By Malcolm Wilkes
Johnson League Columnist
BBA Weekly
After two fairly craptastic seasons, Huntsville pitching coach Bob Blaisdell has been shown the door.
When it came time to renew Blaisdell’s contract, the Phantoms said not only “no,” but “hell no.”
Huntsville, of course, struggled to a 74-88 record, missed the playoffs, and finished 34 games behind first-place Jacksonville in the Johnson League Southeast Division.
And pitching undoubtedly played a role in that.
Huntsville finished 8th out of the league’s 15 teams for overall team ERA (4.61); 8th for the starters’ ERA (4.78); and 8th for the bullpen’s ERA (4.30).
Still, Blaisdell was shocked – and more than a little bitter – at taking the fall for the Phantoms’ struggles.
“Look, I know ranking 8th isn’t anything to crow about, but I’ll just point out that our hitting was worse – 13th in on-base-percentage,” said Blaisdell, who joined the Phantoms in 2037 from the Rookie league Traverse City Talons. “And they get rid of me? That’s a joke.
Blaisdell ousted
And he has a point there: Huntsville’s defense wasn’t just bad, it was abysmal.
The Phantoms ranked 14th in defensive efficiency (.677) and 12th in zone rating (-20.8) in the Johnson.
So, to take Blaisdell’s point of view for a moment here, why does the pitching staff bear the brunt of the blame here? The 2038 Huntsville Phantoms were an exercise in communal suckitude, and it seems a bit unfair to assign blame to Blaisdell for all of that.
“Who says we’re assigning all the blame to Blaisdell?” asked general manager Vic Caleca. “We’re starting with him, yes, because his contract happened to be up, but there will be reckonings elsewhere in the organization, too.
"That doesn't excuse two years of unquestioned mediocrity in our pitching staff, though. We know we can do better, and we will do better. Period.”
Rumor has it the Phantoms already have an offer out to a new coach, who specializes in working with groundball pitchers.
Of course, that was Blaisdell’s specialty, too, and it didn’t seem to do much good.
But you’ve gotta start somewhere, right? And the Phantoms are choosing to start with the pitching coach.
Unless they fix the fielding, though, the next guy's fate won't be much better.
Godspeed, Huntsville Phantoms.
You’re gonna need it.
