Theoretically Speaking
Theo on AM 1510 The Zone with The
Diehards (Ryen Rusillo, Anthony Pepe, Mike Wynn) 8.1.03:
- You had to have noticed the barrage of media attention, last night
on Outside the Lines, all the New York papers, articles all over the
country if you go on sports pages, is it hard to keep yourself in
perspective a little bit with everything and all the attention you
have gotten?
TE: Not really, I think too much is being made of it. We haven't
done anything yet at all. We made a few deals, we put ourselves in a
position to have a good final third of the season and hopefully a
good postseason. But we haven't done anything yet and often times
the deals at the time they're made are met with a lot of praise and
enthusiasm are the ones that don't work out. And the ones that go
under the radar screen that might not be met with any attention at
the time turn out to be the best deals so we haven't done anything
yet, it's a bit of a gameplan and executed it pretty well but a lot
of teams in baseball did that. We just want to focus on having a
last two good months of the season and getting into October.
- Now some of the trades that were rumored to happen, one was that
you possibly had thrown some players back and forth to get Javier
Vazquez from Montreal back down here. Is it safe to say that the
Suppan deal was something you knew you could do and were waiting to
see if you could find out if you could do something else knowing
that that was always a possibility?
TE: No, not at all. It actually didn't come together until 10:30 or
11:00 yesterday morning. Once we had that in hand, we had to execute
it because Suppan would have been going somewhere else so we did
that trade. Then once we had that in hand we looked to see if there
was anything else we could do... a way to make a complimentary trade
but we didn't have that one until five hours before the deadline.
- Take us through the process of your calling other General
Managers. Do you call other GMs and leave a message saying 'hey,
we're interested in this player'...
TE: You develop relationships, you say call me back, there are a lot
of different approaches. What we try to do here is put ourselves in
the position of the other General Manager. The deals that often
times come together and are actually executed are the deals that
make sense for both sides. We obviously know what we need and we're
trying to do, what salary restrictions we have and where our
resources are. The key is to focus on what the other team's
perspective is so say you're calling a Dave Littlefield you might
want to do a really good job in assessing their payroll not only
this year but next year and the following year. Assess their minor
league system, what are their strenghts and weaknesses. What are
they trying to do with their big league team. We've been reading the
papers in Pittsburgh the last week to trying to figure out what
short term interest they might have and what kind of public
pressures they might be under. You try to put yourself in a position
where you can understand the other team's position, not to exploit
it but to give them something they can actually use and often times
there is a deal available that helps both sides. That's what we try
to do so when you call the other GM you just try to engage him in
conversation and I like a lot of those guys and it always helps if
they like you, so you make the requesite small talk and then get
down to seeing if there's a way to fit both sides interest.
- A lot of people have been making a big deal about the relationship
and the trades with Pittsburgh, George Steinbrenner is coming out
and saying that they're gonna have the league look into it and all
that stuff, how do you feel about that?
TE: Nah, it was not easy at all for us to get a deal with Dave
Littlefield, he has a certain style too that is very effective for
him. He targets one or two guys that he really likes and he kind of
has tunnel vision, he doesn't lose focus on those players. For us,
all along, the only players he really liked, the only players he
really wanted were Brandon Lyon and Freddy Sanchez and that was the
case the last month and I assume when he was talking with the
Yankees probably the players that he liked and the players he locked
in on were Brandon Claussen and Nick Johnson. So it's tough for
those guys to move their players, it's tough for us to move Lyon and
Freddy Sanchez but I can guarantee you there is absolutely no
favoritism shown to us. I hate to think of how many trades we would
have made with them if it were, he was tough on us, he did a good
job representing the interest of the Pirates and that's why it took
so long to get these deals done.
- With the next couple of days and your schedule being limited is it
safe to say that you'll be going to the Colonial Theatre and see
'Damn Yankees?'
TE: (Ha,ha) I don't think so.
- OK, you are aware that it is playing this weekend right?
TE: Ahh, I've been made aware of that fact, yes.
- Now with the way the pitching rotation and the bullpen lines up
there's going to be either, you've had 12 most of the season, you
mentioned you might want to go to 11, but you're looking at maybe
Fossum, Mendoza, and Lyon when he comes back, kind of battling for
one spot, any idea how that might play out?
TE: Well it's not that big a deal as we're only one month away from
rosters expanding so, we have one little tricky situation coming up
when Fossum is going to start that second game of the doubleheader
on August 8th but there's a long time between now and August 8th and
we might have some roster juggling to do but beyond that, right
about the time Lyon will be ready to come back will be right about
the time rosters expand so we shouldn't have a problem managing
that.
- With the disappointment in this series losing two out of three to
Texas, I know it's just one series, but do you feel that frustration
after you made all these great moves and there's this buzz and just
an energy that this town hasn't felt in a while especially this late
in the season, and then you lose a game like last night, do you feel
the frustration?
TE: Yeah of course, and you feel it and it hurts, but you move on,
it's baseball you cannot go day to day in this sport. You simply
can't. And you also can't necessarily dictate your emotions and it's
gonna hurt no matter what after every loss, especially a tough loss
like last night, especially two in a row, especially losing the
series to a last place ballclub. I laugh, I mean the fans in this
town, the media, you should see the emails I get after every loss,
people are just up in arms (- do you actually read them all?). I
don't read them all, I read some of them, there are a couple that
are hilarious (editor: thank you)... (- can you give us one?) No I
don't want to read them... (- how many do you get?). I probably get
about a dozen a day from fans who somehow found my email address but
it's unbelievable (- sorry about that) It's amazing though, we could
have had a great week, won five in a row, then you lose one game and
it's like the sky is falling. In football you're a little more
justified, you lose one game in football it's like a 10 game losing
streak in baseball, 16 games vs. 162 games, so you just cannot get
that tied up in the day in and day out... we all do and that's why
it's such a great sport and that's why the Red Sox are such a great
franchise but from my perspective, I can't get that caught up in the
day in, day out.
- Celebrity boxing, you and Brian Cashman?
TE: I don't think that would work, Cash and I are actually pretty
good friends, this rivalry that is portrayed on the front page of
the sports secton today and all over the place exists because both
franchises are trying to win the AL East but he's a great guy and we
have great conversations. I don't wish any ill will on him at all,
he's doing a fine job over there.
- Game 7 of the World Series, you win, where do you go, The Baseball
Tavern, Who's On First, whaddya got?
TE: Oooh, I don't even want to allow myself think about that. I
think we have plenty of options that night.
- Tough to follow those two questions. As you look at this team
being put together, you said Kim will be the closer, Williamson will
set up, Suppan will pop in there, Mendoza will be your long guy, how
much of that is your decision, and how much of that is Grady coming
to you, is it a collective effort, who has the upper hand how the
players you added dictate their use?
TE: It's Grady's decision, he's in charge of how these players are
used but the great thing about our relationship is that we do just
about everything together, I never make a trade without running it
by him first and getting his input. I won't always follow what he
wants to do exactly to a T, but I do want his input, it's valuable,
and he's a really insightful baseball guy and then he solicits my
input too, and that's the way to work things because you're always
going to get better results when you acquire players for a certain
reason and they're used the right way.
- Do you think you have an advantage over other front offices
because of the team, it was kind of deemed The Dream Team before the
season started, but you have such a collection of baseball minds
that you work together with, do you think that it's a huge advantage
over other teams that have sort of been a dictatorship in terms of
having one man in charge?
TE: I don't think other front offices are dictatorships, there's a
great collection of perspectives and great baseball minds all around
the game, I just know I'm very happy with the braintrust that we've
assembled here, it's very balanced, just walking through the office
I can get an expert in any one field related to baseball depending
what office I walk into, I can pick up the phone and talk to some of
the greatest scouts in the game we're lucky enough to have working
for us so I couldn't be happier with what we have here.
- Theo how close were you guys to trading Trot Nixon for Freddy
Garcia?
TE: Not close at all, Trot's a key part of what we have going on
here. He was not involved in the Freddy Garcia talks at all.
- Were there any kind of big names that might have fallen through
the cracks, something that you can give us that it was close to
happening around here besides Freddy Garcia?
TE: I don't want to use names but we were close... we were
relatively close to one of the best pitchers in baseball but he
ended up not getting moved and we went after very aggressively... I
feel we have one of the best offenses in baseball, I feel we have
one of the best bullpens in baseball, getting this pitcher would
have given us one of the best rotations in baseball too, and to me
would have made us, you can't say it, but a strong, strong contender
for the World Series but this player didn't get moved. We did
everything under the sun to get him, we couldn't get him.
- When you look at the team, you have to get a little excited, with
the bullpen in place, can you now sit back, do you feel confident
enough that this is a team that you expect to be in the playoffs?
Would you be surprised if this team wasn't in the playoffs?
TE: No, there's such great competition in the American League. Maybe
if we were in the other league, or in the AL Central I'd say 'yeah,
definitely, absolutely confident we'll be there' but there are four
great teams going for three spots and we need to beat out one of
those outstanding clubs. You never know in this game, I know this,
that we have a lot of faith in the 25 guys in the clubhouse, and
Grady Little and the coaching staff, we feel like this is the best
club we've put on the field all year, and we've had good results so
far, it should only get better, but as soon as you think you've got
it figured out in this game something goes exactly opposite of the
way you have it planned so we're in a good position, it's time to go
out and execute.
- Do you think you'll be active in the waiver deadline at the end of
August?
TE: Maybe. You never know, depends what's out there, depends on how
our players perform, if our players stay healthy over the next
month. I wouldn't be surprised if we did a little something, but
then again, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't.
Walker Out
at Second.
"Todd's done a terrific job offensively this year, he's a free agent
at the end of the season... if there's a way to keep that bat in
your lineup, we'd love to do it..."
Kim
Better Close.
"He's only 24 years old, he's not used to throwing 180 innings, and
you want to try to avoid big inning spikes on a young pitcher's arm
so if he were to move back into a closer's role, it would probably
help his career anyway. If that's something that we don't do, we
might have him miss a turn or two on purpose just to watch the
innings on his arm. I think at this point in his career, he's more
effective as a closer, down the line he'll be equally effective as a
starter."
6.26.03:
Theo obviously disappointed at TW's defense but pleased with his
offense. Transcript of conversation with WEEI's
Dennis and Callahan:
On Sitting Behind the Plate: "The reason I look so stern is
I'm trying not to react... I don't like it when people get on the
phone behind home plate, it's not the right thing to do at a
ballgame but I'll only take really important calls during the game.
I was trying to get my seats moved back a little bit so I don't...
the whole point is not to be on TV, the whole point is to sit down
where you can evaluate the pitcher's stuff, location, and movement.
And if you watch the whole game behind home plate, you get to know
the whole league pretty quickly. You have to concentrate not on
reacting to umpires calls and trying not to react when things don't
go your way, or poor performances, because it's not appropriate to
show your emotion down there. But I'll try to blink Gerry. On
watching a Colon or Gordon for example: It's just like getting
another scouting report from the Major League Scouts that sit up
there, much better than watching it on TV, If you can put it
together with information from your other scouts, there's nothing
like seeing it for yourself, and it certainly helps to get a better
feel. Gordon threw really well, he didn't have the same curveball
that he had here, he's throwing more of a slider but his fastball is
pretty explosive. He was throwing free and easy. And Colon I thought
threw well given the fact that there was something clearly bothering
him, it looked like he didn't have feeling in his fingers which is
odd."
Players on Radar Screen: "We're in on a lot of guys, we're
talking to 12 or 15 teams, right now, at this time of year it's a
bit of a sellers market. Teams have really high demands, are asking
for a number of prospects, it's just not the right time to do
anything right now but that doesn't mean you don't stay involved
'cause it can change in an instant and you want to be there for the
right opportunity. That's why we made the trade at the end of May
when we did, because of timing, and the needs of a certain club, and
different things that created a dynamic that was in favor for us so
we went ahead and moved quickly because during the month of June
it's often times a sellers market, but when you get closer and
closer to the trade deadline it becomes a buyer's market."
All Set with Bullpen? "Not really. They've thrown really well
but we're trying to build a championship caliber bullpen that can
succeed in October, not just in June, I think we need to get a
little bit deeper with our pitching staff. Again whether it's a
starter, or a reliever, doesn't really matter to us, we want the
best available pitcher and BK Kim gives us the flexibility to go get
either one.
BK Kim: "Moving
from the rotation to the bullpen at some point during the season
wouldn't be the worse thing in the world for Kim. He's only 24 years
old, he's not used to throwing 180 innings, and you want to try to
avoid big inning spikes on a young pitcher's arm so if he were to
move back into a closer's role, it would probably help his career
anyway. If that's something that we don't do, we might have him miss
a turn or two on purpose just to watch the innings on his arm. I
think at this point in his career, he's more effective as a closer,
down the line he'll be equally effective as a starter. I talked to
him about this, as a closer, he tries to strike out every hitter and
usually succeeds. His fastball is more overpowering as a closer, he
throws 90-94, and he scraps the changeup and just goes with the
rising slider which is also a little sharper and has more velocity
as a closer. As a starter, he's starting to learn how to pitch for
contact a little bit where he really tries to sink the ball, he
throws more 86-88 with his fastball, he's throw the changeup a lot
to lefthanded hitters, and he pitches to try to get an out with the
first three pitches he tries to throw with a hitter, try to get a
ground ball, and that's a tough thing to do and you have to learn
how to do it. And that's what he's doing right now. So I think he
will be really effective as a starter but right now he'll probably
be more effective as a closer.
Lyon as Starter: "He certainly can start, and that's
something that we're strongly considering for next year."
"Jeremy Giami is a very good hitter having a bad year. I
don't that's going to last if he has the opportunity to play but
sometimes you don't have that luxury. I'm not making lineup
decisions, that's Grady's job but the point is that Ortiz was
struggling before he got the opportunity too. Certain times players
on a very deep team don't get that opportunity, they get that
opportunity later on if there's an injury, we sure hope there's not,
but if there is that's the time when you can get consistent at bats
and turn things around. It's tough, he's
really struggling and it's affecting him mentally, you saw with
Grady getting him in the lineup every day, that's something a player
needs to feel like like he's part of the team, to feel like he has
an opportunity to turn this thing around. You might have to take
a small bit of short term pain for longer term gain, because when
that opportunity does come, heck, it could be in October where you
need this guy to play everyday, and the type of faith that Grady
showed the last few days will pay off in the long term. Even if it
means that Ortiz is out of the lineup for a couple of days."
Grady's Pen Moves: Putting in Seanez the other night made
no sense, does it frustrate you as much as it does some of us do
watching those moves?: "I take notes then I talk about
things with Grady usually the next day. I try not to do it the same
day, especially after a loss because there's too much emotion
involved. A manager makes hundreds of decisions during the course of
a game. Often times there are things going on with the club that
can't be made know to the public that affect decisions, a certain
pitcher too sore to pitch on a given day, things happen, but
managers have a very, very difficult job and I'll just say it's much
easier sitting in your easy chair, sitting in the stands, than it is
in the dugout but no I don't divorce myself from those decisions
that go on during the course of the game and I think talking about
things with the manager is helpful in the long run for everybody.
Mendoza's Hellenic Flu: "No his knee was bothering him
so he did need to go on the DL because of the knee but it did come
at an opportune time because he does need to work on his confidence.
A chicken and egg type of thing. Does a flat sinker lead to a lack of confidence? Or
does a lack of confidence lead to the flat sinker? Probably a little
bit of both, and we need to figure out both. Scouting reports from
our staff down there, the Gulf Coast League is 18-19 year olds, that
was just to get him some work off the mound, see how the knee feels.
It's going to be a process making sure the knee is 100%. Hopefully
by the time it is the other issues are as well."
On Trade Rumors: "This off-season we were a little too open,
I think I can be critical of myself and our staff for that. I think
we played our cards not close enough to the vest, I think it came to
bite us on a number of occasions. We have really changed that. I've
taken some steps to tighten up the circle of information and make
sure less leaks out (damn) and I think that will be helpful. A lot
of what you see out there now is inaccurate..."
Up on the Farm: "The top tier of our farm system is actually
pretty good. I do have to admit that our farm system is not where it
needs to be right now. There are about six guys that qualify that we
really like, not going to mention any names. But to trade one of
those guys we would have to get a slam dunk, guaranteed, major
factor for the team this year and there are very, very few of those,
or someone that we're going to control for a long time, like the Kim
deal."
Murphy's Law: "I'd say the expected progression is that he'll
move sometime during this season up to A-ball. He should finish next
year in AA. So you're looking at 2005 when he goes to AAA and can
make majors at the end of the season. Someone like (David) Murphy
who controls the strikezone already could be on a track similar to
what Gabe Gross was on a couple of years ago, Toronto's pick out of
Auburn. Arizona Fall League and then started at AA his next year.
With that you could be looking at a year and a half development
track but that is getting way ahead of ourselves. The jump to AA is
a huge jump and that takes certain guys two years in itself. I'd say
anywhere from a year and a half to three and a half years for
Murphy."
On HanRam Being Psychotic: "In Boston anytime a prospect goes
3-for-4 they say he's the next Ted Williams, and anytime a guy has a
minor incident on or off the field, they say he's psychotic. He's
not at all. He loves to play he's just going through some of the
things that happen during development. It's a huge adjustment for
guys coming over from the Dominican Republic to find themselves in
Augusta Georgia. And he's been through a couple of things that we
think have made him stronger. It's much overblown."
Gabe Kapler: "You think I'd get criticism for favoring
members of the Tribe on that one? He's a talented guy, he does
certain things really well. Now that he's released I guess we can
approach him. He may want to look for an opportunity where he can
play more to reestablish his career. But we do have interest in
adding a right handed bat to our lineup to compliment what we have
on our roster."
Taking on Money: "When assessing a player you're only going
to have for three months, the first calculation you do is the money
to make sure we have enough left but the cushion we built up is more
than enough for the players we're discussing. But you do have to
make that talent judgment. 'A whole career of prospect X who's in A
A, who will be here in a year and half, who you control for six
seasons. Is a whole career of that player worth a closer/starter who
you may have until 2003. If the prospect doesn't pan out it was
worth it. It usually doesn't work, you have to pick your player
carefully. And prospects are prospects for a reason, most of them
still don't work out. Knowing which ones you really want to hold
onto and which ones you will trade is very important. We have a
pretty good track record, the two prospects that we traded for Todd
Walker aren't really doing anything. It's just really important to
know your own players. Of course you have to give up something to
get something. But you want to hold onto the guys who are going to
be legitimate big leaguers."
Movin' on Walker: "We're going to access that at the
appropriate time but Todd's done a terrific job offensively this
year, he's a free agent at the end of the season, we do have a
policy of not negotiating during the season, but we'll access it at
the end of they year. If there's a way to keep that bat in your
lineup, we'd love to do it, but again, that's for another time."
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