Former Kernels pitching coach Lucas returns with opposing team

CEDAR RAPIDS – Gary Lucas technically stayed unemployed for a mere matter of hours.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching coach was stunned last fall when Minnesota Twins farm director Brad Steil informed him his contract would not be renewed. He'd been a part of the organization for 15 years, including a stint in Cedar Rapids in 2013, was held in high regard and was coming off a 2014 season in which his Fort Myers team won the Florida State League championship.

One of his pupils there was Jose Berrios, who emerged as one of the minor leagues' top pitching prospects.

'It just caught me by surprise. I was really in shock at first because I didn't see it coming,” Lucas said Thursday afternoon, before his team's 6-5 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Memorial Stadium. 'I respect Brad and all those guys over there. They wanted to go a different direction. They didn't give me a complete answer. It might have been age, it might have been philosophy, whatever.

'Anyway, they gave me some great opportunities for 15 years. There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel a certain amount of gratitude for all they did for me. They helped develop me as a coach, and I wouldn't be where I am today without all those years.”

That's a typically gracious response from Lucas, one of the good guys in the game.

The 60-year-old got a phone call from the Milwaukee Brewers the very same night Steil gave him his bad news, offering him a job on the spot. After sifting through some other offers, he decided that's where he'd go.

Appleton, Wis., home of the Timber Rattlers, is about three hours from Lucas' home in Rice Lake, Wis. He has a daughter, son in law and grandchildren in Milwaukee.

It has been a perfect fit.

'It was slow (at first), in terms of everything being new,” Lucas said. 'Going out to Arizona for spring training, I hadn't been out there for years. But the whole Brewer organization has made it easy. They gave me a lot of information, a lot of mentors that have been with the organization for awhile. Guys who have been pitching coaches in the organization, guys I knew.

'The whole experience has gotten easier and easier each day moving forward. Some great people to work with. They have made me feel welcome.”

Wisconsin (31-66) has the MWL's worst overall record, but Lucas has been in charge of some top pitching prospects, including Devin Williams, who pitched Thursday night. He said the Brewers and Twins have similar player philosophies for the most part.

'I think so,” he said. 'Big emphasis on player development, big emphasis on watching the pitch counts and the innings for all these young pitchers. It's certainly no different over there (with the Kernels). They have six-man rotations, I think, and we have a tandem, piggyback situation. That's a little different. But the bottom line is we're trying to protect these guys and watch their workload. I think the people here who are in charge of player development and the pitching are on top of things. I've been pretty impressed with how they handle it.”

The Kernels (57-41, 16-12) swept the three-game series by rallying for a pair of runs in the fifth inning and a winning one in the seventh. They scored when Pat Kelly was grazed by a Williams pitch with the bases loaded.

Brian Navarreto had three hits for Cedar Rapids, with Tanner English adding a home run for the third time in four games. Michael Theofanopoulos (4-2) picked up the pitching win with 3 1/3 hitless, scoreless relief innings.

The Kernels host Beloit for three games, beginning Friday night at 6:35.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com