TWO OUTTA THREE

 TWO OUTTA THREE AINT BAD

So I predicted two of the three Biscuits coaches this year, Billy Gardner Jr and Ozzie Timmons return along with pitching coach RC Lichtenstein. I suggested recently that they would probably be back with a new pitching coach.

RC is the coach who handles the pitchers, both starting and bullpen. Who is RC Lichtenstein? Baseball Reference dawt-cawm says it succinctly: R.C. Lichtenstein has played, coached and managed in the minors.

RC Lichtenstein - Man of Mystery

Read his page on BR, and you get the overview, the usual litany of stops at lower levels which is a colorful read including Roadrunners, Muddogs and Snappers.

One day at the ballpark I wondered aloud, Who IS RC Lichtenstein? And not in a Pedro Martinez mocking way, in a serious, where exactly is this guy coming from sort of way.

COLORFUL COACHING

 One of our previous pitching coaches, Neil Allen, came with plenty of backstory. He admitted to bizarre behavior in the bigs. Did he wear his NY Yankees and Mets hats to Studio 54 after home games? "If thats all they said I wore, yeah I did that" was his response. Did he uncork wild pitches at the start of every game? "Of course! At first it was just being wild, but being wild makes guys nervous so I kept doing it later" he replied.

This guy probably shouldn't be driving

Neil was a talker, he was a constantly moving and speaking machine. I wondered if he talked in his sleep, or how he managed to brush his teeth in the morning without drowning himself. Neil was a fine pitching coach who really seemed to enjoy the attention and wasnt afraid to tell stories to anyone who would listen. He seemed nice enough, had quit drinking and partying long ago, though he is still just as energetic without additives.

RC Lichtenstein is not that type of guy.

When I wondered aloud, in a non-Pedro way, who RC Lichtenstein was and where he came from, I got out his baseball card and flipped it over. Thats how you learn about a ballplayer, right?

Teddy Ballgame liked fishing

It read as though it had been copied verbatim from Baseball Reference. Nothing more, nothing less. Stops at lower level teams as a coach, his pro ball numbers, everything. We dont know what RC stands for, if he likes to fish or builds model airplanes. I suppose I will have to make it my mission to find out more about the guy this year!







Now, having seen the team with my own eyes, I knew one other thing about RC. He has the cutest kid who runs the bases after every home game. After that, all I can say is that we have a pitching coach who may also be a secret agent spy.

Morris Berg - the original baseball spy

MONTGOMERY - A DANGEROUS GIG FOR A PITCHING COACH

Having now established the possibility of of our current PC being involved in espionage, I offer up the odd fact that he takes the coaching seat given up by Bill Maloney. Bill will always be remembered as the Montgomery coach who was shot, though not killed, during a robbery in the parking lot of the apartment complex he was staying at.

No word on whether he got a nickname out of the deal, "Kevlar Willie" would be my suggestion.

the ever cheeful Bulletproof Bill Maloney

 It was not a tough prediction to say that Maloney would probably be pitching coach in a different city after that experience, but it is tougher to predict where the Rays felt RC Lichtenstein would be most effective. I would think that the good showing the 'Skits had last summer probably helped edge the front office into keeping things the same at the double-A level.

Winter Drags On

Ouch man, tough month. Lost a couple mlb hall of famers as well as a good friend. Its hard when those you have known to always be there suddenly arent. What more can I say, just that they will all be missed in their own ways, each having touched lives with their own special moments.

Sometimes bad times can be good times too
God bless you Jim