In 1995, Adair joined the Tigers organization, and after a couple of years in the minor league system was the pitching coach for the Tigers from 1997 to 1999, working with Buddy Bell and Lance Parrish. From 2000 to 2003, Adair worked as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Braves. Adair believes in the "Mazzone way" and feels the Blue Jays are following a similar system."Leo’s probably one of the most underrated pitching coaches there is in the game," Adair says of Mazzone. "He gets a lot of publicity, because he’s had a lot of success in Atlanta, pitching-wise, but Leo has a very sound philosophy, something he believes in, something that I try to teach. It is really based on use of your fastball and command of your fastball. Command the down-and-away strike, and using your changeup to complement it. Leo's system is very good. Obviously he’s had a lot of talent to work with, but the Atlanta program is one of the outstanding ones, as good as there is in baseball".
One feature of the Braves system is getting the pitchers to throw more than other teams do. Adair notes Braves pitchers throw just about every day, on flat ground or on the mound, and Adair has implemented the same system at New Hampshire to try to get guys on the mound as much as possible. Adair believes that if the pitchers can maintain their feel, when they go into a game they feel comfortable with what they’re doing. If they can repeat that enough and they go about it the right way, they are going to have success.
Dane Johnson is the Jays minor league roving pitching instructor. Johnson was signed by Tim Wilken back in 1984 and appeared in ten games for the Jays in 1996. Johnson and Dale Scott, the Blue Jays Farm Director, are responsible for the Jays minor league pitching system. Adair endorses the Jays system.
"I think the Blue Jays have pretty much the same philosophy (as the Braves). It may be a little bit different in some areas, but it’s basically the same philosophy in all of baseball. We have a some freedom to do what we want to do, within the guidelines of our program. The program here is very solid, very sound, and with the talent we have, we’re going to be fine".
Each night, Adair and Mike Basso prepare reports that inform Scott and Johnson about everything that happens in the games, the players pre-game preparation, and any changes that were made.
Adair gushes when talking about Brandon League.
"He’s been outstanding. Everybody knows that Brandon has a tremendous fastball; he’s in the 94 to 98 range. He’s getting command of that fastball — he throws a two-seamer and a four-seamer, with good movement on his two-seamer. His slider’s come a long way, and he’s got a tremendous changeup that he hasn’t used that much yet. His times to the plate and his game awareness are improving, so there’s a lot of things that Brandon League does well, and if he continues on this pace, he’s got a chance to be a very successful major league pitcher in a short period of time".
Adair also addressed what League had to do differently now that he is in the bullpen.
"When Brandon was starting, he was using three or four pitches, and you still want to develop those pitches, but right now, he’s basically a two-pitch pitcher, and hopefully we’ll continue to develop that changeup as a third pitch. In the big leagues, I don’t care how hard you throw, you have to have at least one off-speed pitch to be successful, and hopefully two, to get lefthanders out".
In the game the night before, League had put two men on with no one out. He battled back to escape without conceding a run. In the game, League dropped his arm angle on a few pitches, a point that Adair noted.
"He got real low a couple of times last night with his delivery, and that’s something we’re really focusing on — making sure he stays in the three-quarter arm slot. He was in a tough situation last night, after the broken-bat double and the fielder’s choice, and with first-and-third, nobody out he did just a tremendous job. When you see that kind of stuff along with that kind of focus and that kind of concentration — the kid does not get rattled — those are the signs you’re looking for that make you feel good about his chances".
Adam Peterson had struggled the night before our interview. Adair felt it was another learning point:
"Last night was the first time that he has not pitched in a save situation; he came in when we were down 2-0 because he hadn’t pitched for three days and we needed to make sure he got into the game. His intensity level wasn’t quite what it should be, for whatever reason, and he’s more effective the more often he pitches. He was between 90 and 94 last night, averaged 92, and there have been a lot of games when he’s been more 94 to 96. That’s what we’re talking about — last night, he just didn’t have the same intensity he normally has, and that translated to his speed".
Adair believes Peterson will help the big club soon.
"Adam throws fastball, slider, changeup, in that order. He’s another guy who’s come a long way in his command of that fastball; you may not have seen it last night, but he’ll continue to improve, and he’s got a very good chance of helping the major league club".
Adair also gets to work with Dustin McGowan, who, he says, "is coming along; he had a rough outing last time, struggled a little bit with his command, but his first two outings were outstanding. He’s a four-pitch pitcher with a real high ceiling — it’s limitless what this guy could do. He’s making a lot of progress, he’s a great young man; we expect big things from him".
In addition to working with the top prospects, Adair is trying to get other guys back to top prospect status. Adair is working with Cam Reimers to change his delivery.
"Cam is going through a major delivery change, in terms of lengthening his stride, trying to get more power from a taller position, working downhill more. He’s been going through this for the last three or four weeks, since spring training, and he still doesn’t quite have it — he kind of goes in and out of it, so we’ll probably see some inconsistency from him, maybe for the next month. He’s made a real strong effort to try and improve his delivery, to get better angles and more leverage out of what he does. He’s a guy 6’4” or 6’5” who has a tendency to pitch like a guy who’s 5’11” so that’s what we’ll be working on".
Adair has also been impressed by Kevin Frederick. "When you look at his age, what he’s done in the past, his stuff, and what he’s been doing for the last month, to me this guy is very close to being a major league pitcher. His command’s gotten better, he’s a three-pitch pitcher, his intensity is there every day, he’s gotten better at holding runners, his delivery’s improved, and I think he’s ready to help the major league club".
In spring training Adair saw a little of David Bush, Francisco Rosario and Josh Banks. He liked what he saw, but notes you can never have too much pitching. In his first year with the Jays system, Adair has been impressed with the arms in the system and the organizational people. He is confident the Jays are headed for better times.