Astros pitching coach Brent Strom reflects on relationship with Bo Porter
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom, one of baseball’s most cerebral figures and a man who’s helped Astros starting pitchers improve greatly this year, gave great thought Monday to his time with manager Bo Porter, and shared some reflections with the Chronicle.
The relationship between the manager and pitching coach, which only began when Strom was hired last offseason, didn’t exactly hit the ground running. But what Strom found in Porter were lessons that, even at age 65, he hadn’t previously — as well as a man whom Strom developed tremendous respect for as a working relationship blossomed.
“I really grew to appreciate his intelligence and his attention to detail,” Strom said. “I actually learned a great deal from him, I really did. Stuff that in all my years of baseball I had not thought about, and I documented all those things and actually had passed it on to our minor league pitching coaches for future years throughout our system.
“It was a learning experience for me, and not being back in the major leagues for so long, this comes as a difficult time. Because this has happened to me, this has happened to a lot of people, (being fired). This is a good man. Bo Porter is a very, very good man.”
Coaches typically fall into two categories: front-office hires or manager hires,Kate Spade Coupon Codes. Strom knew general manager Jeff Luhnow from their years in St. Louis.
The reality, then, is that Strom was not Porter’s guy at the outset.
Strom is a rather unique position in the Astros clubhouse because of his prior relationship with Luhnow. Strom’s loyalty to Luhnow is a large part of what brought him to Houston at this stage of Strom’s career, and the pitching coach believes in Luhnow’s vision.
“I have always had an open communication with Jeff and obviously I know him better than anyone else on the field staff,” Strom said. “I know he has a plan. I have seen it, worked it and seen it succeed. I believe it is a plan that can work here or I would have never come aboard.”
“I am sure I was not (Porter’s) first choice as his pitching coach as he did not know me from Adam,Womens True Religion Shoes,” Strom continued. “I was basically an old career minor league pitching coach with some different, some might call it strange ideas.”
They had never met before Strom’s interview with the club last offseason. They spoke Porter’s office that day and Strom said he was impressed with Porter’s presence right away.
Later in the winter, Porter and Strom both traveled to meet with Jason Castro.
There was still a rapport to be developed, though, but the groundwork had begun.
“There was a feeling-out period in spring training where we were both trying to size each other up,” Strom said. “I had not been back in the major leagues for a long time, so I observed and tried to get as much information on each pitcher as I could. I contacted Doug Brocail and Bo and solicited their insight on each and every pitcher that was on the 40-man roster and also the invitees.”
Once spring training was over and the season kicked up, Strom said they settled into a solid routine. Strom said he believed Porter trusted his judgment more and more as the year went on.
There were trying times,Tory Burch Flip Flops, but the reality is that there are always going to be trying times when people spend an obscene amount of time together. No coaching staff, first-place or last-place, goes an entire season without disagreement.
“While conflict can happen during a long season and we are with each other on a daily basis,” Strom said. “Before this season is over I will probably have seen Pat Listach, (John) Mallee, Bo, Trembley, etc. more than I will see my wife in a calendar year.”
Strom said that he never saw any issue between Porter and Luhnow.
Strom’s wife and Porter’s wife got to know each other. More important, though, was how prepared both men were, and their mutual caring for detail. Respect, too.
“Every time, and I mean every time a pitcher came out of a game, good or bad, Bo went and acknowledged that man,” Strom said. “Even in difficult losses, he made that pitcher appreciate the effort.”
Strom tried to separate himself on Tuesday after hearing what was going on. Seeing Porter leave was trying.
“I read his prepared statement and expected as such from him quite frankly,” Strom said. “Professional, grateful, without blame and finger-pointing.
“Despite not being here at this point, I believe Bo has moved the chain forward from his tenure here. We are better. I guess time will tell if we can continue that trend and make it sustainable.”
Going forward, Strom said he hopes the next manager embraces analytics.
He needn’t worry. In today’s baseball climate and with this front office, that’s a given.
“I utilize the analytics, both for keeping me on track so I don’t get off track, and also for either the analytics what it does for me is either confirm what my feeling and my eyes and my experience has told me, or it disproves my feeling,” Strom said. “Both ways, both are good for me. So it keeps me in check. So I would hope that the manager would still embrace the analytics — which Bo did. He had the charts available, he utilized the match-ups as best he could. He did the best he could with what our talent level was.”
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