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Jim Hickey and Davey Martinez were both on Joe Maddon’s staff in Tampa Bay, as the Rays’ pitching and bench coach, respectively, and the 59-year-old Hickey, who is reuniting with Martinez in the nation’s capital as the Washington Nationals’ new bench coach said Monday, in an interview with reporters, that he’s been impressed with the growth he’s seen from the skipper in D.C. over the years.
“Watching Davey — I believe 2008 was our first year together with Tampa Bay,” Hickey said, “... and just watching him go from almost a guest in Spring Training to a really, really good bench coach, to winning the World Series in Chicago and [then] to winning it on his own, especially after the start to that season, holding that together, I think that’s probably the most impressive thing that I’ve seen him do as far as being in the manager’s seat anyway.”
There are more holes on Martinez’s staff to fill going forward, but the first addition didn’t surprise anyone.
Go read your links...
NATS BEAT:
Hickey to D.C.:
What’s the philosophy of the Nationals’ new pitching coach Jim Hickey? - (NBC Sports Washington)
"He’ll impart a three-piece baseline to Max Scherzer and Tanner Rainey alike while doing so: Throw strikes, work quick, change speeds."
Nationals hire Jim Hickey as new pitching coach - (WaPost)
“With a staff to rebuild, Washington Nationals Manager Dave Martinez turned quickly to an old and familiar friend.”
The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with Pitching Coach Jim Hickey.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 19, 2020
// https://t.co/xr6HFcjk7x pic.twitter.com/xkhiTj5VcO
Martinez goes for familiarity with pitching coach Hickey - (MASN)
"Sure enough, Martinez’s first hire of the offseason is someone he already knows very well: Jim Hickey."
Hickey excited for opportunity with Nationals - (MLB.com)
"New additions to the Nationals' coaching staff for the 2021 season began to take shape when the team announced the hiring of pitching coach Jim Hickey on Monday."
New #Nats' pitching coach Jim Hickey on how excited he is to have new job with the #Nationals, a new group of pitchers to work with, and to be back in a major league coaching role: pic.twitter.com/NktCD6etRL
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) October 19, 2020
Other Nats Stories:
Was Hudson's rough 2020 a fluke or cause for concern? - (MASN)
"For a while last winter, it didn’t appear the Nationals were going to bring back Hudson."
Nats GM for a day: Time to think big in free agency, save money elsewhere - (NBC Sports Washington)
"The Nationals are going to have to find ways to save money in building their roster around a very expensive starting rotation, and here's one place they could manage costs."
“He is easy to talk to,” long-time Rays’ radio voice Andy Freed told me today of Jim Hickey, the new #Nats’ pitching coach. “He has that quality I love: he is not defensive at all. You can ask anything about anyone and he will give you a good answer.”#Nats@federalbaseball
— David Driver (@DaytonVaDriver) October 19, 2020
NL EAST UPDATES:
Big-spending Phillies could learn from consistent Cards - (stltoday.com)
"The Phillies missed the postseason the last two years. They have not posted a winning record or reached the playoffs since 2011 despite playing in a large market."
Stage is set for Marlins' Derek Jeter to raid Yankees for Tim Naehring - (nj.com)
"Jeter, the Miami Marlins CEO, needs a new president of baseball operations after announcing Sunday that Michael Hill won’t be returning to South Beach."
Luis Rojas as Mets manager: The case for and the case against retaining him – (The Athletic)
"With the World Series set, we’re moving closer to the point of the Mets’ offseason where, you know, something may happen."
The Atlanta Sports Pain Register: Where does the 2020 NLCS rank? - (Yahoo!Sports)
"Sunday night brought us a new chapter in the Encyclopedia of Atlanta Misery."