With two minor exceptions, the Astros announced their minor league field staffs on Friday.
Round Rock
Jackie Moore - Manager
Ron Jackson - Hitting Coach [Replacing Harry Spilman]
Burt Hooton - Pitching Coach
Danny Sheaffer - Bench Coach [Replacing Spike Owen]
Mike Freer - Trainer
| Moore is still the only manager the Express have ever had and has three Texas League Manager of the Year awards under his belt. Spilman and Owen are shown the door, while Jackson enters from the same direction as the Astros' new pitching coach.
Jackson was the Red Sox' hitting coach in 2006, working alongside Dave Wallace. What do you think the odds of that were? They both get fired when the Sox don't make the playoffs, and they both get hired by the Astros. . . . |
Corpus Christi
Dave Clark - Manager
John Tamargo jr. - Hitting Coach
Stan Boroski - Pitching Coach [Promoted from the same role at Salem, Replacing Joe Slusarski]
Jamey Snodgrass - Trainer
| Clark is invited back after leading the Hooks to their 2006 Texas League championship. Slusarski was asked not to return after four years as coach in the organization. |
Salem
Jim Pankovits - Manager
Chuck Carr - Hitting Coach
Larry Pierson - Pitching Coach [Replacing Stan Boroski]
Eric Montague - Trainer
| Pierson comes to the organization from the Reds, where he had spent 2004 - 2006 as pitching coach for their Class A Dayton affiliate. He also has experience in the Red Sox chain. |
Lexington
Gregg Langbehn - Manager [Promoted from the same role at Tri-City, Replacing Jack Lind]
Alex Eckelman - Hitting Coach [Replacing Rodney Linares]
Charlie Taylor - Pitching Coach
JD Shields - Trainer [Promoted from the same role at Greeneville, replaces Mike Smith]
| Lind departs to become a major league scout for the Astros. Taylor will be entering his 26th season as an Astro minor league pitching coach. Eckelman is a first year coach, having ended a nine-year playing career in 2005, while playing at Corpus Christi and Round Rock. |
Tri-City
Pete Rancont - Manager [Promoted from his role as Hitting Coach at Greeneville, Replaces Gregg Langbehn]
Joel Chimelis - Hitting Coach
Don Alexander - Pitching Coach
John Patton - Trainer
Greeneville
Rodney Linares - Manager [Formerly Hitting Coach at Lexington, replaces Ivan De Jesus]
Bill Ballou - Pitching Coach
tba - Hitting Coach
tba -- Trainer
| Hitting Coach Pete Rancont and Trainer JD Shields get promotions as we've seen. |
Roving Instructors and Coordinators
Tom Wiedenbauer - Field Coordinator
Dewey Robinson - Director of Pitching Development
Orv Franchuck - Hitting Coordinator
Mike Smith - Strength And Conditioning Coordinator [Formerly Trainer at Lexington, Replaces Nate Lucero]
Pete Fagan - Coordinator of Training, Conditioning And Rehabilitation
Russ Nixon - Roving instructor
Jaime Garcia - Assistant Pitching Coordinator
| Orv Franchuck takes the job held by Sean Berry, before he was promoted to replace Gary Gaetti as hitting coach for the big club. Franchuck had, like Jackson and Wallace, been in the Red Sox organization. From where comes this sudden predeliction for Red Sox castoffs? |