Cubs Minor League Coaching Staffs announced

by dmlichte on Dec 17, 2009 4:09 PM CST

Updated: for those interested, the Cubs have announced their minor league coaching staffs for the upcoming season.

Joining Ryne Sandberg at AAA Iowa will be pitching coach Mike Mason along with the return of hitting coach Von Joshua.

At AA Tennessee, replacing Sandberg as manager will be Bill Dancy, with pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn and hitting coach Tom Beyers.

Buddy Baily returns to A Daytona for a second season and is joined by hitting coach Richie Zisk and pitching coach Tom Pratt.

Casey Kopitzke moves up from Boise to take over as the manager at A Peoria, with pitching coach David Rosario and hitting coach Barbaro Garbey

Jody Davis returns to the managerial ranks as he takes over at A Boise. His pitching coach will be former Cub Jeff Fassero and hitting coach Ricardo Medina.

At the rookie levels, Mesa will be managed by Juan Cabreja, with pitching coach Rick Tronerud and hitting coach Desi Wilson. Dominican-1 Manager is Manuel Callado with pitching coach Leo Hernandez and hitting coach Alberto Garcia and at Dominican-2 (Rookie) the manager is not yet announced, while the pitching coach is Anderson Tavares and the hitting coach is Leo Perez.

Most importantly, the Cubs also announced their minor league coordinators, and fear not, longtime Cub organization stalwart/icon Dave Bialas remains on as field coordinator. The only real change appears to be Marty Pevey, who spent last year as manager at Single-A Peoria and will take over as catching coordinator, the spot that Jody Davis occupied last year.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Cool

Maybe I can snag a Jody autograph during my annual trip to Boise. Good to see him managing again—I thought he did a good job leading Daytona to the FSL title in 2008.

Richie Zisk is kind of the hitting coach for life in Daytona. He lives in town and has been either the hitting coach or the manager for Daytona for 21 seasons, albeit not consecutively, since Daytona didn’t have a team from 1987 to 1992. But I think Zisk comes with the stadium.

I don’t know much about Dancy, although I see he was the third base coach for the Phillies for a couple of seasons, so he’s got some experience.

by Josh Timmers on Dec 17, 2009 5:05 PM CST reply actions

kopitzke

the thing that stands out to me is a relatively aggressive move for casey kopitzke. I mean, he hasn’t exactly had the most experience yet as a manager. that said, there’s been rumblings for awhile (I think AzPhil was one of the first) that pointed to Kopitzke as an organizational favorite in regards to the coaching side of things. He could be someone to watch as part of a new regime, post-Lou (not as manager, but as a coach on staff).

It’s also interesting that they moved Jody Davis back to the managerial ranks.

I’ll be curious what the implications are for where Jay Jackson starts the year …

by toonsterwu on Dec 17, 2009 5:51 PM CST reply actions

Casey will be returning to Olds Park when the Chiefs play the Lugnuts! Cool!

Gotta make sure I catch the series…

Now only 12,859 on the "Cubs Season Tickets Waiting List"...

by Zeke on Dec 18, 2009 5:26 AM CST up reply actions

Mike Mason

He was the pitching coach for the Memphis Chicks in the Royals organization at AA in 1993. He was pressed into service and had to actually pitch in a game. Mason got the victory in relief. I forget who the opponent was.

"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Dec 17, 2009 6:03 PM CST reply actions

Jody Davis

Two years ago Jody felt he was on as much of a fast track as Sandberg was to get to the majors, and then he was unceremoniously moved to catching coordinator. He wasn’t all that thrilled about the move. I’d be curious to know what transpired to get him back in a dugout.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Dec 17, 2009 7:00 PM CST reply actions

Yeah, a little confusing

Because didn’t he manage at the AA level? I am also very curious about this.

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded." -Jim Frey

by lapetino on Dec 18, 2009 8:06 AM CST up reply actions

He managed at High A Daytona

Took them to the FSL title in 2008.

by Josh Timmers on Dec 18, 2009 12:00 PM CST up reply actions

Very interesting on Davis

It is interesting to see him return to a lower level in the organization. I wouldn’t think he sees himself as a MiLB lifer.

The irrational fan in me fantasizes of him as Ryno’s bench coach – but I would imagine the Cubs would be better served with a more experienced bench coach to work with Sandberg.

Eamus Ursuli!

by WGNstatic on Dec 18, 2009 8:02 AM CST reply actions

Well....

Davis was the manager of my Hundley Fantasy Camp team the last two years. Two years ago, when the subject of Piniella’s eventual replacement would come up, Jody was very blunt about his desire to manage the Cubs someday. He didn’t see why Sandberg should get it over him or anyone else solely because he was Ryno. He wins his Single A title, then the next thing he knows, he’s the catching coordinator. He took and did the job without complaint, but he was silently fuming and biding his time. It isn’t that he doesn’t like Sandberg, just that he felt he should have been promoted, not re-assigned.

As for bench coach, Jody would do fine. I think maybe a year as a base coach or even a bullpen coach to get familiar with the league again would be a good idea, but nobody knows baseball like davis does.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Dec 18, 2009 7:22 PM CST up reply actions

Silently fuming?

Doesn’t sound like he was so silent in his fuming. IMO, if he’s sharing any opinions or emotions regarding this situation to a bunch of guys at fantasy camp, he should be looking for work. Sorry, but this strikes me as totally unprofessional.

by dmlichte on Dec 18, 2009 8:24 PM CST up reply actions

By "silently fuming"....

… what I mean by that is he was very tight lipped about the coming season when we last saw him in January of ‘09, saying all the right things like "I’m looking forward to it" and “it’s what the team wanted me to do”. He wasn’t as open and direct about his desire to manage the Cubs someday as he had been in January of ‘08. I can also say with certainty that other former players there, such as Lee Smith, Keith Moreland, Ron Coomer and Bobby Dernier also felt Davis would make a good manager some day. Sutcliffe in ’08 also thought so. as for sharing things with “guys at fantasy camp”, I would suggest him talking to us as normal people is something you’d have to be there and experience. Davis was completely professional in every aspect.

I’ve written reviews of my camp experiences the last two years and if I remember correctly I touched on the subject of Sandberg in one of them. In all the b.s.‘ing and story telling that goes on, not one of the ’80’s era guys told a Sandberg story. None of them denied his ability and accomplishments, because well, no one can, but between him and Mark Grace, it’s hard to come up with many other players who were less popular among their teammates.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Dec 19, 2009 10:23 AM CST up reply actions

to be honest

If he does well as a manager again, I don’t anticipate him being in the organization that long. I anticipate someone could snap him up. I will give the Cubs credit – they have done a good job of identifying coaches and instructors in recent years. MAybe they saw something in Ryno more than they did in Jody.

I actually think, off the little I know of Jody’s managerial style, that he could make a solid manager some day, if given the opportunity.

by toonsterwu on Dec 18, 2009 11:18 PM CST up reply actions

Jody ran into some bad luck.

I say this with the utmost respect for both Ryno and Jody, who were two of my favorites as a kid. But I think Jody is simply the victim of Ryno’s overwhelming popularity. I think Jody could be a great Major League manager. And I think when Ryno first stated his desire to manage, a lot of people were skeptical, especially people who knew him as a player as being quiet, shy, and introverted. But when he did well in his minor league assignments, I think people in the Cubs organization fell in love with the idea of a hometown hero, a Hall of Famer no less, and one of the most popular Cubs of all time, coming back to manage. And Jody just kind of got lost in the shuffle, which has nothing at all to do with his job performance. If Ryno had stayed retired in Arizona, I am pretty sure Jody would be the one on the fast track to manage the Cubs. A simple case of career politics, if you will.

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Dec 19, 2009 1:12 AM CST up reply actions

Yup

Davis will likely miss out on managing the Cubs. IMO, there’s not much difference between Jody’s background and Mike Scioscia’s, except the Angels were willing to gamble on him about ten years ago, whereas Davis hasn’t been as aggressive about his desire to manage until the last few years. People tend to forget Scioscia had been fired as the Dodgeres’ Triple A manager just before he got the Angels’ position. Randy Hundley was another one who would have loved to manage back in the 80’s, but Dallas Green shunted him aside as being part of what was wrong with the Cub culture back then.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Dec 19, 2009 10:28 AM CST up reply actions

That's not quite accurate

Scoscia had been coaching/managing for at least six years, including two seasons as Bill Russell’s bench coach in LA and one season as their AAA manager. Jody Davis had managed Peoria one year and Daytona two. Scioscia also started coaching shortly after retiring. Davis took over 15 years off from the game (although Sandberg took a decade off.) So Scioscia had a much more impressive resume than Jody does.

Still, with the caveat that it’s nearly impossible to evaluate a minor league manager from outside the system, I was very impressed with the job that Davis did in Daytona—moreso than I was with Sandberg’s work with Peoria. But the Cubs saw something in Sandberg. Maybe it was just his hall of fame career or maybe it’s all the extra fans he brings to the game, but Ryno did a heck of a job in Tennessee last season. So maybe the Cubs knew something.

But I still think Jody has the stuff to be a major league manager and I wouldn’t rule out him managing the Cubs one day. Until O’Malley sold the team, the plan was for Russell to manage the Dodgers with Scioscia ready to step in if Russell faltered.

So while it’s unlikely that Davis will ever manage the Cubs, I don’t think it’s impossible

by Josh Timmers on Dec 19, 2009 5:46 PM CST up reply actions