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Brent Strom, a coaching fixture of the Astros’ golden era, is back as a pitching consultant to help a Houston staff that’s struggled for much of this season.<\/p>\n
Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle \/ Staff photographer<\/p>\n
NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014 Bringing Brent Strom back<\/a> into a baseball role did not require a hard sell.<\/p>\n \u201cI know one thing,\u201d a smiling Strom said at Citi Field on Saturday. \u201cThis retirement job is the worst job I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n About 48 hours earlier, Strom said, his phone had rung. It was Jeff Bagwell, the Houston Astros<\/a>\u2019 senior advisor and one of several executives handling baseball operations after the team parted with general manager Dana Brown<\/a> this week. Bagwell asked if Strom, the 77-year-old longtime pitching coach, would be interested in rejoining the Astros as a pitching consultant for the rest of this season.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI looked at my wife, she said, \u2018Do it,\u2019 and that was the answer right there,\u201d Strom said.<\/p>\n So after joining the Astros in New York on Friday, watching their series opener<\/a> on TV in the clubhouse at Citi Field, Strom was on the field Saturday afternoon in Houston\u00a0gear again, observing pitchers he will work with for the next month-plus. Manager Joe Espada described Strom as a \u201cfresh set of eyes,\u201d who will complement pitching coach Josh Miller and assistant Ethan Katz down the stretch.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just picking his brain,\u201d Espada said. \u201cHe\u2019s already working. He\u2019s already got some things that we can all discuss. And again I\u2019m just excited to have him around and his experience and I think the players will really benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n The Astros entered Saturday with a two-game lead in the American League West despite a 4.64 ERA, which ranked sixth-highest in the majors. Their starters had the majors\u2019 third-highest ERA (5.11) and eighth-fewest innings pitched. They began play Saturday with 27 games left in their regular season.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI just want people to realize this is not a nostalgia tour for me at all,\u201d Strom said. \u201cI\u2019m here to help Josh and Ethan as much as I can, just a different set of eyes and ears, and if I can help in a little bit of a way to help this team get in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n The window for that is short. Strom said upon accepting his role, he went online and did \u201ca deep dive as quickly as I could\u201d on some of the Astros\u2019 pitching metrics.<\/p>\n First-pitch strike percentage stood out as \u201ca concern,\u201d Strom said. The Astros entered Saturday with the majors\u2019 seventh-lowest first-pitch strike rate. They were also tied with the Angels for the sport\u2019s highest walk rate. Strom added that \u201cpossibly there\u2019s some things on pitch sequencing\u201d that could be altered to \u201cjust kind of change the look that we\u2019re giving opposing teams.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve been so successful as a pitching staff in the past doing certain things, perhaps the league may have caught up with what our (trends) are,\u201d Strom said. \u201cAnd maybe if we can alter that a little bit, we\u2019ll have a little more success.\u201d<\/p>\n Strom served as the Astros\u2019 pitching coach from 2014-21, a stretch in which the team reached three World Series and produced two Cy Young winners. Their staff ranked second in baseball in ERA from 2015-21. Strom\u2019s departure after the 2021 season<\/a> left Miller and Bill Murphy, now the head pitching coach in Pittsburgh<\/a>, leading the staff in Houston.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n