Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage–perhaps one of the most lauded professionals of his vocation in recent memory–informed Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is expecting to be fired by his organization in short order (link).
After manager Clint Hurdle received a Pittsburgh pink slip this afternoon, Searage’s removal from his pitching coach role would represent a substantial dugout makeover. The Pirates have given no official indication of their coaching plans, but they have informed Searage that a decision on his future is impending. “They told us they would let us know in the next couple of days,” Searage told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (link). “Now, bringing in a new manager could mean bringing in different personnel, anyway. I’m preparing myself not to be a Pittsburgh Pirate next year.”
If the Pirates do indeed remove Searage from his post, it would mark the end of an inarguably successful chapter in his career. After a playing career in which he logged seven MLB seasons as a hurler, Searage was named Pittsburgh’s pitching coach in August of 2010–meaning that his tenure has basically lock stepped with Hurdle’s nine-year run with the org.
During his time in black and yellow, Searage earned himself a near-mythological reputation as a pitching whisperer. J.A. Happ, Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett are just a few examples of veterans who revived their careers under Searage’s tutelage in the Steel City, and Gerrit Cole, perhaps the sport’s best pitcher circa 2019, began his career as a Searage understudy. Industry-wide respect for Searage was so pronounced following the Pirates 2013-2015 run of success that, in 2016, Sports Illustrated once went so far as to call him “the secret to the Pirates’ success”.
Of course, Searage’s time in Pittsburgh hardly culminated in a storybook ending. Although Pirates pitchers spent the least time on the injured list among all National League teams from 2014-2015, Searage probably made much more frequent trips to the training room in recent years. Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams, Chris Archer, and Jordan Lyles all spent time on the injured list this year–and that’s not the only list that was pertinent to Pirates pitchers in 2019.
Under Searage’s instruction, Pirates pitchers often worked up-and-in in 2019–a strategy that helped fuel a few on-field brawls, the most notable of which was a Pittsburgh-Cincinnatti duel that resulted in pitchers Kyle Crick and Keone Kela being placed on the suspended list. Crick was later engaged in a clubhouse scuffle with Felipe Vazquez that resulted in Crick needing surgery and both players being levied with fines. This month, Vazquez was shockingly arrested on charges of, among other things, statutory sexual assault of a minor. That Searage would conclude his time in Pittsburgh with such a top-to-bottom disaster of a season would be, in a word, lamentable.
Well even if he wasn’t going to be fired before, he definitely is now.
Probably has had enough with the Pirates. They never go for gusto, even when they have an open window.
Hope this stud coach comes to my Tigers.
He was a cut above the rest at one point but the times have passed him up.
Considering how terrible their pitching has been the last few years and the inability to unlock talent within players (Archer, Cole, Glasnow, etc.), it was time for him to go.
If I am the Os I snap this guy up
Although the O’s have to fire Broccoli first. Which I would do immediately
One has to wonder how much of the reclamation success was Searage and how much was Jim Benedict. We haven’t been able to recapture nearly the same success since he left.
Exactly TL
Agreed. Not only do you have to wonder how much Benedict was involved in success, but how much did Searage hold the young players back from their full potential. He may have helped in the reclamations of Burnett and Liriano, but he seemed to mess up the young draft picks like Cole and Glasnow. Even Morton when from “ground Chuck” to a fastball strikeout pitcher when he left Pittsburgh. And also, let’s not forget all those guys they dumpster dove for that Searage didn’t “fix”….. Kevin Correa, Erik Bedard, Jonathan Sanchez, Jon Niese, etc etc..
Agreed. He’s with the Rays now, right? And suddenly Glasnow is effective. Morton and Cole go to Houston and their problems disappear. No disrespect to Searage, but Benedict seems to have been a huge factor.
He probably should have gone before Hurdle
Uh, no. The notion that the game has passed him by is a myth. It depends on personal. It isn’t his fault the Pirates continue to give him nut-cases. Archer aside, who still has an upside, and is a good teammates. The problem is the chemistry. This team was leading the lead in BA, until late. As a Cards’ fan I dread playing the Buccos. 44-44 before the colapse. They need to produce unselfish, team oriented guys. The culture is the issue, not talent.
Is it a myth though? Searage’s philosophy is well known, he hasn’t shown any inclination to change his philosophy despite poor results, and there are clear cases of not only people succeeding after getting away from Searage, but comments about exactly how Searage’s philosophy held them back.
We know he loves sinkers and two seamers. And we know they get eaten alive in today’s environment. Someone like Gerrit Cole found success later on by doing what Searage told him not to.
Dont argue with Spud. He is a know-it-nothing. He doesnt understand like facts like the Pirates pitchers, drafted since 2012 collectively have near zero WAR, 27th in MLB. Yet, they go elsewhere and thrive.
I don’t know for sure; but I do know that didn’t do anything with Archer who, if he has an upside, I doubt it.
He’s a gem. Maddox,Rothschild,
gotta congratulate him on past success, but his best days may be in the past
Heard the bat boy got fired.
Bat boy’s assistant was sacked too!
Is that confirmed? Nutting seems too cheap to pay another bat boy, unless this one’s contract was up.
In Greensboro, they were using a dog as a bat boy. The replacement is in the wings.
Reminds me of when the Giants fired Dave Righetti. Tough pill to swallow but something that had to be done, despite the past success.
Searage is kind of a weird situation. He definitely helped a lot of pitchers bounceback., but you have to wonder how much of it was him improving pitchers and how much of it was PNC Park improving pitchers. It’s sort almost a hitting coach in Colorado or Texas getting credit for hitters bouncing back. PNC Park is practically as good for pitchers as Coors Field or Arlington is to hitters.
Doesn’t help when your team defense is 25 of 30.
Balsley and Searage are the gold standard of pitching coaches
Time has passed him by…..
Searage did a great job of extracting value out of guys who had either underperformed previously, or were considered past their best.
But, he did an underwhelming job with guys who should have taken the next step, but didn’t.
There was a time when his sinker/two seamer approach, and emphasis on getting groundballs, was working wonders. It all fell apart when he tried to force that dynamic on people who were better off approaching things differently. Much has been spoken about how guys like Cole needed to get away from Searage more or less stopping him from pitching up in the zone. Shock horror – Cole is allowed to pitch to his strengths, and immediately becomes a legit ace.
I think Searage should be considered a smart guy, but very inflexible and struggles to work outside his Plan A.
Yup. Today’s game is fastballs up in the zone…..
Exactly this.
Searage is great working with past-their-prime veterans who can no longer rely on just having good stuff. He doesn’t have any idea how to work with young pitchers that have talent. He has a one size fits all philosophy for every pitcher – pitch to contact, get ground balls, rely on the defense. Worked great for Burnett and Liriano. Not so much for Cole, Glasnow, etc.
Excited to see what some of these pitchers can do with a new plan.
Well said.
The resume of 64-year old Ray Searage very much resembles that of 63-year old White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, at least once upon a time. Following GM Rick Hahns’ annual state of the White Sox address to the media this past weekend it sounds as if some coaching positions might be up for discussion this coming week on the southside of Chicago.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that two similarly aged and respected pitching coaches could be looking for work this offseason.
Bold offseason prediction: the Mets hire Hurdle and he brings Searage with him.
Hurdle will be next to Dan Plesac at MLB Network
One thing about Searage (in particular) and the Pirates (in general)…they were hurt more than anyone by the new (juiced) baseball.
They had spent years of drafting and developing pitchers to throw (mostly sinkers) at the knees, eliciting weak contact.
Now, with the giant golf ball MLB plays with, those hits leave the yard. A lot.
It’s a shame Hurdle and Searage have to pay the price, but…you can only lose 15-1 so often.
FWJBT,
Your insite is probably the one I agree with most on this board. You get it and you arent a Nuttings Wallet moron. That being said, the juiced baseball hurt the Pirates, yes, but I would counter they play 81 games in PNC and still pitched poorly.
Whether its Searage or Hurdle or NH in between his prepackaged lines of rhetoric, it was an outright failure to adapt. It was ego. It was inability to recognize reality of a changing game. It was using hope as a strategy.
Searage can pay a price, and so should many others, including head trainer, head of player development and head of scouting. And if you ask me, head of PR too. So tired of the garbage statements that come out of that FO.
There needs to be a house cleaning, and Searage’s time has come. Far too much evidence of struggling pitchers leaving PIT and excelling and top tier prospects underwhelming while in PIT. Those who want to quote AJ, Frankie and JA Happ…I counter Cole, Taillon, Glasnow, Morton, amongst the multitude of once good veterans who came to PIT to underperform.
What was the movie about Enron? “Smartest Guys in the Room”? Um, thats how the FO views itself and their messaging to the ticket buying public drips of it.
I basically agree with Josh and Clepto and appreciate their comments.
I also think although NH has had a couple of bad years that he should stay.
The Buccos were hurt with injuries more than any other year that I recall.
NH was not wise enough to have replacements for the inevitable pitcher injuries.
Hurdle could not manage his bullpen this year.
But the bottom line is that there were far too many AAA pitchers pitching in the major leagues this year,and no manager could have overcome that fact.
Clint may get another job but it was clearly time to make a change.
Well for once an insightful comment. One can argue about the ball but I believe it is over-exagerrated. Maybe the ball needs to be investigated. But my guess is it is more due to hitters sacrificing contact for zone. I know analitics support this approach. It is valid, but too simplistic. Both the Cubs and the Buccos now believe they need a more authorization regime. This is a mistake. Good luck with that approach, soon you will see the folly in that assessment.
I could care less what you think. Go back to running OTHER teams.
The Pirates front office might think they are the smartest guys in the room, but they often prove just how dumb they really are. For example, the Pirates were one of the first teams to truly embrace the shift, and had their info for every batter and every pitch in every count. Smart. But then they would do something stupid like put John Jaso, a former catcher who moved to first base by necessity, into right field….. with no outfield experience at all. Not to mention he was slow as molasses and had no arm. Any average fan could have seen that was a bad idea, yet these champions of analytics made these stupid mistakes. The proof of how bad Jaso was in the outfield was when he would take off his hat and carry it every time he had to run…. and then he needed that hand to throw. Completely not acceptable.
The Pirates also spent years drafting contact hitters in the mold of the Giants and Royals. A bunch of Kevin Newmans.
While those players are nice, they were caught flat footed when it came to power and are so far behind other teams in this area.
Not implying this was their goal at all, but…if MLB intentionally set out to change the game in ways to hurt the Pirates, not sure how they could have done better than what actually occurred.
“Those who want to quote AJ, Frankie and JA Happ…I counter Cole, Taillon, Glasnow, Morton, amongst the multitude of once good veterans who came to PIT to underperform.”
Maybe it’s the wording in this post that’s confusing, but Cole debuted with the Pirates in 2013, and was fourth in Cy Young voting in 2015. He wasn’t a veteran on that staff. He cut his teeth with the Pirates.
Taillon debuted with Pittsburgh, and was never a veteran. I wouldn’t blame Searage for Taillon’s horrible luck. Even with all the challenges he’s had to endure Taillon has pitched to a 3.67 ERA, 3.55 FIP, and a 3.67 xFIP. Since there’s no prior benchmark for Taillon in the major leagues, how can you claim he’s underperforming? Those numbers are still representative of a good major league starting pitcher.
Glasnow was a rookie with the Pirates. What’d he have, a year and a half of service when he was traded?
Morton had 74 innings in the big leagues when he was traded to the Pirates. Wasn’t a veteran. Under Searage he went from a guy that had a 7+ ERA in 2010, to a guy that put up a 3.96 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 3.89 xFIP in 624 innings from 2011-2015.
Old oak- Everything that you say is correct.
Many of these posters have their mind made up before any facts are taken into account.
I should add that Morton was hurt some of the time as a Pirate also.
I do not know enough,though,to say that Ray has not changed with the times or is too inflexible as that is an arguement of many seemingly knowledgeable posters.
My guess is that his current performance is half way between his backers and his doubters.
If you can see their philosophy not working, and I can see their philosophy not working, why can’t Searage & Co?
It’s one thing to try an approach and fail. It’s another to continue trying that approach and expecting different results.
There’s no indication at all that Searage changed his approach – that’s most of the problem.
Without implementation of technology, and a willingness, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It’s more so philosophy that needs to change. It’s their staple and what they’ve done forever. The game has changed as consistently good to great pitching teams have targeted skill sets that are being undervalued and fit said plan to their pitchers.
Speaking from experience, Rapsodo and other forms of tech are groundbreaking in either explaining a pitchers strength and how you implement them or as a proof to reinforce what you’ve seen. You’ll see the issue that many old school guys face in today’s game has been the inability or willingness to change what’s always worked. Those guys are being left in the past or behind until the game evolves back to the philosophies that work. The legendary ones have a mixed bag with a willingness to consistently evolve.
The Mets should be all over him
Searage ruined Gerrit Cole, his time as a “whisperer” was short lived and largely, a fluke.
Boston should just get him a blank check and a pen
Make sure it is the 4 color ink pen. Thats the only pen he will use.
Ray Searage certainly did a great job with the pitchers between 2011-2015. Unfortunately, the well ran dry and the Pirates pitchers have struggled greatly this year.
I would be surprised if he wasn’t able to find another job by next spring.
I feel like the truth may lie somewhere in between the “he is an underrated genius” and the “the game has passed him by” comments. Like Joe Maddon, I feel like he has a lot to offer but both he and the team may be better served with a change. Hopefully he does some reflecting and realizes that he needs to change his approach
The most overrated pitching coach in probably, forever. How many pitchers became elite as soon as they left Pittsburgh?
A guy like Mickey Calloway is 10x better as a pitching coach.
Brewers need to jump on this guy to become pitching coach or the very least minor league roving pitching coach they have a lot of possibilities of good pitching prospects
The thing with Searage or other fabled “reclamation project” coaches… when you’re happy about it you remember the hits and forget the misses, and when you’re not happy you ignore the hits and remember the misses. What happens is they have a good run with a few guys, then management tends to try to milk it by signing more and more discount l burnout pitchers. Sometimes a coach can help them, sometimes they can’t. A lot of factors go into it, and some of them have nothing to do with the coach himself.
What a joke. The front office trades away the organizations most promising arms and Searage takes the fall for not turning the leftovers into an overachieving group of arms.
Save me the story that high ceiling guys left and did better under another coach, I don’t see those coaches getting any promotions. I see pitchers out there doing their best after years of development with Ray. Fire Neil.
Searage is a huge mystery to me. He had great luck initially with pitchers, then the last 5 years every pitcher who left the Pirates seemed way better than on the Pirates, and Pirate pitchers were less than impressive lately.
He seemed to have the most success when he and Benedict worked together on veteran pitchers that the Pirates picked up.Benedict left three years ago.
He did not seem to do nearly as well with the young pitchers coming up.
Many think that he was too dogmatic with his pitching philosophy and not flexible enough taking into account the individual’s pitching strengths.
Guys leave Pittsburgh and get better. That’s pretty damning. Time to move on from the entire regime, management AND coaching.
Wait, what… good at developing pitchers? HIs recent track record would say other wise.
Was just reminded from another article that Jordan Lyles, who was dumped by Pittsburgh mid-season due to ineffectiveness, has posted a 2.45 ERA since joining Milwaukee and the Brewers are 10-1 when he starts. Add him to the list of guys who got better after leaving Searage and Pittsburgh.