GaryMrMets
07-06-2004, 12:47 PM
http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/sports/s070604b.htm
Why can't Kerrigan fix this staff?
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
By KEVIN ROBERTS
Courier-Post Staff
PHILADELPHIA
It's time for Joe Kerrigan to get his hands back on this thing.
It's been said this year that Kerrigan, the Phillies pitching coach, has been much more hands-off with the pitching staff - "Waaaaay off," he said. That's all well and good, and certainly may have been a necessary way to go.
But here it is July 6, and the NL East is a four-team race in large part because of the Phillies' pitching. That's Kerrigan's domain, an area where the Phillies were supposed to be better simply due to his presence on the staff.
Kevin Millwood is walking around with a 5.07 ERA. Brett Myers is carrying a 5.28 ERA. The Mets hit town with the league's best team ERA (3.71) and the second-best starters' ERA (3.66). The Phillies' team ERA is 4.38 (10th in the league) and the starters' ERA of 4.71 is without question the team's biggest problem.
And, well . . .
"The game is telling us to make some adjustments," Kerrigan said.
Yeah, it sure is. Kerrigan said he's getting more involved, particularly with Myers and Millwood.
Kerrigan is trying to get Millwood to go back to the delivery he used in the first part of last season, and the two worked on it Monday.
"There's no question in my mind, it's fixable," Kerrigan said. "And I think it's fixable by the next start."
With Myers, Kerrigan let the 23-year-old starter go his own way for a while. That's obviously not working. In his last five starts, Myers has a 7.76 ERA.
"In the last week or 10 days, I've been a little more involved," Kerrigan said. "With young people, you can't let them drift too far away from the teaching aspect. Myers is very close to getting on a run. Mechanically, he's as sound as we can get him on the side and in pregame warm-ups. We've got to get it from the practice mound to the game mound. But those are just growing pains.
"That's youth. That's being 23 years old."
OK, but Millwood is a veteran. He used to be pretty good. He has a 3.78 career ERA, he's pitched in the World Series, he's thrown a no-hitter. He might not be a true No. 1 starter, but he's not this bad. Something is wrong with him, and it needs to be fixed, and that's Kerrigan's job.
Listen to Millwood after his last start: "I don't have a clue what I need to do right now. I've looked at video, I've done things on the side. It seems like I still go out and give up five runs. So far, this is the most frustrating year I've ever had."
You hear those words, and you think to yourself, gosh - if only Millwood had somebody to shepherd him through this; someone like a coach, who specializes in pitching . . . a guy they'd call, say, a pitching coach.
Millwood, for the record, praised Kerrigan's work in trying to pull him out of this mess. And that's a welcome development, since at times last year Kerrigan had a strained relationship with this staff.
Was too much made of this? Possibly. At least this season that relationship has been smoothed over and the lines of communication are now open again (or at least, they should be).
When the Phillies hired Kerrigan after the 2002 season, GM Ed Wade said the pitching staff would be better from that move alone. And yet today the team ERA is 4.38 - worse than the 4.17 ERA of 2002 Phillies under Vern Ruhle, with better personnel.
Kerrigan worked wonders with this staff last season (rescuing Rheal Cormier, for example), and the pitching carried the Phillies the first two months of the season. But lately, it's gone off the beam - a 5.55 ERA since June 1. Good pitchers who Kerrigan has now had for a year and a half are the big reason.
The Phillies are the only team in the league carrying two starters with ERAs over five and staying within even three games of a division lead - much less in first place. Despite an absurd first-inning ERA of 5.56, the Phillies have come from behind to win 27 times - the best mark in the league.
It's Kerrigan's job to make sure the Phillies pitching staff gives the club a better chance. He knows this, by the way - no one can question how much work Kerrigan puts in or his knowledge of pitching, and he's carrying the responsibility for these ERAs with as much frustration as anybody.
"But you can't let a player see your frustration," Kerrigan said. "You just do what you're doing - teaching. That's the only way out, keep working, keep teaching."
Why can't Kerrigan fix this staff?
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
By KEVIN ROBERTS
Courier-Post Staff
PHILADELPHIA
It's time for Joe Kerrigan to get his hands back on this thing.
It's been said this year that Kerrigan, the Phillies pitching coach, has been much more hands-off with the pitching staff - "Waaaaay off," he said. That's all well and good, and certainly may have been a necessary way to go.
But here it is July 6, and the NL East is a four-team race in large part because of the Phillies' pitching. That's Kerrigan's domain, an area where the Phillies were supposed to be better simply due to his presence on the staff.
Kevin Millwood is walking around with a 5.07 ERA. Brett Myers is carrying a 5.28 ERA. The Mets hit town with the league's best team ERA (3.71) and the second-best starters' ERA (3.66). The Phillies' team ERA is 4.38 (10th in the league) and the starters' ERA of 4.71 is without question the team's biggest problem.
And, well . . .
"The game is telling us to make some adjustments," Kerrigan said.
Yeah, it sure is. Kerrigan said he's getting more involved, particularly with Myers and Millwood.
Kerrigan is trying to get Millwood to go back to the delivery he used in the first part of last season, and the two worked on it Monday.
"There's no question in my mind, it's fixable," Kerrigan said. "And I think it's fixable by the next start."
With Myers, Kerrigan let the 23-year-old starter go his own way for a while. That's obviously not working. In his last five starts, Myers has a 7.76 ERA.
"In the last week or 10 days, I've been a little more involved," Kerrigan said. "With young people, you can't let them drift too far away from the teaching aspect. Myers is very close to getting on a run. Mechanically, he's as sound as we can get him on the side and in pregame warm-ups. We've got to get it from the practice mound to the game mound. But those are just growing pains.
"That's youth. That's being 23 years old."
OK, but Millwood is a veteran. He used to be pretty good. He has a 3.78 career ERA, he's pitched in the World Series, he's thrown a no-hitter. He might not be a true No. 1 starter, but he's not this bad. Something is wrong with him, and it needs to be fixed, and that's Kerrigan's job.
Listen to Millwood after his last start: "I don't have a clue what I need to do right now. I've looked at video, I've done things on the side. It seems like I still go out and give up five runs. So far, this is the most frustrating year I've ever had."
You hear those words, and you think to yourself, gosh - if only Millwood had somebody to shepherd him through this; someone like a coach, who specializes in pitching . . . a guy they'd call, say, a pitching coach.
Millwood, for the record, praised Kerrigan's work in trying to pull him out of this mess. And that's a welcome development, since at times last year Kerrigan had a strained relationship with this staff.
Was too much made of this? Possibly. At least this season that relationship has been smoothed over and the lines of communication are now open again (or at least, they should be).
When the Phillies hired Kerrigan after the 2002 season, GM Ed Wade said the pitching staff would be better from that move alone. And yet today the team ERA is 4.38 - worse than the 4.17 ERA of 2002 Phillies under Vern Ruhle, with better personnel.
Kerrigan worked wonders with this staff last season (rescuing Rheal Cormier, for example), and the pitching carried the Phillies the first two months of the season. But lately, it's gone off the beam - a 5.55 ERA since June 1. Good pitchers who Kerrigan has now had for a year and a half are the big reason.
The Phillies are the only team in the league carrying two starters with ERAs over five and staying within even three games of a division lead - much less in first place. Despite an absurd first-inning ERA of 5.56, the Phillies have come from behind to win 27 times - the best mark in the league.
It's Kerrigan's job to make sure the Phillies pitching staff gives the club a better chance. He knows this, by the way - no one can question how much work Kerrigan puts in or his knowledge of pitching, and he's carrying the responsibility for these ERAs with as much frustration as anybody.
"But you can't let a player see your frustration," Kerrigan said. "You just do what you're doing - teaching. That's the only way out, keep working, keep teaching."