DODGERS ANNOUNCE 2009 MINOR LEAGUE COACHING STAFFS AND COORDINATORS

Former Major Leaguers Lenny Harris, Aaron Sele, and Damon Berryhill join Dodger organization

 

LOS ANGELES – The 2008 National League West Division Champion Los Angeles Dodgers today named their minor league coaches and coordinators for the 2009 season.  Assistant General Manager, Player Development De Jon Watson made the announcement.

 

Three of the Dodgers’ seven minor league clubs will welcome new managers.  John Valentin moves to manage Double-A Chattanooga after leading the 2008 Single-A Inland Empire club.  Former White Sox minor league manager Carlos Subero joins the Dodger organization as manager of Inland Empire.  Former big league catcher Damon Berryhill joins the Dodger family to manage short-season Single-A Ogden.

 

Lenny Harris, baseball’s all-time leader in pinch-hits, also joins the organization as the senior hitting coach at the team’s new complex in Glendale, Arizona.  Former right-hander Aaron Sele, meanwhile, will serve as a minor league pitching instructor.

 

The complete list of coaches and instructors:

 

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes

 

Manager – Lorenzo Bundy

Hitting Coach – John Moses

Pitching Coach – Jim Slaton

Athletic Trainer – Greg Harrel

 

Bundy will enter his third season as manager of the Dodgers’ Triple-A club.  He guided the 2008 Las Vegas team to a 74-69 record, best among Dodger minor league clubs and a seven-win improvement from his 2007 squad.  Prior to his tenure with the Dodgers, the 49-year-old spent four years in the Diamondbacks’ system as the hitting coach for Triple-A Tucson from 2003-06.  Bundy has been a minor league manager for a combined eight seasons in the Montreal (1990-94), Florida (1997), and Los Angeles (2007-present) systems.

 

Moses will enter his second season as hitting coach of the Triple-A squad.  The Los Angeles native last year guided the offense to a Pacific Coast League-best .301 average, while its 844 runs scored ranked second in the league behind only Colorado Springs’ 855.  Moses joined the Dodger organization after serving as an associate coach with Seattle’s Major League club in 2007.  He has six years of big league coaching experience overall, also serving as Cincinnati’s bench coach in 2005 and as Seattle’s first-base coach from 2000-03.  In 2004, he was the Mariners’ minor league outfield/baserunning instructor.  Moses played 12 seasons in the Majors with Seattle (1982-87, 1992), Minnesota (1988-90), and Detroit (1991).

 

Slaton will go into his second season as pitching coach with the Triple-A club.  Prior to joining the Dodgers, he spent the previous 11 seasons as a coach in the Mariners’ organization, including three years as the big league club’s bullpen coach from 2004-06.  In 2008, Slaton served as the Dodgers’ interim bullpen coach for three weeks leading into the All-Star break while Ken Howell was recovering from a foot injury.  Slaton pitched for 16 seasons in the Majors from 1971-86 with Milwaukee (1971-77 and 1979-83), Detroit (1978 and 1986), and California (1984-85).  He went 151-158 with 86 complete games, 22 shutouts, 14 saves, and a 4.03 ERA in 496 games (360 starts).  He was an American League All-Star in 1977, and pitched in the 1982 World Series with the Brewers.

 

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts

 

Manager – John Valentin

Hitting Coach – Luis Salazar

Pitching Coach – Glenn Dishman

Athletic Trainer – Yosuke Nakajima

 

Valentin makes the jump to Chattanooga after his managerial debut in 2008 with Single-A Inland Empire, which was his first season as a coach in the Dodger organization.  The 41-year-old, who played 11 Major League seasons from 1992-2002, guided Inland Empire to a 68-73 record, including a 38-34 in the season’s second half to earn a California League playoff berth.  Valentin, a former infielder, played in the Majors from 1992-2002.  He was a career .279 hitter, and won the American League Silver Slugger Award for shortstops in 1995 after batting .298 with 27 homers and 102 RBI in 135 games with the Red Sox.

 

Salazar will enter his third season as the hitting coach for the Dodgers’ Double-A club.  Prior to this hitting coach stint, he served as the manager for the Vero Beach Dodgers of the Single-A Florida State League in 2006.  Salazar joined the Dodger organization in 2002 after spending the previous seven seasons as a coach in the Milwaukee system.  He had a 13-year Major League playing career from 1980-92 with the Padres (1980-84, 1987, 1989), White Sox (1985-86), Tigers (1988), and Cubs (1989-92).  Salazar was mainly a third baseman, but played every position in the field except for catcher.

 

Dishman will return for his second season as the pitching for the Dodgers’ Double-A club, his fifth overall in the Dodger organization.  The former big league pitcher served in the same capacity with Single-A Great Lakes in 2007.  He also served as pitching coach for Single-A Vero Beach in 2006 and Single-A Columbus in 2005.

 

Single-A Inland Empire 66ers

 

Manager – Carlos Subero

Hitting Coach – Jason Wood

Pitching Coach – Charlie Hough

Athletic Trainer – TBD

 

Subero joins the Dodger organization after managing the White Sox’s Double-A Birmingham club in 2008 to a 74-63 record and a berth in the Southern League playoffs.  The 36-year-old native of Venezuela spent the previous nine seasons in the Texas system, including seven as a manager with Single-A Bakersfield (2006-07), Single-A Clinton (2003-05), and the GCL Rangers (2001-02).  He has a combined 455-494 record as a minor league manager.

 

Wood will enter the Dodger organization and his first year of coaching at any level since wrapping up an 18-year pro playing career in September.  He played 1,890 minor league games and enjoyed parts of five big league seasons with Oakland (1998), Detroit (1998-99), and Florida (2006-08).

 

Hough will enter his third straight season as the pitching coach for Inland Empire.  The former All-Star knuckleballer has served as a big league pitching coach for the New York Mets from 2001-02 and the Dodgers from 1998-99.  His coaching career began in 1996 as the Dodgers High-A pitching coach.  Hough pitched for the Dodgers for 11 seasons from 1970-80 after being selected by the club in the eighth round of the 1966 draft.  He enjoyed a 25-year Major League career, going 216-216 with 107 complete games, 61 saves, and a 3.75 ERA in 858 games (440 starts).  Hough pitched in three World Series with the Dodgers in 1974, 1977, and 1978, and was an American League All-Star in 1986 with Texas.

 

Single-A Great Lakes Loons

 

Manager – Juan Bustabad

Hitting Coach – Michael Boughton

Pitching Coach – Danny Darwin

Athletic Trainer – Zachary Hoffmann

 

Bustabad will return for his second season as manager of Great Lakes, his ninth year overall as a member of the Dodger organization.  His 2008 club posted a 54-85 record, including a 25-29 mark through May.  In 11 seasons as a minor league manager overall, the 47-year-old has notched a 537-446 record and seven division titles.

 

Boughton will make the jump to Great Lakes after serving as the hitting coach with short-season Single-A Ogden in 2008.  Prior to joining the Dodger organization last year, the 33-year-old was a baseball instructor in the Dallas area from 2000-07.  He owned the Rookie Baseball Academy in Dallas from 2003-06 and was the head instructor of the Dallas Baseball Academy from 2000-03.  Boughton also served as an assistant coach at Northwood University from 2000-01.

 

Darwin will return for his second season as the pitching coach with Great Lakes, his fourth season in the Dodger organization overall.  He previously served as Double-A Jacksonville’s pitching coach from 2005-06.  The 53-year-old enjoyed a 21-year Major League career from 1978-98.

 

Short-Season Single-A Ogden Raptors

 

Manager – Damon Berryhill

Hitting Coach – Henry Cruz

Pitching Coach – Chuck Crim

Athletic Trainer – TBD

 

Berryhill last year made his managerial debut with the Texas Rangers’ Single-A Bakersfield club.  The team went 62-78, including a 36-34 mark in the season’s first half.  The 44-year-old spent four seasons in the Texas system, the first three as the catching coordinator.  Prior to joining the Rangers, he served as the catching coordinator in the Diamondbacks’ system from 2003-04.  Berryhill began his coaching career with the Angels in 2002, serving as a coach with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.  The Laguna Beach native enjoyed a 10-year Major League career with the Cubs (1987-91), Braves (1991-93), Red Sox (1994), Reds (1995), and Giants (1997).  The former catcher appeared in three postseasons in 1992-93 with Atlanta and 1997 with San Francisco.  He won the National League pennant with the Braves in 1992, and his three-run homer off Jack Morris in Game 1 of the World Series against Toronto that year gave Atlanta a 3-1 win.

 

Cruz will return to Ogden, where he served as the hitting coach in 2006 in his first year with the organization.  The former Dodger outfielder last year was the hitting coach with Single-A Inland Empire.  The 56-year-old was a coach in the Cleveland system from 1996-2005.  Cruz played parts of four Major League seasons with the Dodgers (1975-76) and White Sox (1977-78).

 

Crim will make his coaching debut after spending the last two years as a Dodger amateur scout in the central and southern California regions.  The 47-year-old is responsible for scouting and signing outfielder Andrew Lambo, who was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2007 draft.  Lambo enjoyed a breakout season in 2008, advancing to Double-A Jacksonville for the final week of the season after an All-Star campaign with Single-A Great Lakes.

 

Rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers

 

Manager – Jeff Carter

Hitting Coach – Leo Garcia

Pitching Coach – Casey Deskins

Athletic Trainer – TBD

 

Carter will return for his second season as manager of the Dodgers’ rookie-level squad.  The 45-year-old last year guided the GCL Dodgers to a 30-26 record.  Carter managed short-season Single-A Ogden in 2007, leading the Raptors to a 34-41 mark.  He also managed Kansas City’s Single-A High Desert club in 2006.  Prior to the Royals, he worked for nine seasons as a coach in the Twins’ organization.  Carter was named Appalachian League Manager of the Year in 2000 after leading short-season Single-A Elizabethton to the league title.

 

Garcia joins the Dodger organization after spending the last nine years as a coach and coordinator in the Giants’ minor league system.  He most recently served as the organization’s Latin America Coordinator for the last two years.  He also served as the hitting coach for the Giants’ rookie-level Arizona League club in Scottsdale from 2001-06.  The 45-year-old managed the Giants’ Dominican Summer League team in 2000.

 

Deskins will return for his third season as the pitching coach with the Dodgers’ rookie-level club and his 13th overall in the organization.  The 36-year-old spent seven years as the Major League club’s video coordinator from 1999-2005 after pitching for three seasons in the Dodger chain.

 

Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Dodgers

 

Manager – Pedro Mega

Hitting Coach – Tony Mota

Pitching Coach – Kremlin Martinez

Athletic Trainer – Luis Santana

 

Mega will return for his third season as manager of the DSL Dodgers.  From 2005-06, he served as the infield coordinator at Campo Las Palmas, the Dodgers’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.  The 2009 season will mark Mega’s 10th year as a Dodger manager in the DSL.  He has compiled a 348-260 record in that time, including a 27-44 mark last year.

 

Mota will return for his third season as the hitting coach of the DSL Dodgers.  The 30-year-old played 10 years of minor league baseball from 1996-2005, including his first six seasons in the Dodger chain.  The former outfielder, whose father is Dodger coach and legend Manny Mota, was originally selected by Los Angeles in the 17th round of the 1995 draft.

 

Martinez will be back for his fourth season as the pitching coach of the DSL Dodgers.  From 2004-05, he served as a part-time scout and assistant pitching coach in the Dominican Republic.

 

Coordinators

 

Field Coordinator – Mike Brumley (first season), who in 2008 managed short-season Single-A Ogden and served as Assistant Field Coordinator

Hitting Coordinator – Gene Clines (second)

Pitching Coordinator – Rafael Chaves (first)

Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator – Rodney McCray (second)

Infield Coordinator – Matt Martin (third)

Catching Coordinator – Travis Barbary (third)

Field Coordinator, Campo Las Palmas – Antonio Bautista

Catching Coordinator, Campo Las Palmas – Jose D. Martinez Hernandez

DSL Assistant – George Bautista

Senior Advisor to Player Development – P.J. Carey, who spent the last two years as the Dodgers’ minor league field coordinator

Rehab Coordinator/Physical Therapist – Dave Rivera

Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Landon Brandes

Strength and Conditioning Coach – Stephen Downey

Strength and Conditioning Coach – Yousef Zamat

 

Former big league right-hander Sele will serve as a minor league pitching instructor.  The Minnesota native enjoyed a 15-year Major League career with the Red Sox (1993-97), Rangers (1998-99), Mariners (2000-01, 2005), Angels (2002-04), Dodgers (2006), and Mets (2007).  He went 148-112 with a 4.61 ERA in 404 career games (352 starts), including an 8-6 mark with a 4.53 ERA in 28 games (15 starts) in 2006 with the Dodgers.  Sele was a two-time All-Star in 1998 with Texas and in 2000 with Seattle.

 

The following staff members will be based at the Dodgers’ complex in Glendale, Arizona

 

Coordinator – John Shoemaker

Pitching – George Culver

Senior Hitting Coach – Lenny Harris

 

Shoemaker has been a player, coach, manager, or coordinator in the Dodger organization since 1977.  He spent the last four seasons as manager of Double-A Jacksonville, compiling a 313-247 record in that time.  He also managed Jacksonville in 2001, when he guided the club to an 83-56 regular-season record and a Southern League co-championship.

 

Culver returned to the Dodger organization in 2008 as the pitching coach with the GCL Dodgers after three years away from pro ball.  He also served as the pitching coach with the GCL club from 2002-05.  The former right-handed pitcher enjoyed nine seasons in the Majors with Cleveland (1966-67), Cincinnati (1968-69), St. Louis (1970), Houston (1970-72), Los Angeles (1973), and Philadelphia (1973-74).

 

Harris spent the last season and a half as the Washington Nationals’ hitting coach.  The 44-year-old, who enjoyed an 18-year big league career, is baseball’s all-time leader in pinch hits with 212.  He also ranks fourth in baseball history with 90 pinch-RBI.  Harris donned a Dodger uniform from 1989-93, and batted .279 with 116 walks and only 115 strikeouts in 578 games.  He was a career .269 hitter with 37 homers, 369 RBI, and just 337 strikeouts in 1,903 games.

In the Daily News, Ned Colletti had this to say:

“We need to get better in a lot of ways, stronger and more fundamentally sound throughout the system, and we need to start with the kids as soon as they are drafted,” Colletti said. “I think the Glendale (Ariz.) facility will give us an opportunity to kind of restore a lot of the player-development methods and approaches that made this organization so strong and so good for a long, long period of time. That is our goal.”

“Every organization struggles with the `little things’ in the game, things that have been put aside because player don’t want to be `bothered’ with little intricacies of the game, and some staffs have let that happen,” Colletti said. “I don’t want to let that happen. It drives me crazy when I am watching a game and what people view as small intricacies of the game get overlooked, and we can’t be that way.”

I have seen other blogs assail Ned about this very statement, when if fact, it is “spot on.”  The fact of the matter is that our young players, as a whole, did not execute fundamantal baseball plays when it counted this year.  They had their moments, but AS A WHOLE, with RISP, they were truly horrible.  One of the main fundamentals of the game is to advance the runner to score, AT ANY COST!  There are other areas of the fundamentals game that we need to get better at, but I agree with Ned that our youngesters “underachieved” this past year, and I am glad he’s doing something about it (witness Lenny Harris). 

He also mentioned that Martin needed a better backup and talked about Martin at 3B.  I wouldn’t read much into that, but I have to ask the question “Would Martin be better utilized at 3B?”  That would depend upon what type of Catcher we get.  If we got a Jason Vartiek or Pudge Rodriguez for a reasonable 2-year deal, I would consider letting Martin catch 40-50 games and play the rest at 3B, IF Martin could hit over .300 and have a .400 OB%.   I would like Martin at leadoff in that situation.  Martin is not our problem, but he has worn-down each of the past 3 years.   It’s worth considering!

… and what’s with all the Raffy promotion?  The guy has played 1 full season in 3 and you think he’s going to magically get healthier as he gets older, even though his game if “flat-out, speed, all the time.”  Wake up and face the facts, Raffy will give you 100-130 games a year.  Maybe!  For $12-15 mil a year?  Not money well spent!  I can’t see it happening!  I do think that this year will serve as a “springboard” for bigger and better things for our young players next year, much like the Phillies losses last year helped them…

1. Manny or a Big Bat for LF

2. An Ace (Sabathia)

3. Big Bat for 3B

It’s really easy to shop for our team this winter.  We need a big bat in LF and 3B and an Ace.  Two of those positions are simple:  in LF, it has to be Manny or Adam Dunn, or a third option could be to sign Teixiera to play 1B and move Loney to LF.  If we can’t get Manny for 3 years at less than $75 million, then I would go 6 years and $120 million for Tex.  I am sure that Billingsley and Kershaw will all be better next year, and D-Lowe is a very good pitcher, but at this juncture, none are aces.  If McCourt is serious about winning a World Series, then he has to cough up the funds for a legitimate Ace.   He also has to get a big bopper in LF and 3B.  We can win with a light hitter at SS and with Blake DeWitt at 2B, but we have to have more power at those two traditional power positions of 3B and LF.

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Boston.com has a piece where they quote Nomar Garciparra about Manny Ramirez:

Ramírez’s impact came as no surprise to Garciaparra. The former Sox All-Star asserted in an interview that the Boston brass unfairly tried to demonize Ramírez, just as team executives tried to do to Garciaparra, Pedro Martínez, and Mo Vaughn, among others, when they left town.

“Just follow the pattern, it’s easy,” Garciaparra said. “Some people should look in the mirror.”

Sox officials have denied orchestrating negative publicity campaigns. But Garciaparra was not assuaged.

“I told the guys here, ‘Don’t believe everything you read about Manny, because it was wrong,’ ” Garciaparra said. “I said from day one that he was going to come in smiling, he was going to be great in the clubhouse, and he was going to be fun to watch, and I was right about every single thing.”

Diamond Leung has this about Lenny Harris:

The Dodgers are expected to announce that Lenny Harris will rejoin the organization as a minor league instructor. Harris, the all-time major league leader in pinch hits and a former Dodgers player, was recently dismissed as the Nationals’ hitting coach.