Interviews Rumors

Fred Claire Q&A

Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire was kind enough to answer questions for MLBTR readers. Fred enjoyed this; we'll have to do this again in the future. He wrote a book four years ago; my copy just arrived in the mail. Here we go with the Q&A... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLBTR: What is the best way for a college student to break into a MLB front office, in any baseball operations capacity? Claire: This is one of the most common questions that comes my way and one of the most difficult to answer for a very basic reason—there are so many young people...   Continue Reading

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Brian Bannister Q&A, Part 3

Royals starter Brian Bannister recently answered some questions for MLBTR readers. This post concludes the series; also check out Part 1 and Part 2 Q&A. Brian clearly took extra time out to answer thoughtfully, and we thank him for it. MLBTR: Since you originally went to college as a position player, how do you use your experience in the batter's box and in the field to your advantage when you're pitching? Playing in the AL, do you miss hitting? Bannister: I think it is as important to know how a hitter thinks and operates as it is to be able...   Continue Reading

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Brian Bannister Q&A, Part 2

Royals starter Brian Bannister was kind enough to answer questions for MLBTR readers. Check out Part 1 and Part 3 of the Q&A, also. MLBTR: What's the most misunderstood aspect of succeeding in baseball by typical fans, sportswriters, and announcers? Bannister: There are two things that make baseball unique from other sports. One, baseball is a game of skill that is accentuated by the physical tools of the person performing those skills. Most people superficially judge a position player solely on size, strength, and speed, when his eyesight, balance, rhythm, hand-eye coordination, and mental makeup are much more influential factors...   Continue Reading

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Brian Bannister Q&A, Part 1

We've done some Q&As with players before - Curtis Granderson, Jason Hirsh, and Michael Barrett. This time, for our Brian Bannister Q&A, we had readers submit the questions. Brian really went the extra mile to accomodate, providing thoughtful and elaborate answers. Great stuff - many thanks to him for participating. We'll break this up into several parts. (UPDATE: Read Part 2 and Part 3). MLBTR: What was your initial reaction when you heard that the Mets had traded you to the Royals? Where were you when it happened, and who told you? Bannister: As baseball players, all we want is...   Continue Reading

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Keith Law Q&A

I realized recently that I don't know a lot about how trades and discussions between GMs actually go down. Fortunately, ESPN's Keith Law was able to fill in the gaps for me in our Q&A below. Keith was formerly the assistant GM in Toronto under J.P. Ricciardi. What steps does a team take to ensure that trade discussions don't leak out to the media or to other teams? You limit the number of people who are know the details of the discussions. There's not much more you can do, and you're always trusting the other side to keep offers and..   Continue Reading

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Mike Plugh On Koji Uehara: Part 2

Have you heard about 32 year-old righthanded starter Koji Uehara? He's a free agent likely to come over from Japan to MLB this winter (no posting fee). I wanted to learn more about him, so I consulted the authority on such matters: Mike Plugh. Mike runs the Uehara Watch blog. He also has Matsuzaka Watch and writes for Baseball Prospectus. You can read Part 1 of our Q&A here; a few additional questions are below. Do you know of any specific teams that are expected to pursue Uehara? I've read that the Angels like him. I think the Angels are..   Continue Reading

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Mike Plugh On Koji Uehara: Part 1

Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome is going to be a big deal this winter. He's the next big thing from Japan, and you can scroll through multiple posts on him here. But there's another name surfacing on the radar: 32 year-old righthanded starter Koji Uehara. He's a free agent likely to come over to MLB this winter (no posting fee). I wanted to learn more about him, so I consulted the authority on such matters: Mike Plugh. Mike runs the Uehara Watch blog. He also has Matsuzaka Watch and writes for Baseball Prospectus. Our Uehara Q&A ran long so I'm breaking..   Continue Reading

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Curtis Granderson Interview

Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson was kind enough to answer a few questions for MLBTradeRumors.com. He seems like a smart guy; I was impressed by the content and honesty of his answers. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him in a Cubs uniform ten years from now. Curtis writes an MLBlog and has a MySpace page as well. On to the Q&A: When did you first realize that you might one day play in the Major Leagues? Honestly the first time was when I got called up in 2004 after our final game in AA Erie. Up until that point, I..   Continue Reading

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Jason Hirsh Interview

Rockies starter Jason Hirsh was recently ranked the 42nd best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Recently, he was kind enough to answer some questions for MLBTradeRumors.com via email. Jason and his brother Matt maintain a website called Brothers In Arms; check it out. It appears that you were nearly traded to the White Sox in early December for Jon Garland. Did that possibility take you by surprise? What are your feelings on the city of Chicago? I had heard about the ChiSox rumor and then it was finally in USA today and I really didn't think anything of it...   Continue Reading

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Michael Barrett Interview

Yesterday, Cubs catcher Michael Barrett kindly answered some questions for MLBTradeRumors.com. Michael has a new website up called Barrett Baseball; check it out. What's it like working with Lou Piniella? Any major differences compared to years past? Lou is a professional. He expects a lot of stuff from everyone and that's a good thing. It's too early to talk about the differences between this year and last year, but everyone is really excited for the year to begin. What do you see as the Cubs' biggest obstacle in making the playoffs this year? Staying healthy. Do you have any preference..   Continue Reading

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Troy Renck Interview Part 2

Troy Renck is the Rockies/MLB beat reporter for the Denver Post. You see his name here often with exclusive rumors and info from his columns for that paper. Troy was kind enough to answer a bunch of my Rockies-related questions for MLBTradeRumors. Below is the second half of the interview; you can read the first half here. Which pitcher is more likely to be traded this spring, Josh Fogg or Byung-Hyun Kim? This will play out slowly, not unlike how the Rockies originally ended up with Kim two years ago just as camp broke. Kim is cheaper and his funky..   Continue Reading

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Troy Renck Interview Part 2

Troy Renck is the Rockies/MLB beat reporter for the Denver Post. You see his name here often with exclusive rumors and info from his columns for that paper. Troy was kind enough to answer a bunch of my Rockies-related questions for MLBTradeRumors. Below is the second half of the interview; you can read the first half here. Which pitcher is more likely to be traded this spring, Josh Fogg or Byung-Hyun Kim? This will play out slowly, not unlike how the Rockies originally ended up with Kim two years ago just as camp broke. Kim is cheaper and his funky..   Continue Reading

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Troy Renck Interview Part 1

Troy Renck is the Rockies/MLB beat reporter for the Denver Post. You see his name here often with exclusive rumors and info from his columns for that paper. Troy was kind enough to answer a bunch of my Rockies-related questions for MLBTradeRumors. Below is the first half of the interview. Will the Rockies be able to rekindle Todd Helton trade talks with Boston, Baltimore, or another team year? Do you take Todd at his word that he'd veto any deal at this point? Troy: It's possible they could revisit talks, specifically with Boston. But Helton's promise not to accept a..   Continue Reading

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Troy Renck Interview Part 1

Troy Renck is the Rockies/MLB beat reporter for the Denver Post. You see his name here often with exclusive rumors and info from his columns for that paper. Troy was kind enough to answer a bunch of my Rockies-related questions for MLBTradeRumors. Below is the first half of the interview. Will the Rockies be able to rekindle Todd Helton trade talks with Boston, Baltimore, or another team year? Do you take Todd at his word that he'd veto any deal at this point? Troy: It's possible they could revisit talks, specifically with Boston. But Helton's promise not to accept a..   Continue Reading

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Interview: Bob Bavasi of JapanBall.com

Recently Bob Bavasi, owner of the fine website JapanBall.com, was kind enough to answer some questions for MLBTradeRumors.com. Bob tells me that he recently got back from his JapanBall.com baseball tour, where he encountered a variety of scouts, writers, and team personnel. His answers are in bold. What kind of posting fee do you see for Matsuzaka? Ichiro cost $13MM; could Matsuzaka require $20MM? Still one year away from Japanese free agency, RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, 26, of the Seibu Lions (just outside of Tokyo), is considered the hottest prospect by the MLB scouts. The Lions will allow Matsuzaka to post,..   Continue Reading

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Interview With John Hickey

John Hickey covers the Mariners for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, writing frequent columns and even manning a blog. John was kind of enough to provide insight into all sorts of Mariners questions. MLBTradeRumors: What's your take on the extra day off for Kenji Johjima? Was Hargrove sending any kind of message or was there a miscommunication? John Hickey: It's an odd thing, really. Historically, when Hargrove gets a backup player into the lineup, he likes to get him two games in a row. (Willie Bloomquist gets two as often as not). So there is the thought that he was just being..   Continue Reading

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Will Carroll Interview

Will Carroll's report about possible shoulder problems for Mark Prior raised quite a hubbub around the Chicago area, perhaps approaching the level of a ruckus at one point. Will was kind enough to answer every question I could think of on the topic. MLBTradeRumors: Why isn't Prior on the same course as the Cubs' healthy pitchers? Can a December illness really set a pitcher back like this? Will Carroll: Good question and one I don't have a good answer to. Prior almost certainly was sick and almost certainly had some effect. We don't know how serious - ER sick is..   Continue Reading

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Will Carroll Interview Part 2

Yesterday's Part 1 of my Will Carroll interview is available here. Here's the rest. MLBTradeRumors: Would you agree with Buster Olney that the Mets are the most likely destination for Sammy Sosa? The Pirates are out of it now, so there aren't many vacancies. Will Carroll: If you can get him for nothing plus incentives, why not? I think the Mets would be a nice fit, but that team is trying to win, not get fans in there. I'd think a team that looks like a 500 team in a weak division could take the gamble. San Francisco? MLB: What..   Continue Reading

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Will Carroll Interview

Today I was privileged to have a chance to interview Baseball Prospectus's injury analyst, Will Carroll. In addition to the injuries, Will does a Rumor Mill column a couple of times a year and always has some good info. In case you're interested, I interviewed Will back in August about all sorts of pitching topics. Anyway, his answers to my questions are in bold below. This is Part 1 of the interview; I'll post the rest tomorrow. MLBTradeRumors: Does Kevin Brown have anything left? Any teams that might take a chance on him, given that he was solid in 2004?..   Continue Reading

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