WHY ROTHSCHILD IS A PITCHING GENIUS

After firing Dave Eiland after the 2010 season, it was a bit of a surprise when the Yankees hired Larry Rothschild to become the team's pitching coach prior to the 2011 season. Eiland was a pretty good pitching coach for the Yankees in his three years from 2008-2010, but Rothschild is a genius... a true pitching guru.Before Rothschild joined the Yankees he managed the original Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but it clearly wasn't a fit. His Devil Rays went 205-294 from 1998 through 14 games into the 2001 season when he was finally cut loose. But he gained some life as the pitching coach with the Chicago Cubs.Rothschild was the Chicago Cubs pitching coach from 2002-2010, and his pitchers provided a lot of good results during his time in the North Side. In fact, Cubs pitching struck out 11,604 batters, 1,802 more than the second place Houston Astros, and 2,945 more than the last place Detroit Tigers, from '02-'10. The Cubs pitching also produced the seventh lowest ERA in the majors during his nine years, checking in at a solid 4.10 ERA. Clearly he had an affect on the Cubs pitching staff during his time.

But the main thing with Rothschild is the strikeouts...the Rothschild effect. Pitchers strikeout rates seem to climb with Rothschild in the helm. Look at some of the Yankees starting pitchers strikeout rates in 2010 when Eiland was pitching coach, and in 2011 when Rothschild was pitching coach:CC Sabathia:
2010- 7.5 K/9
2011- 8.7 K/9, highest since 2008 (8.9 K/9)

AJ Burnett:
2010- 7.0 K/9
2011- 8.2 K/9, highest since 2009 (8.5 K/9)
Bartolo Colon:
2009 (Didn't pitch in 2010)- 5.5 K/9
2011- 7.4 K/9, highest since 2000 (10.1 K/9)

Freddy Garcia:
2010- 5.1 K/9
2011- 5.9 K/9, highest since 2008 (7.2 K/9)

Heck, even Ivan Nova's strikeout rate rose. Remember, he went back to the minors to work on his slider so he could elevate his strikeout rate in early July. Before being sent down on July 3 to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Nova had a 5.0 K/9 rate. When Nova returned on July 30, his K/9 rate rose to 5.7 the rest of the way. Not a huge difference, but a positive difference nonetheless.

Although Rothschild has been in pinstripes for a year, the positive results have showed. The Yankees team ERA was 3.73 in 2011, lowest since 1985 when the team compiled a 3.69 ERA. For some perspective, in 1985 Larry Rothschild was pitching for the Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees team K/9 total was 7.5 K/9 this year, highest since the World Series winning 2009 Yankees.

In the end the individual pitchers have to execute pitches, but Rothschild definitely gets a lot of credit here. But it's certainly a great accomplishment in itself that the Yanks got 310 combined innings out of castoffs Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, something Rothschild can hang his hat on going into 2012.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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