Wednesday morning, former Phillies pitching coach from 2003-2004, Joe Kerrigan, joined Mornings with Anthony Gargano on 97.5 The Fanatic.
Prior to coming to Philadelphia under manager Larry Bowa and the Jim Thome era of Phillies' baseball, Kerrigan served in various coaching roles. First, with the Montreal Expos from 1983-1996. Spanning 1997 through 2001, he was the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox. On August 16, 2001, Kerrigan was named their manager, and he finished the remainder of the season under the new role. He was not brought back the following year, however.
Kerrigan, 61, had a rather short and unsuccessful career as a right handed relief pitcher during his playing days. Over four combined seasons with the Expos and Baltimore Orioles, 131 games and 220.0 innings, he went 8-12 with a 3.89 ERA.
Amongst the topics discussed with Gargano, Jon Marks, and others were the major league debut of Aaron Nola and what Kerrigan sees in him, as well as the trade values of left hander Cole Hamels and closer Jonathan Papelbon.
The following is a transcription from most of the interview. The full podcast can be heard by clicking the link below.
Gargano: What do you think of Aaron Nola?
Kerrigan:
“Well, that was fun to watch last night. The kid has a real good delivery. He keeps it simple, controls his body throughout the entire delivery. The way that he controls his head, keeping it still and always on target towards the catcher reminds me a little bit of [Greg] Maddux.
He’s got good balance, especially on his leg lift. He’s got a good no-panic look on his face. Even with runners on base, he doesn’t seem to get flustered or change his demeanor.
He’s got a polished changeup already. He’s got his go-to pitch already against left-handers and right-handers, a strikeout pitch or what he can throw when he’s behind in a count.
You know, he was only 11-for-24 in first-pitch strikes last night, but a lot of young pitchers that would bother them or get them into a lot of trouble. But because [Nola] has a three-pitch combination, it didn’t seem to affect him that much last night.
Especially when [Nola] can throw [his changeup] to a right-hander down in the zone, that’s a weapon that usually takes even guys who’ve been in the big leagues two or three years to master.”
Gargano: [Nola] just pitches wise, if there’s such a thing, with great maturity. That really stood out to me.
Kerrigan:
“These big-time college programs now, such as LSU, when you’re pitching in front of a lot of people every night, you’re pitching in televised games. It’s almost like pitching in Double-A levels.
[Nola] probably came in with a lot of experience as far as having the deal with that type of stress and emotion on the mound. Pitching in front of ten or 12-thousand people every time at LSU, he’s probably used to that.”
Gargano: Who is [Nola] as a whole? You’ve seen countless pitchers. Who does he remind you of?
Kerrigan:
“I haven’t seen [Nola] enough yet really [to name someone].
But, I really like his simplified delivery. He’s got a perfect frame for a pitcher. He’s not too tall, not too small. He’s got good shoulder width. Even though his legs are a little long, he’s got a very balanced leg lift, which is important.
When you see a pitcher that can keep his head under control, when he comes out of his turn and when he starts going to the plate, when you see that head go straight at the catcher and not drift off …, you know the kid has a chance to have a pretty good command and pretty good control.”
Re: Nathan Karns’ solo home run off Nola, the only run scored Tuesday evening.
Kerrigan:
“When you have your pitcher leading off an inning, you want him to take a strike. For the simple reason that if the pitcher swings at the first pitch and makes an out, you are taking a strike away from your leadoff man.
So really, one of the unwritten logic laws for baseball is, if your pitcher is leading off the inning you are taking a strike. You don’t want that pitcher to have a simple, easy out.
The kid just swings into a low-and-in fastball. And all Nola [is trying to do there] is throwing a first-pitch strike. He’s just trying to get ahead of the pitcher. It’s a shame it happened that way, but you very rarely see a pitcher swing at the first pitch leading off an inning.”
Marks: How would you handle [Nola] going forward for the rest of the season?
Kerrigan:
“Any chance you can, give him an extra day’s rest. Let him pitch on six days if you have an off day or a rain-out.
But, I would keep him around the same number of innings he had last year, maybe ten more. I believe it was 175 innings last year total. So I would keep him right around that limit right there, 180-185 innings. I believe he has about 110 innings right now.
I would keep a watchful eye on him. I wouldn’t try to do too much with him as far as his mechanics. They are pretty polished right now. It seems like the kid’s going to get better just through osmosis, by just letting him pitch. I’d just let him go about his business.
He’s going to have to get a little more consistently on his curveball because of his arm angle … He’s going to have a little trouble mastering that curveball, but because of his delivery and the way that he controls his body, I think he’s going to be able to do that.”
Gargano: You’ve seen Cole [Hamels’] last two starts. Is it a case of just all this stuff going on, he’s going to get dealt and a bad team, or is it anything else? What do you see?
Kerrigan:
“I just think it’s in his head right now. I mean, he’s just waiting for the “shoe to drop”, so to speak.
I don’t know if he’s going to get traded because the perception in the industry, or outside of Philadelphia, is not that high of what we think of Cole Hamels. … He’s not an overpowering, dominant guy.
He’s probably someone that could fit in and be a real, good 1-B type pitcher [behind] a real, true dominant ace on your staff. He’d be a perfect fit behind that guy. I just don’t think he has the dominant stuff that the other great pitchers do in the game.
I don’t know if the Phillies are going to get the kind of package that they’re looking for him, because people in the industry don’t rate him as high as I think the Phillies do. …
I believe if the Phillies want to get player value for [Hamels], ready prospects to play in the big leagues next year, they’re going to have to help with some of that contract.”
Gargano: Do you think [Jonathan] Papelbon has any value whatsoever?
Kerrigan:
“What I hear, he’s almost untouchable. Nobody is going to go near him from what I hear. He’s just that kind of personality that can implode a whole clubhouse.
So, from what I hear, there’s not much interest out there. If there is any interest, you’re going to have to almost help with the entire salary for next year, plus you’re not going to get a very good prospect in return. …
He knows how to pitch. He knows how to close games. He can close games with an 89 mph fastball. He can close games with a 92 mph fastball. I mean, the guy really knows how to pitch. You got to give him that. But, do you want that baggage …? Do you want that around your clubhouse? Because, you have to deal with that almost 24 hours a day. …”
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
