1, 2021

[Philsmania]

Congratulations to Kevin Gregg on his return to the @Phillies as vice president of baseball communications, effective Jan. 3. He is one of the great people in the baseball industry and was extraordinary in his role with the @RedSox since 2013. @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 1, 2021

Philadelphia native and Eric Gregg's son. Way back in 2003 or 2004, I, purely by chance, found myself on a barstool seated next to Eric Gregg at a Manayunk bar. Enjoyed the unexpected opportunity to talk baseball with him.

[bkeich]

I am guessing this was not the first time Eric Gregg had a beer.

[LegoDoom]

Philadelphia native and Eric Gregg's son. Way back in 2003 or 2004, I, purely by chance, found myself on a barstool seated next to Eric Gregg at a Manayunk bar. Enjoyed the unexpected opportunity to talk baseball with him.

Eric worked at Chickie's in the northeast for a time. He always seemed really friendly.

[Philsmania]

Philadelphia native and Eric Gregg's son. Way back in 2003 or 2004, I, purely by chance, found myself on a barstool seated next to Eric Gregg at a Manayunk bar. Enjoyed the unexpected opportunity to talk baseball with him.

Eric worked at Chickie's in the northeast for a time. He always seemed really friendly.

And, up to his passing, he worked at a beer stand in Ashburn Alley at CBP. I don't think he did much work aside from sitting there on a stool and chatting with fans (which was probably what he was paid to do because he was good at it--providing character and hospitality was his job).

[Ryles]

I think Eric passed before CBP. He did tend @ Chickie's & Pete's in the final days of the Vet. He's give out an umpire baseball card of himself. When the old union was no longer recognized after the strike, apparently Eric wasn't a member of the new union. This led him to the tending gig. Great guy who gave time to every fan.

[bkox]

I think Eric passed before CBP

Eric Eugene Gregg (May 18, 1951 – June 5, 2006

He was around for the first couple years of CBP

[zambonir]

He was alive for the first two seasons at CBP (and part of the third).

[bkeich]

Yes, he was one of the umpires that was never “rehired” after they mass quit.

He was widely considered the most pitcher friendly umpire of all of them, and was the most easily fooled by the “move the pitch a little further outside and see if he will call it a strike”. By the end of games he might be calling things strikes that were in the other batters box. I would love to see Greg Maddox’s ERA in games he was behind the plate, I suspect it was minuscule.

I was always surprised that the league never got upset with his doing commercials in Philly, they may not have shown a prejudice, but having him get local income like that and constantly playing his commercials during Phillies game always seemed a little strange to me.

That said, he seemed like a great guy, I wish his son well in this position.

[bkox]

I would love to see Greg Maddox’s ERA in games he was behind the plate, I suspect it was minuscule.

BBref has this info.

In 10 games with Eric Gregg behind the plate.. Maddux was 9-1 with a 2.28 ERA. He walked only 7 in 79 innings with Gregg behind the plate

John Hirschbeck was Maddux best ump of any ump that was behind the plate at least 10 games that Maddux started. 1.63 ERA over 80 innings.. including 3 CGSHO in his first 3 starts with Hirschbeck behind the plate

[bkeich]

I suspect all are too low of a sample size. I wonder if there is a way to see Gregg’s walk and strikeout rates versus normal for his last 5 or so years, but honestly, I liked the guy and don’t want to diminish his name by saying he was a flawed umpire. He seemed like a great guy and he gave a lot to the game, as he is not here to defend anything else, maybe that is all I should say.

[zambonir]

Via Matt

As I wrap up my time with Driveline today, I'm excited to share that I'll soon be joining the Philadelphia Phillies as a Quantitative Analyst!

I'm thankful for this new opportunity to be joining such a special organization! pic.twitter.com/FXqupdFDQ2

— Sam Bornstein ( @Sam__Bornstein ) December 15, 2021

[bkox]

So we dropped driveline.. and then hire they guys?