Bogar, Royster & McClure to Round Out Coaching Staff
When Bobby Valentine was announced as the new manager for the Red Sox, he said first hand that he’d like to assemble his version of the coaching staff that he’ll surround himself with. With Christmas merely days away, it looks as though Valentine’s goal to have his vacant pitching coach, bench coach and third base coach positions filled will be accomplished.
Tim Bogar who was the Red Sox third base coach for the past two seasons will be promoted to fill the bench coach position. Bogar, who will replace DeMarlo Hale who left for Baltimore, has ties with Bobby V, having played for the skipper during his stint with the New York Mets in 1996. Bogar has been with the Red Sox for the past four seasons, his first two as the first base coach.
Valentine will continue to fill the coaching roles with baseball people whom he has a relationship with. Jerry Royster, a longtime friend of Bobby’s is set to become the club’s new third base coach, replacing Bogar after his move to the bench.
Royster does have big league experience as a manager, albeit on an interim basis with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002. He led the Brew Crew to a 53-94 record.
Finally, the Red Sox are expected to announce their new pitching coach, Bob McClure. The Red Sox signed McClure in late November to a special scouting assignment after he was let go by the Kansas City Royals.
McClure’s resume includes tutoring the Royals former Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke, no small feat considering the mental issues that Greinke deals with. All we can do is hope that McClure can find some of that magic and use it on guys like John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka when they return from injury. Josh Beckett could be a challenge for McClure, but if he can cope with the anxiety of Greinke, I’m sure he can cope with the arrogance of Beckett.
McClure spent 19 seasons pitching in the majors, suiting up for six different teams. It was in Milwaukee where he spent the majority of his career, playing nine and a half years for the Brewers. His role was mainly that of a reliever, compiling a 68-57 record with an ERA of 3.81 while only starting 73 games.
It’s clear that this is Bobby’s team now, at least from his decisions on who to hire as the new coaches. Time will tell if the player’s will allow it to be Bobby’s team or if they’ll continue to do their own thing. Personally, I’m pulling for Bobby over the latter.
For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.