Interviews Rumors

Justin Upton Q&A

Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton is currently not among the top 15 outfielders for the NL All-Star Game voting. This needs to change. He's putting up huge numbers as a 21 year-old - .322/.396/.592 in 197 plate appearances with 9 HR and 29 RBI (plus a grand slam tonight). Click here to vote for Upton now! You can vote up to 25 times. Once you're done with that, how about a Q&A with Upton? He was kind enough to answer questions for MLB Trade Rumors. MLB Trade Rumors: How much trash-talking goes on between you and B.J.? Who's got more...   Continue Reading

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Jayson Stark Q&A

Today we have a Q&A with ESPN's Jayson Stark. His articles can be found here, and his blog is here. You can follow Jayson on Twitter @jaysonst. MLB Trade Rumors: What do you think about Twitter? Do you find it useful? Do you think we'll see writers breaking baseball news on Twitter, given the immediacy of it? Jayson Stark: I love Twitter. I love following my favorite writers, bloggers and media heroes, and being updated all day long. But here’s the debate I have every day: My personal philosophy is that we shouldn’t be tweeting anything of significance that hasn’t...   Continue Reading

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Jerry Crasnick Q&A

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick recently answered a few questions for MLB Trade Rumors. You can read Jerry's excellent work here, and pick up his book License To Deal here. MLB Trade Rumors: What was it like covering the Marge Schott Reds for the Cincinnati Post? I read that she banned you from the press dining room for printing Tim Belcher's criticism of her dog. Jerry Crasnick: Between Marge Schott, Pete Rose, and Lou Piniella, Cincinnati was the epicenter of the baseball universe when I was there. Marge had this bizarre notion that mediocre food could be used as a weapon, so...   Continue Reading

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Troy E. Renck Q&A

Troy E. Renck covers the Rockies for the Denver Post. His All Things Rockies blog can be found here. Recently MLB Trade Rumors had the privilege of asking a few questions of the Rockies beat writer. MLB Trade Rumors: You've been working for the Denver Post since 2002. How has your job changed in the last seven years? Troy E. Renck: The immediacy of the internet has changed everything. There are times I feel like a wire service because you write a story, then produce a write-through for online and a final for print. But at The Denver Post, breaking...   Continue Reading

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Kevin Slowey Q&A

Recently MLB Trade Rumors had the chance to ask a few questions of Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey. Slowey won 12 games with a 3.99 ERA last year in his first full season. MLB Trade Rumors: Throughout your career, you've had pinpoint control and command. How did this ability come about for you? When you were a kid could you put the ball exactly where you wanted? Kevin Slowey: I'm not sure there is any real explanation for my command, except that I've been blessed with the ability to throw strikes...It would be like trying to explain how Jesse Crain acquired...   Continue Reading

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Keith Law Q&A

Recently ESPN's Keith Law kindly answered a few questions for MLB Trade Rumors. Law formerly served as Blue Jays Special Assistant to the GM, and has spent the last few years as the lead analyst for ESPN's Scouts, Inc. branch. Essential Law links: his MLB draft blog, Stephen Strasburg analysis, his general ESPN blog, and his personal blog The Dish. MLB Trade Rumors: On occasion, you've revealed information in chats about a player's off-the-field troubles that was not publicly known or hadn't gotten much press. How has this been received by your readers, bosses, and front office contacts? Keith Law:...   Continue Reading

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Josh Byrnes Q&A

Recently MLB Trade Rumors had the privilege of asking a few questions of Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes. Byrnes has been at the helm since October of '05, making it to the NLCS in '07. MLB Trade Rumors: Many players signed for less money or fewer years than expected this winter. Do you anticipate an even more drastic decline in free agent spending around the game for the non-superstar players in the 2009-10 offseason? Josh Byrnes: In spite of the economic conditions, the industry spent over $1 billion on free agents this off-season and 17 of 30 clubs increased their payrolls....   Continue Reading

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Murray Chass Q&A

Murray Chass covered baseball for the New York Times for almost 40 years, and now his work can be found at MurrayChass.com. Chass answered questions for MLB Trade Rumors over email recently. MLB Trade Rumors: You could be called a trailblazer with MurrayChass.com, as it's the first time I recall a veteran baseball journalist going independent while continuing to make calls, report, and do newspaper-style stories. It seems that Tracy Ringolsby and others are following suit...is this the beginning of a trend? Murray Chass: I think it's premature to talk about a trend because we don't know how many newspaper...   Continue Reading

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Ken Rosenthal Interview

FOX Sports baseball guru Ken Rosenthal answered questions for MLBTR on Saturday... MLBTR: I don't have an official count, but I believe you've broken more MLB signings and trades than any other reporter over the past several years. Is it still a thrill for you to break news? Rosenthal: Oh, of course. It also hurts to lose. So, you're motivated both ways. I don't have much of a temper - at least I don't think I do - but I will occasionally let loose after getting beat. My wife and kids look at me look I'm nuts. And it's sort...   Continue Reading

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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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