Brew Crew Ball: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Guest Blogger: Juco All-American Answers Five Questions

Your Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Coaches, Part Two

Bill Castro, Pitching Coach

As a player: Pitched in over 300 games over 10 seasons, almost exclusively in relief (9 career starts) and almost exclusively for the Brewers (250 of 303 games) over a big league career spanning from 1974-1983. Posted an ERA+ over 100 in six of his ten seasons, over 150 in three, and over 200 in two.

As a coach: Worked as a scout for the Brewer organization from 1985-1987, spent four seasons as a Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Brewers from 1988-1991, finished the 1991 season as pitching coach for AAA Denver. Was hired to serve as bullpen coach in 1992, and has been there ever since, with the exception of a few months as interim pitching coach in 2002.

As a manager: No experience.

If not for Bob Uecker, Bill Castro may very well be the longest tenured Brewer employee. He's the only coach on the Brewer staff who coached for the Crew at County Stadium. Obviously there's loyalty there and a lot of positive connotations, but there's also an important note: Bill Castro has coached some terrible pitching staffs. Here are the team ERAs, with their league rank in parentheses, during Castro's term:

1992: 3.43 (1st)
1993: 4.45 (10th)
1994: 4.62 (8th)
1995: 4.82 (9th)
1996: 5.17 (9th)
1997: 4.22 (4th)
1998: 4.63 (12th)
1999: 5.07 (14th)
2000: 4.64 (10th)
2001: 4.64 (12th)
2002: 4.73 (15th)
2003: 5.02 (14th)
2004: 4.24 (9th)
2005: 3.97 (5th)
2006: 4.82 (15th)
2007: 4.41 (9th)
2008: 3.87 (2nd)

If you missed the point or skimmed past the numbers, here's the short version: The Brewers have ranked ninth or worse in their league in team ERA in 12 of Castro's 17 seasons. Obviously, not all of that is his fault, but does at least some of the blame fall on him? I guess we'll find out. Either way, with Mike Maddux gone, giving Castro a shot makes sense.

There's not a lot on the web about Bill Castro, but a quick Google search turned up some information on some other Bill Castros:

Here's a guy named Bill Castro's LinkedIn profile
And a Facebook Page
There's even a Bill Castro with a profile on IMDB.

None of those are the same Bill Castro we're talking about.

Ed Sedar, First Base Coach

As a player: Ed Sedar spent eight seasons in the minors but never appeared in a major league game.

As a coach: Sedar served as Minor League Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator from 1992-2006, and Minor League Field Coordinator from 2002-2006.

As a manager:
Ogden/Helena (Rookie) 1998-2001, 2003, 2005-2006: 257-224

So what makes a good first base coach? Is it the ability to pick up and hold onto lots of pads and protectors? At least I know a third base coach waves his arm occasionally. At any rate, if you know more about Sedar, you should consider editing his Wikipedia entry, which is currently one sentence long.

Google Ed Sedar and you may stumble across the following:

Four Blocks to Miller Park, an apparently defunct blog, comments on the way Sedar looks in his uniform.
There's a picture on Flickr of Sedar at work.
Miss Pronunciation wants to make sure you know how to say his name. Yes, it sounds like it looks.

Brad Fischer, Third Base Coach

As a player: Fischer pitched just one season in the minor leagues (1979), and a couple of emergency appearances years later (1983 and 1984).

As a coach: Fischer spent 29 years as part of the A's organization, including working as a minor league instructor from 1991-1993, spending two years as the assistant director of player development, and he bounced back and forth between the bullpen and first base coaching jobs for the A's between 1996 and 2007.

As a manager: Fischer managed for 11 seasons in the minors with Medford (A-ball), Madison (also A), Huntsville (AA), Tacoma (AAA) and State College (A), where he spent 2008. Overall, he's compiled a 752-726 record with seven playoff appearances in 12 seasons.

Coming to Milwaukee is something of a homecoming for Fischer, whose family lives in McFarland, WI. Obviously, he's seen a fair amount of baseball in thirty years in the game. He worked under Ken Macha in Oakland and has a B.S. degree in Industrial Education from Western Michigan University. He's spent decades working with young players, so perhaps he can help some of the Brewers youngsters continue to grow.

If nothing else, Fischer is an interesting story. A Google search on his name led me to this story from the Centre Daily Times talking about the rough season Fischer endured in State College in 2008, where he coached the team with the worst record in professional baseball through a dismal season.

So, pending the hiring of a bullpen coach, these are your Brewer coaches for 2009. I'm pretty excited. What do you think?

0 recs  |  Comment 10 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

linking coaches w/player results

I don’t see how Bill Castro has any connection at all to the Brewers bad staffs. A bullpen coach being able to help bad pitchers be good? Nope.

by badgermaniac on Nov 9, 2008 11:41 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Completely agree.

by Supertramp on Nov 9, 2008 4:22 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

By that argument

No one on a coaching staff should matter. They just take the players they’re given and provide the same result anyone else would have.

I acknowledge that we can’t lay the blame for any of this solely on Castro. And there is anecdotal evidence that he’s helped some guys. But he’s also coached on some terrible teams, and I think that’s worth noting when you look at the big picture.

I don't specifically articulate my motives, because that wouldn't travel as well as a boo does.

by KLSnow on Nov 9, 2008 5:50 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

No one on a coaching staff should matter

I disagree – slightly….

A good coach is like a good waiter in a restaurant. You never really know that he is there. He will refill your drink without you realizing it and bring you the food that you ordered….

But a bad coach is a lot like a bad waiter. A bad waiter will destroy your experience. A bad waiter will make you hate the entire restaurant.

Think of it in another light. When you are cleaning the garage, your wife never notices the fine detail that you put into the work…. but she sure as shit will notice if you don’t clean the spiderwebs from in front her car…

by Saberilliterate on Nov 10, 2008 7:27 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

More on Fischer & Castro

I don’t think there’s anything here you didn’t already cover, but here’s Bucs Dugout on how Fischer was way overqualified to manage a rookie-league team.

For Castro, maybe looking at how Brewers relievers stacked up against the league in ERA would be helpful, since that’s who he mostly worked with:

1992: 2.78 (1)
1993: 4.05 (6)
1994: 4.28 (7)
1995: 4.46 (6)
1996: 5.14 (13)
1997: 3.75 (4)
1998: 3.94 (9)
1999: 4.78 (12)
2000: 3.84 (2)
2001: 3.88 (4)
2002: 3.97 (11)
2003: 4.22 (9)
2004: 4.35 (12)
2005: 3.89 (5)
2006: 5.03 (16)
2007: 4.24 (12)
2008: 3.89 (4)

The Brewers’ bullpen was pretty decent in the first half of his tenure and a fair number of relievers from then were still around the past couple years. Lately it’s been hit or miss. 2006 really stands out as the year when Derrick Turnbow fell apart, Jose Capellan had the most relief innings on the staff, and a parade of callups (Joe Winkelsas! Chris Mabeus!) struggled and went back down.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Nov 9, 2008 11:45 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

I was just going to say that you can’t really fault Castro for bad staff ERA when the team wasn’t giving him personnel that he could possibly improve.

On the other hand, I’ve heard at least one pitcher partially credit him for improvements in 2008, so it’s not that he isn’t trying to work with the guys.

And it’s not the bullpen coach who decides on pitcher usage, either.

by morineko on Nov 9, 2008 12:21 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

2009 bullpen coach= Joe Winkelsas

And neck size to baby eating ratio.

by Jordan M on Nov 9, 2008 1:40 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

2009 bullpen coach = Ned Yost

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Nov 9, 2008 2:17 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I had absolutely no clue that Castro had that much MLB player experience.

by Saberilliterate on Nov 9, 2008 5:49 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I had no recollection of him being good. I would have never guessed that he had three seasons of ERA+ of more than 150.

My memory of him is as an average (at best) relief pitcher who lasted a long time. IIRC, the late 70’s/early 80’s Brewer bullpen didn’t have much turnover. It seemed like Castro, McClure and Slaton when he wasn’t starting were the core of the ’pen for quite a few seasons.

by Brew Believer on Nov 10, 2008 12:26 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Brew Crew Ball is dedicated to providing a friendly atmosphere for intelligent Brewer conversation. Click here to view our Posting Guide and Community Guidelines.
Start posting about the Brewers »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Rumorville: John Halama?
U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Rumorville: Todd Wellemeyer?
U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Rumorville: Derek Lowe/Corey Hart
Nohuddleblueew9_small
Question regarding revenue sharing
Small
All in on Low Risk/High Reward Guys
Box_small
Question: Rule 5 Draft Protection
Newavatar_small
Speculationville: Edwin Jackson/Curtis Granderson
U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Rumorville: Kelly Shoppach
U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Rumorville: John Lackey
U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small
Braden Looper Watch (update 1)

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Featured Poll

Poll
Who won the J.J. Hardy/Carlos Gomez trade?

  527 votes | Results

79 - 82

11

Won 3

1

NL Central Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
St. Louis 91 71 .561 0 Lost 6
Chicago 83 78 .515 7.5 Lost 1
Milwaukee 80 82 .493 11 Won 3
Cincinnati 78 84 .481 13 Won 2
Houston 74 88 .456 17 Lost 3
Pittsburgh 62 99 .385 28.5 Lost 2

(updated 11.20.2009 at 10:30 PM CST)

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recent FanShots

Infielder Adam Heether...returned home from the Venezuelan Winter League...
Anyone ever notice this? -- Did they make a corrected card? I am pretty sure there is a conspiracy behind this.
Authentic Jersey. I was wondering if it would be worth it to get a Fielder...
Brewers discussed Corey Hart for Derek Lowe
Mystery three-way trade team?
Keith Law's take on the Brewer's plans (he's not a fan)
Got this in the mail today from my Season Ticket Account Exec.

"Tim -
I wanted to thank you for renewing again this year.  Your continued support is very important & much appreciated.  Keep in touch and let me know if you need anything else.

Go Brewers!
Chris

P.S. If you know anybody else interested in a ticket plan, please let me know."
Washburn's Interested in the Brewers.
Milwaukees First All-Black Baseball Team
Autographs through the Mail: Jonathan Lucroy

Sent:11/5/09

Received:11/16/09

+ New FanShot All FanShots >


Moderators

U8xcikxxuei8lvi_small roguejim

Mordecai_brown_small Jeff Sackmann

Newavatar_small KLSnow

Box_small TheJay

Communist_party_small Jordan M

Contributors

Dsci0355_small kirbir

Picture_069_small tristarscoop

Dsc01174_small BrewHaHeather

Rubie_edited-1_small Rubie Q

Hikaru_50_small morineko

X1pxoywqu4sjf73f7drxq2lmqys7mzsyx7pa9necepiffk_ewcuwmuazb-o17ukmbriclcdkn4lk-4xposaawiq4j8hzdsccpjwatqpz2o2p-i0nnqjlyt7pmytaycsaknszvaktpshtcu9sjle1qchlw_1__small NoahJ

Hulk_buddy-icon_small Fatter than Joey