In his first season, Mitchell promises aggressive approach
TRENTON>> When Bobby Mitchell interviewed for the open Thunder managerial position, he really only had one question for Yankees brass.
“How committed is the organization to the baserunning philosophy that Reggie Willits is trying to bring in?” Mitchell recalled asking.
Mitchell got the answer he was hoping for and has the go-ahead to implement his aggressive style at the Double-A level.
“It’s exciting to watch when it’s working,” Mitchell said in a meeting with reporters on Tuesday at Arm & Hammer Park. “We’ll make some mistakes here and there ... if they get thrown out by five or 10 feet, we’ll try and make it a learning experience because we’re all trying to develop that mentality. We want them to stay aggressive, just be a little smarter. If they get throw out and it’s a bang-bang play with nobody out, I don’t care. More power to them for trying.
“We’ll take advantage of everything we can. I think the most fun play to watch is a runner going first-to-home to score or home-tothird. It gets everybody excited. As the season goes along, we’ll be doing that a lot.”
Mitchell is the Thunder’s third manager in as many seasons, taking over for Al Pedrique, who was elevated to Triple-A skipper. Pedrique was preceded by eight years of Trenton Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Franklin, who guided the club to three Eastern League titles.
Mitchell, 60, is in his first season with the Yankees’ organization, coming over from the Atlanta Braves where he was an outfield coordinator. Mitchell spent the bulk of his coaching career in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization from 2006-11.
“I try to get to know them not only from a manager standpoint, but from a personal standpoint somewhat so that they trust me,” he said. “If that trust factor isn’t there if I’m teaching somebody, and I love to teach, and they don’t buy into what you’re teaching them, then it’s an uphill battle. ... I always tell them if I say something that doesn’t make sense, you better say it doesn’t make sense and make sure that you understand it. If you don’t understand what we’re trying to teach you, then you’re not going to do it. We’re all here to help them and they need to realize that. We’re here to get them to the major league and if they don’t use that and use the knowledge, it’s their fault, but that trust is important.”
The Thunder, coming off a 7171 season, open Thursday night at home against the Erie SeaWolves.
Right-hander Brady Lail (106, 2.91 ERA in all starts) gets the ball followed by Cale Coshow (95, 2.45), and then three newcomers to Double-A, Ronald Herrera (8-7, 4.08 with Padres organization), Dietrich Enns (2-1, 0.61 ERA) and Jordan Montgomery (10-8, 2.95).
“Last year I was a younger kid trying to get my feet wet, get used to Double-A,” Lail said. “I think going up last year at the end of the year to Triple-A, it made me start maturing and growing up. I started to read swings a little bit better, watching film a little bit more, just more of that maturity level.”
Closer Mark Montgomery went 17 of 20 in saves attempts and returns to anchor a bullpen which also features left-handers Evan Rutckyj (returned to Yankees from Braves after being selected in rule-5 draft) and Caleb Smith, a starter last year who went 10-7 with a 3.47 ERA.
From a prospect standpoint, two players — Tyler Wade and Dustin Fowler — are ranked among the Yankees’ top-10 by Baseball America. Both stand to benefit from having Mitchell on board since they combined to steal 60 bases last season.
“I’m a speed guy,” said Wade, who spent the last 29 games of 2015 with the Thunder. “I love to put pressure on the defense.”
Added Fowler: “It helps a lot having someone push you all the time. A lot of time you get managers who are laid back and you kind of fall into that rhythm, so it’s nice to have someone pushing you to steal bases and get the most out of what you can.”
The lineup has plenty of familiar faces with Tyler Austin, Dante Bichette Jr., Jake Cave and Cito Culver all beginning the year in Double-A.
While his ultimate goal is to develop players, Mitchell said winning helps with that.
“Part of development is also developing a winning-type attitude when you step on the field, you believe you’re going to win every game,” he said. “I came up that way with the Dodgers and at every level when we stepped on the field, we were confident in our abilities. We weren’t going to win every game, but we knew everyday we stepped out there, we had a chance to win. I think that’s important because winning can get contagious and so can losing. If you get complacent losing, something has to be done. When you get to the major league level, which we’re trying to develop everyone to get to, they got to believe they belong there when they get there.”