The Astros Coaching Staff Shakeup continues: Bill Murphy exits to take Pirates Job

The Astros Coaching Staff Shakeup continues: Bill Murphy exits to take Pirates Job

Well, another coach is gone as Murphy goes to Pittsburgh. What are the Astros going to do? Is this fallout? Is this erosion of the great Astros pitching prowess or do they have fresh blood that are waiting to join the Astros next season? Yel Diaz, this is locked on Astros. Hello and welcome to Locked On Astros, your daily Astros podcast. Here are your hosts, Eric the Man Heisman, and Brett Htown Wheelhouse Chansy. Hello everybody and welcome in to this edition of Locked on Astros. I’m Htown Wheelhouse. I am going solo tonight. Eric and I though between us as co-hosts, we have 18 years podcasting experience. We thank you all for tuning in and making us the most downloaded Astros podcast on the planet. Remember, we are your team every day. We’re part of the Locked On podcast network. We want you to become an everydayer. It’s a cool thing. The truest fan is an everydayer. Your reward is that every day you might see something that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. You get to get takes on a daily basis. Whether we are in season, out of season, whether we’re um letting you know what’s coming up and looking back on the good days or looking ahead to the days that are to come. Make us your first listen every single day. Join us. Check out the Locked On MLB podcast. Check out Locked On MLB Game Night and so much more across the Locked Onet. This episode tonight is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA and NFL seasons are here. Visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your future bets. Now, what’s up everybody? Well, it looks like another coach is gone. Not a coach was not fired. A coach chose to leave on his own valition. So, today we’re going to talk about what kind of coach Bill Murphy was, not to be confused with Bill Murray the comedian. Is this a natural evolution or a slow erosion and what will be the plan going forward? So, let’s look at who Bill Murphy was with this team and where he came from. Now, I will say this, the origins of this probably started back when Stumi left, but when Stum left, he was saying, “I’m leaving so that Murphy and Miller don’t get cherrypicked.” Now, Murphy, I think, is very capable of being his own pitching coach and guiding his own staff. And look, if the guy saw an opportunity to have a staff with someone like Paul Skiings, you would probably jump at that as well. Um, oh, I’m sorry, Bill Murray. Yeah, not not Bill Murray, but Bill Murphy. Um, and there is Eddie Murphy, not Eddie Murray, who was a baseball player. See what I did there? Um, so let’s look at this. He he was he’s 36 years old. He spent the past decade with the Astros organization. Starting in rookie ball as a pitching coach in 2016 um before rising to the pitching coordinator in 2019. He was assistant pitching coach um then in 2021. Now, he was elevated to one of the two major league pitching coaches in the during the 21 campaign. Um, and the Astros really through this period have boasted some of the best pitching numbers that we have seen across the majors. Um, they led in team erra at 3.61 um since the start of the 2022 season. Um, let’s see. The Astros this year finished eighth in team pitching war with 18 per fan graphs and were tied 11th in erra 3.86. Where did Murphy start and where did he come from? Well, he started in the college ranks with Georgetown and Brown and he was in player development and so um he has a commonality with the Pirates coaching hires. He knows the Pirates coaches there. One of the Pirates coaches used to actually coach with the Astros. And so he has a common bond there with the pitching coaches in Pittsburgh. So why did he leave? Well, he left because he probably saw an opportunity in a developing pitching staff and someone like Paul Skins. And yes, he is the fourth coach. And we we see Centrone did not come back. Snicker did not come back and Collins did not come back. They let them go. And so, is it rare for four coaches to leave in one off season after the season they’ve had? I don’t know. I mean, we look back on the season and the Astros pitching, they had some pretty cool things happen despite their record. I mean, they were one win away from making the playoffs. So, they weren’t terrible. You had Jason Alexander, come on. We’ve had him on the show. From Valdez went over a,000 career strikeouts. We know the good Frober, bad Frober equation. Brian King was somewhat of a revelation this year. Posted a 2.78 erra with 27 holds. Ranked fourth in the American League. All under Murphy and Miller’s tenure this year. I mean, before W was Neski went out, he was pitching solid. I mean, you just look through this pitching staff and what they have and what they had to endure, and I think they did pretty good. Um, it would be great to see what they do, what the plan is going forward. I’ll I’ll hit on that towards the end because I’ll be real honest, I’ll give you a hint, I really don’t know where they’re going. I haven’t heard any leads within the organization. Um, someone here, Omar, mentions Maddox from the Rangers. I really doubt they’re going to pull him from the Rangers. That dude’s pretty dug in there. Now, if we were to bring someone like Maddox from the Rangers, I wouldn’t mind. Um, but do you look at their what their pitchers have done or not done? Their bullpen’s really historically been bad, but could they do something different here? I remember Brent Strom talking on an interview about all the pitching philosophies that he brought to Houston when he was in St. Louis. Everybody told him that didn’t work and that stuff wasn’t any good, but he came to Houston and it worked. I think it has to be a combination of the pitching coach and the pitchers being able to adjust. That’s right. Souza was pretty good. Brandon Walter was as well. The name of the game this year was injuries. Um Josh Miller is here. So this is his staff. He is the Brent Strom. He is no longer a co- pitching coach. There’s nobody else there. So now, do they bring someone up from AAA, from DA? Do they go outside the organization? Um where do they go from here? Um, but when you look at the Astros pitching from 2021 till now, are we seeing a natural evolution where the changing of the guard occurs or is this a slow erosion? And we’re going to talk about that in our second segment. Um, and before we do that, we’re going to talk to we’re I’m going to tell y’all about our friends over at Prize Pix because I love Prize Pix. What’s up everybody? Zan Wheelhouse and thank you for tuning in. This this episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. Use the code locked in mob. Get $50 in lineups after you play $5. Not after you win. after you play $5. I’m telling you, Prize Picks is the way to go. I love prize picks. It makes football fun. 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That’s code locked on MLB for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It’s good to be right. That’s right. Thank you’all for tuning in, making us your first listen. This episode is brought to you by everybody that is amazing like you guys. Chris, I know you need that hat, but I think this was Hat Club. So, Hat Club probably doesn’t have this hat anymore, but maybe check eBay, sir. Um, you might have to pay a little bit more than what I paid, but thank you’all for tuning in. Linda Millio Ben, um, like I mentioned, my guy Chris Brent, who is upset, um, about the pitching coach, but he didn’t like the hitting coaches. that’s okay. Um, whatever questions y’all have, throw them in the chat. Um, so we can make sure that we give y’all a good show, give you what you want to hear. Rob says, “Looks like he wanted his own team, his own staff. He didn’t want to be a co- pitching coach.” You know, it’s funny. I just saw that and I talked about him wanting his own staff early um a second ago. Great minds think alike, sir. Sir, good job. Um, so thank y’all so much. Isn’t Isn’t Nolan still mad at the You know what? Nolan could probably give two you know whats about the Astros at this point, right? I mean, he really could care less. Um, he’s he’s more concerned about going fishing, going hunting, spending time with his grandkids than anything else. of course he would be he was upset because the way they handled Reed Ryan um the way that that went down the way that Jim Crane wanted to purchase and buy all of the minor league teams that were owned by the Ryan family. They didn’t want that. So yes, that is why there was a rift there and Nolan once again for a second time in his life did not leave Houston on a happy note. So, is this a natural evolution or a slow erosion of the Astros pitching dominance? Um, so the lowest er in baseball from 2022 to 2025, this is Murphy’s legacy, okay? 75.3 war for pitchers under his tenure. Um, he had a teacher’s touch. Um, he spoke fluent Spanish. He was bilingual, traveling many times to the Dominican Republic to visit with current pitchers like Luis Garcia, Farmer Valdez, and others. So, it’s going to be hard to replace someone like that with a new hire. So, you’re not necessarily looking to swing for the fences on this. So, I think the Astros might go inhouse and grab somebody maybe from AAA or double A Corpus. Those names I don’t know off the top of my head. Um, a natural evolution, Ben says. He answered the question. Was it rhetorical? But you know what? You responded. It doesn’t matter. The organization was built has built a winning culture. Great people built this organization. Now, the organization turns out great coaches. That’s right. I mean, will this be part of the Astros coaching tree like they mention in um like they mentioned in the NFL? They’re all about the coaching tree. Who do they all coach under? Well, who did all these pitching coaches coach under? Brent Stum. and he was really the wizard, the guru that was the great one that brought helped bring the title to Houston in 2017. But I I think his legacy is clear. I I I don’t think this is a slow erosion. I think this is a natural evolution. Um Brent Strom is the one that laid the foundation. Murphy and Miller are the ones that kept it going. Um, Sean Buchanan is the pitching coach in Sugarland, said Chris Moreno. Is that a possible candidate? I think they go in house here. Um, I think if Miller also left, then you’re looking to hire someone straight from the majors, but if you got a guy that’s set, he’s going to set the tone for your pitching staff, why not bring someone up from Sugarland? Why not bring someone up from double A? I mean, double A is where some really good arms are. Um, those guys s seem to move really fast through the Corpus Christie Hooks. Chris, while we’re on the show, if you could look up for me, um, who the pitching coach is in, um, Corpus, because I’m not too sure who that is now. I I’ve lost track a little bit. Andy Pettit, would he be interested in being a pitching coach? I don’t know. Um, Andy Pettit’s, I think, a grandfather now. Um, I don’t know how much baseball stuff he’s doing, but that would be a guy that you could look at and look into. Um, you know, is it a former player? Um, you know, I would love Martin Maldonado to come back on board and, um, be a coach. Uh, obviously, you know, you could, heck, you could throw him in there as an assistant pitching coach. That would be really cool. Um, but he is definitely he definitely has aspirations to be a manager and that’s been um noted throughout all of the media right now since he posted the great tribute to all the teams he played for. But think about all the pitchers that came through that that Murphy has seen and gotten to work with like the Justin Verlanders, um you say Kikuchi and the way that they’ve actually looked um how they’ve looked at these guys and how they’ve gotten them dialed in and how they’ve really changed the pathway in the career of these players. I mean, Jason Alexander is your most recent example. Just a phenomenal job. Hunter Brown has become one of the aces of the league. And that pitching coach has definitely um those pitching coaches at the Astros level have definitely helped. Alex Harter is the pitching coach for Corpus Christie. Thank you, Chris. Chris is offici is unofficially running as um show um statistician I should say sports information director Chris Mareno for locked on Astros right um yes and to go back to something I mentioned earlier Panda Nolan Ryan I mentioned it earlier is not still upset I doubt that it had something to do with Reed Ryan being let go by Jim Crane to hire his son and um the way that he left, the way that the um owners of the way that he treated the minor leagues as thinking he could just buy them all up from the Nolan Ryan family, from the Ryan Sandberg investment group. It didn’t make the Ryans very happy about that and they left with kind of sour grapes um from Houston. So, that’s what happened there. Um, yeah, it’s it’s just one of those things where, look, that’s in the past. Nolan Ryan’s not coming back. I don’t think you’ll ever see him a part of this organization again as long as Jim Crane is there. Now, pitching wise, do we ha I don’t think we have to go out, like I mentioned a second ago, and go out and hit a home run with the pitching coach. I think you just bring in someone who just has some darn good experience. I know. I don’t know how it would look, but maybe one of these driveline guys. Um I I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if y’all saw Tennessee just their coach resign and is the manager now of the San Francisco Giants. Is there a wildcard type person who’s a great evaluator of pitching talent that the Astros can go get? The plan going forward will simply depend on if the Astros want to procure someone within the organization or go outside the organization. And we will wrap up the conversation in our next segment after we talk about our friends at FanDuel. All right, this episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel’s America’s number one sports book. 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The plan going forward is simply you got to find someone to fill this spot. Now, hitting coach wise, I’m not sure. Um, does this set up for Josh Miller to be the pitching coach or do does Aspatada and Brown and Miller put their heads together and say, “Who can we bring in to help with this?” Um, what does this mean for developing the younger arms, the Euas when they get up to Triple A? Eric Getty when he’s 100% healthy. when it comes to developing these guys coming up, the AJ Blue Balls, um will this the AJ Blue Ball type pitchers, what will they do? And I think going forward, um you have to ask yourself, can the Astros maintain a standard of pitching dominance without Murphy or will this be the start of a new era altogether? I don’t think it’s a start of a completely new era, but things definitely aren’t going to be the same. The things in the clubhouse aren’t going to be the same. The discussions aren’t going to be the same. But you know what? Baseball players and professional athletes, they are business as usual. So, it says we’re replacing we’re replacing the coaching staff. We replace the catcher. Wow. Some serious shade from Millio for Diaz. Look, give Diaz another year. I think he’s going to turn it around. I know you probably think that’s hogwash, but I think and I believe that I can I I have confidence that Yanner Diaz can be better than he was last year. Okay, that’s right. To be honest, teams aren’t going to go hard for a pitching coach cuz I think with all the rules changing for next season, reviewing balls and strikes is going to be much easier for pitchers cuz umpires were awful. Well, here’s what you don’t understand about balls and strikes. You only get like two or three challenges per game. You can’t challenge every pitch at every at bat. You only make two calls. So, the challenge system is kind of a kind of smoking mirrors. I want true ABS, automatic balls and strike. And Chris Moreno knows what I’m talking about of Juicebox Heroes cuz they cover the Space Cowboys. And when they were doing this, not last season, but the season before, on weekends, Friday through Sunday, they were using the automatic balls and strike system, the umpire had an earpiece and he would hear ball or he would hear strike and he would make the call and it was seamless and even if the even if the hitter didn’t agree, he would tap his helmet, they would do a review, boom, he only got like three challenges. So, the automatic balls and strike system isn’t coming into play. It’s the the ability to challenge a couple calls that I don’t think is as exciting as robos. RoboS would completely change the game. Um, yes, it was. Yeah, it it it’s essentially the same as two challenges. Yeah, I mean, you basically have two challenges and that’s it. That’s the only thing that’s changing. There are a lot of people getting wrapped up in this and I don’t think that much is going to change. I mean, think about two pitches. Okay, you change the call to a ball. Okay, you get a walk. That could change a game, but you only get two challenges. I I don’t know. I I I think I think the rule doesn’t go far enough to check umpires. And I think if you’re going to have it, you might as well have it all the way, you know. Um, is it going to be per at bat? No, it is not going to be per at bat. It’s going to be two challenges per game. Can you imagine if they got No, I don’t think it’s not per inning or per at bat. It’s per game. Yeah, it doesn’t it doesn’t make sense to me and only having two challenges. Like, give me like one or two an inning, right? I don’t know. Um, you can try to alter the game all you want to. The game’s an imperfect game. The beauty of baseball is you absolutely rely on the human element. The balls and strikes called. I mean, I remember the NLDS ending on a noncheck swing by the Giants to spring the Dodgers into I think it was an NLCS or something. And I don’t know that the I don’t know that the Giants would have won that series ultimately, but it ended it and that ball was definitely or that swing was definitely not a swing, but that’s also not an automatic ball or strike call. So two, you definitely have two challenges and that’s it. So going forward, the Houston Astros have got to look for a pitching coach. They’ve also got to look for new hitting coaches and a new catching coach. They’re trying to kind of clean house, get a clean slate. Miller, we trust you. You’re here. You’re the guy. What is next? And so, at the end of the day, the Houston Astros have a lot to still look forward to. We have a lot to watch for them to plan for 2025 going into 2026. And when the winter meetings get here, will we have coaches by then? I would hope so. But you know what? That’s all I got tonight. I’m going to cut it a little short because I have not eaten dinner. Been at school all day. Didn’t get home till 6 tonight. I know like y’all hardworking. Luck on Astros fans. I appreciate y’all coming by. 42 of y’all live. It’s not bad. While baseball’s going on and I want to get in there and watch the game. Go Dodgers. No, go Blue Jays. And I’m sorry. Can I say this before I go? Last night’s game was not the greatest game in World Series history. 2017 game five in Houston was the greatest game in World Series history. Full stop. There’s no way I’m co-signing on an 18th inning one solo shot walk-off to win a World Series game by Freddy Freeman. Great feat, but I’m telling you, the 2017 game five was way more cooler, had a lot more action, and was still to this day the greatest and probably will remain the greatest World Series games of all time in Major League history. So, y’all, you know what? Thank y’all for tuning in to Locked on Astros. I appreciate y’all. Y’all are the best. Y’all stop by. It’s a freaking fracking Tuesday, man. And y’all are here. Thank you so much. And I picked up my guy Eric yesterday. Picked me up. We’re a great team. You are the greatest listeners. Your everydayers. That’s right. If you haven’t told your friends about us, tell them to subscribe to us. I’m sharing Lock on Astros with everybody every single day. And I can’t wait to tell y’all what comes in December. December, we got some really cool things coming up. some exclusive content that we can bring you like nobody else. Y’all have a good one for myself, for Eric Heisman, and everybody at Locked on Astros. Remember, we’re your team every single day. Go.

Htown Wheelhouse talks about Bill Murphys exit and what it means to the Organization?
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