00:00As of this morning, I saw it, Brian McTaggart was confirming that the Astros seemingly have a new hitting coach.
00:08The deal is done for Victor Rodriguez to join the Major League staff as the hitting coach for your Houston Astros.
00:14Victor Rodriguez, who the last couple of seasons, was the hitting coach for the San Diego Padres.
00:19Are you encouraged by this, John Lowe?
00:21Well, first of all, in general, how can you not be?
00:24Just because, you know, let's go back and if you just look at the entirety of the season,
00:30talking about being more selective since training camp, you know, and maybe starting out like that and then just being at the plate.
00:38Some of the ways that they performed at the plate, and I always feel bad because the hitting coach is always the first, you know,
00:46and pitching coach are always the first to get blame.
00:50Yes.
00:50But I thought it was very, you know, accurate in this case.
00:55So that's just, in general, yes, you know, you needed a new hitting coach.
01:00To get this guy, I don't want to, I hope people understand how good this guy has been.
01:04They went, I think they were the best, they made the biggest leap in terms of hitting from one year to the next with him in place.
01:11From 24 to 25?
01:12Yeah.
01:12And so very wide, you know, very much respected, has been at the, you know, all the way up the ladder, just like a player.
01:21You know, he's been in the minor leagues, came up, I believe he was, oh, I'm going to forget the names of the previous teams with the Padres.
01:28But I'll tell you how good he is.
01:32Like, I had heard about him, you know, before they hired him and you start, you know, kind of digging in.
01:37I was like, yeah, you know, you see him, you see some games, you see some reports, and, you know, they talk about Rodriguez and the magic that he seems to.
01:43So, yes, yes and yes in terms of you need to be excited.
01:46Teams that he had coached with, he had been with the Red Sox from 13 to 17.
01:51That was the one I was thinking of.
01:51Then he played, he was with, rather, Cleveland from 18 to 23.
01:55Then that's when he took the Padres' job.
01:57The interesting thing, and I wonder how much does this matter to you, that he was with the Padres for a couple of seasons.
02:03One of the reasons, it's not like the Padres fired him.
02:06However, the manager had been fired there.
02:09And so they're in the midst of trying to figure out who the new manager is.
02:12And I imagine he was like, I'm not going to wait and see if I remain on the staff when I can create.
02:17I imagine a level of security.
02:18So they mutually parted ways.
02:20I don't even think it's mutual.
02:22I think he decided he was ready to go with this.
02:24But the Padres in his first season played really, really good.
02:27And then the second year, there was actually a decline in hitting.
02:30Now, there is question, even amongst Padres fans and such, that were these changes that led to less production at the plate?
02:43Was that his philosophy or was that the manager's philosophy, right?
02:48Because, you know, there's some level of, if you are on somebody's staff, you need to abide by what they would like for you.
02:55But, yeah, those kind of bring some things to me.
02:59But I think I lean to where you are.
03:00Like, he seems to be a good hitting coach.
03:01The question that I ultimately come back to is, can he change the dudes that you have?
03:06Right.
03:06And it ultimately comes, I mean, they have a roster in San Diego, too.
03:09So, it ultimately comes down to the guys that you have.
03:12And really, you know, some of the veteran guys, I think the communication is going to be really, really good with Correa and Altuve.
03:19And so, there's a good buffer there.
03:22It doesn't hurt, you know, that he's Hispanic, you know, if we're being honest.
03:26Puerto Rican.
03:27Yeah.
03:28Puerto Rican.
03:29And that's a heavy, you know, Hispanic lineup here in Houston, like a lot of places.
03:34But, no, you know, the other thing that I did notice, like I said, I'd heard of him.
03:38So, I knew this, you know, he had some pedigree.
03:41But when you dig in on it a little bit, this is channeling Reggie Atatula.
03:47Yeah.
03:48Very low chase rate.
03:50Very low chase rate, traditionally, under his realm.
03:54He going to do anything with.
03:57That's the thing, I am encouraged that at least there's going to be more of a push for that.
04:04I just don't know if that will actually make the change.
04:06And there's still big questions to be answered.
04:08I think that Chandler Roman did a great piece.
04:09I think the fellows in the morning were talking about this.
04:13There's still some questions that you need to figure out, which is we've talked about somewhat the logjam that you have when you talk about your lineup.
04:19Both, you know, you've got a couple of guys that you need to play at DH or that you should play at DH, but you have to find places for.
04:24Or there's the third base or corner infield, rather, between Carlos Correa, Isaac Paredes, and, let's be honest, Christian Walker.
04:33Like, what do you do with that triumvirate of guys that probably have those two spots?
04:38Who?
04:38Christian Walker should be thrilled.
04:39You think so?
04:40You think that this gives them more likelihood that he remains?
04:42Well, I don't know if he does remain.
04:44Let me qualify it.
04:45But if he does remain, he should be thrilled because he was a basket case at various points during the season.
04:52You know, new blood, new eyes.
04:55Maybe that allows him to get back to his level.
05:00Yeah, there's questions to be had.
05:02But I think I'm, I guess, we're at the time of year where you really have no, well, not no choice, but it feels like you're more inclined towards being hopeful.
05:11And I hope that this is helpful, especially a dude that's kind of been at it on the levels of actually playing the game, having some of those baseball mindsets.
05:21But then I, obviously, working in a staff like the Padres that you know are going to be analytic inclined, I just, I don't know how much this actually changes.
05:30When you look at the roster and once they, like, once they actually figure out what the roster is, some of the temp polls are how much you're going to be able to shift that.
05:38Because this season, that was an emphasis going in, and it still was.
05:42The guys that you brought in.
05:43Altuve all of a sudden becomes.
05:45No, it was still Isak Bright-ass who had a good eye.
05:48It was Christian Walker who had a good eye until he was so bad that he just started swinging wildly.
05:52And then everybody else was still the same guy, right?
05:54I don't know how much that changes, but I'm excited to see if it does, especially because, like, a lot of baseball fans, like, you watch the game and it creeps up with you.
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