Put Me In Coach

Over the past couple of days, the Nationals have filled out both their major and minor league coaching staffs. At the major league level, the Nationals named Mitchell Page their hitting coach. Page is a good news story for the Nationals. He left the St Louis Cardinals after their 2004 World Series season to face a drinking problem. He spent the 2005 season getting his life back in order while serving as the Nationals' minor league hitting instructor. What was clear is that he didn't lose his ability to help hitters discover (or re-discover) their hitting stroke, as demonstrated by Marlon Byrd's turnaround after a month with Page in New Orleans. It's great to see Page get back to doing what he does best. Additionally, the Nationals named Davey Lopes their 1st base coach, replacing Don Buford, and Tony Beasley their 3rd base coach, replacing Dave Huppert. Lopes has major league experience as both an All-Star player with the Dodgers and also as a manger with the Milwaukee Brewers (144-195 in a little more than two seasons, 2000-02). Lopes will hopefully be able to translate his baserunning ability into lessons for the Nationals who were abyssmal on the bases in 2005 (45/90 in SB attempts; last place in SB while 1st place in CS). Beasley is coming off of five successful seasons managing in the Pirates organization (372-258) helping to develop Pirates prospects such as Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, Ian Snell, Bryan Bullington, Brad Eldred, and Chris Shelton. Beasley's minor league resume is putting him on track for a major league managing position in the not too distant future. The Nats also re-arranged their minor league coaching staff. In 2006, look for the following (2005 job in parentheses; new coaches in bold): New Orleans Manager - Tim Foli Pitching Coach - Steve McCatty Hitting Coach - Rick Eckstein (Vermont) Harrisburg Manager - John Stearns Pitching Coach - Rick Tomlin Hitting Coach - Mike Hart (New Orleans) Potomac Manager - Randy Knorr (Savannah) Pitching Coach - Charlie Corbell (New Orleans) Hitting Coach - Troy Gingrich Savannah Manager - Bobby Williams (Vermont) Pitching Coach -Terry Clark Hitting Coach - Jerry Browne Vermont Manager - Edgar Caceres Pitching Coach - Mark Grater (Savannah) Hitting Coach - Tony Tarasco Gulf Coast League Manager - Bobby Henley (Savannah) Pitching Coach - Franklyn Bravo Hitting Coach - Jason Camilli