Trending
YOUNGSTOWN – Despite what pundits may believe, Pirates pitching coach Ray Searge does not have crystal ball or a bag of magic beans. His ability to transform struggling pitchers into formidable major leaguers is not a segment of witchcraft. It’s actually just a simple dedication to the craft.
“No. 1, you have to build a trust factor first before (pitchers) believe anything that you say,” Searage said at the Pirates annual caravan stop in Youngstown. “We get to know each other, then I make adjustments where it may be needed. Then we show them. We don’t lecture and we don’t force anything – we don’t play that game. It goes both ways. I’ll have thoughts about what they’re doing then ask them for their input. Then we go from there; it’s a two-way street.
“I give the players all the credit in the world for trusting me and believing in what we have to do.”
Searage is beginning his fourth season on Pittsburgh’s major league staff, 38th in professional baseball and 12th with the Pirates organization. He was named pitching coach in Aug. 2010. Since then, he has helped revive the careers of A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, Vance Worley and Mark Melancon – all major factors in the Pirates making the playoffs in two-straight years.
“All the credit shouldn’t be at me,” Searage said. “I have some people behind me that do a heck of a job and help me, also the pitchers themselves.”
Charlie Morton is also one of those benefactors.
Morton first met Searge in the middle of the 2009 season. He was just acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade with the Atlanta Braves and was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis, where Searge was the pitching coach. Morton cracked the major league roster late in 2009 season and made the Pirates out of spring training for the 2010 campaign where he posted a 2-12 record with a 7.57 ERA in 79.2 innings pitched.
“I had the worst season of my career,” Morton, 31, said. “But Ray was always there for me. He’s an extremely helpful guy. He has a strong personality, not in the sense that he’s outspoken, but he’s convicted.
“You look for that and appreciate that in people, especially in an industry where it’s an extremely important characteristic. That’s who Ray is, underneath it all. The expertise and what he has to offer is invaluable.”
Now, it’s Searage’s experience that can help a budding young star.
Jameson Taillon was the Pirates’ first round draft pick in the 2010 first-year player draft. Taillon was the second overall pick, behind Bryce Harper of the Nationals. In three minor league seasons, Taillon has a 3.72 ERA and averages 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He was on track to be with the Pirates near the end of the 2014 season, in which Pittsburgh finished with an 88-74 record – losing in the National League Wild Card Game to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. But plans were derailed for Taillon in spring training as he was tabbed for Tommy John surgery.
The rest and rehab from surgery wiped out Taillon’s entire 2014 season. He began a throwing regiment last week off flat ground and will progress to the mound in January.
“As far as strength goes, I’m feeling great,” Taillon, 23, said Wednesday. “Progress is going great. I can see how people say they come back physically stronger. I’m not exactly sure on a timetable, but the plan is to at least finish this next year with innings as opposed to getting shut down at the end, like (Nationals pitcher Stephen) Strasburg did a couple years ago. Finishing strong is the way to go.”
According to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, 52 major league players have undergone Tommy John surgery in the past three years. The number of players undergoing the reconstructive elbow procedure increases greatly in the minor leagues.
“It’s too bad that it’s a trend, but unfortunately that’s the reality of it,” Taillon said. “I wish you could avoid it. I never thought it was my destiny to be getting Tommy John. I’m definitely going to be stronger because of it, though.”
Searage, a seven-year MLB veteran throughout the 1980s, underwent Tommy John surgery in 1991 and never fully recovered.
“I never made it back because I tried coming back too early,” Searage said. “These guys today are making sure that they give the players the time allotted for the surgery to mature and make sure the ligament is matured, too.
“I think it will help (Taillon) in the long run. Obviously, it was going to happen sooner or later. He’s got a lot of future ahead of him. Let’s not rush it.”
Searage isn’t a soothsayer, nor can he see the future, but his guidance to the Pirates’ pitchers have lifted the entire team in back-to-back winning seasons. Once Taillon and Morton, who has undergone three surgeries himself over the past three years, are fully healed, the pitching success looks to continue for years to come.
PIRATES RESIGN LIRIANO
Charlie Morton was on his way to the Newark, N.J. airport Tuesday night when he received a text message from fellow Pirates pitcher, Gerrit Cole.
“I was pulling into the parking garage and I get a text from Cole saying, ‘Frankie’s back. Best friends forever.'”
Francisco Liriano, who spent the past two seasons with the Pirates, was picked up again by the club, signing a 3-year, $39 million free agent deal. Liriano went 7-10 with a 3.38 ERA last season. In 2013, he posted a career best in wins, finishing with a 16-8 record and a 3.02 ERA.
In November, the Pirates signed A.J. Burnett, who went 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA and a league-leading 96 walks with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014. Burnett spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Pirates.
“I was really excited that we got them both back,” Searage said. “A.J. is going to help out immediately, as is Liriano with their experience. A.J. is more of a boisterous kind of guy, where Frankie is more of a subdued, quiet kind of leader. I got the best of both worlds with those guys.
“The thing about it is, I encourage our pitchers to talk to each other. There isn’t anything that’s going to be a secret here or there. They can converse within each other and know what to look for in literally every situation out there.”