Post by joshsbix on Oct 16, 2017 19:17:11 GMT -5
We will go ahead and open it up for questions:
Bob: The league is buzzing with news that Scott McGregor has been traded. Do you have any response to folks that are questioning your ability to judge talent.
GM: Sure Bob, I am glad we got that one out of the way early. Is this about the trade or more about Brick's inability to string together coherent sentences? Just kidding, Bob. I understand people questioning the decision but during the off season we had four goals 1) Improve our finances to avoid a 1978 clearance sale 2) Improve our bullpen 3) Add left handed bats 4) Add depth wherever we could. When we looked at Scott's 1977 record we felt that his 13 wins was as clear a place to improve as any using Rhule's trajectory as they are similar pitchers in our opinion. There is no doubt that McGregor will be a very good pitcher. However, our window to win is now and we didn't really have time to sit back and wait for him to mature. We went and added pitching depth that we think can help improve the bullpen, we added draft picks which we were able to flip for a closer quality reliever and a guy that last year won as many games as Scott. To address some rumors out there this had nothing to do with a personal disdain for McGregor and his constant talk about going into the religious ministry and it had nothing to do with his personal views on Jimmy Carter pardoning Vietnam draft dodgers. This had everything to do with making a baseball decision to improve the team to win NOW.
John: Rudi was the first domino to fall in this weekend of trades for the Orioles. Was this decision made during the season or was it a decision you made during the offseason.
GM: We don't make off season decision during the season. That being said we knew that it was going to be difficult to keep Rudi's 20 million dollar contract and make the moves that we knew we had to make to reach our off season goals.
Don: You brought in a lot of different options for the staff and bullpen. What exactly is your vision going forward?
GM: We met this morning and we believe that Apodaca and Brusstar have earned the right to close out games for us, taking on ownership of the 8th and 9th innings. McAnally and Ruhle are guaranteed starting positions. Ed Halicki was one of the few bright spots in the bullpen last year and his job is safe. After that we have a lot of guys that can fit in a lot of different spots and it will be up to them to earn those jobs. We have several veterans like Coleman and Hilgendorf coming in but we also have several young guys that are hungry to take ownership of a winning team like Zachry and Lemanczyk. It should be an exciting spring.
Ted: Of all the moves you made this off season which one are you the happiest about and which one do you regret the most?
GM: The one that I regret the most would be having to move guys that have been in the system through all the lean years that started before current management came on board. Guys like McGregor, Tudor, and Martinez. The Yankees are putting together a team that could dominate for a decade or more. We felt like we were stuck in baseball purgatory and we either had to tear everything down or go for broke. We went for broke. I think the most exciting move has to be the improvement to the back end of the bullpen and the left handed bats that we have added. Gross and Hodges adds a nice jolt of youth to the clubhouse but can definitely have an immediate impact with their bats. Thanks for coming everyone and one more thing:
Bob: The league is buzzing with news that Scott McGregor has been traded. Do you have any response to folks that are questioning your ability to judge talent.
GM: Sure Bob, I am glad we got that one out of the way early. Is this about the trade or more about Brick's inability to string together coherent sentences? Just kidding, Bob. I understand people questioning the decision but during the off season we had four goals 1) Improve our finances to avoid a 1978 clearance sale 2) Improve our bullpen 3) Add left handed bats 4) Add depth wherever we could. When we looked at Scott's 1977 record we felt that his 13 wins was as clear a place to improve as any using Rhule's trajectory as they are similar pitchers in our opinion. There is no doubt that McGregor will be a very good pitcher. However, our window to win is now and we didn't really have time to sit back and wait for him to mature. We went and added pitching depth that we think can help improve the bullpen, we added draft picks which we were able to flip for a closer quality reliever and a guy that last year won as many games as Scott. To address some rumors out there this had nothing to do with a personal disdain for McGregor and his constant talk about going into the religious ministry and it had nothing to do with his personal views on Jimmy Carter pardoning Vietnam draft dodgers. This had everything to do with making a baseball decision to improve the team to win NOW.
John: Rudi was the first domino to fall in this weekend of trades for the Orioles. Was this decision made during the season or was it a decision you made during the offseason.
GM: We don't make off season decision during the season. That being said we knew that it was going to be difficult to keep Rudi's 20 million dollar contract and make the moves that we knew we had to make to reach our off season goals.
Don: You brought in a lot of different options for the staff and bullpen. What exactly is your vision going forward?
GM: We met this morning and we believe that Apodaca and Brusstar have earned the right to close out games for us, taking on ownership of the 8th and 9th innings. McAnally and Ruhle are guaranteed starting positions. Ed Halicki was one of the few bright spots in the bullpen last year and his job is safe. After that we have a lot of guys that can fit in a lot of different spots and it will be up to them to earn those jobs. We have several veterans like Coleman and Hilgendorf coming in but we also have several young guys that are hungry to take ownership of a winning team like Zachry and Lemanczyk. It should be an exciting spring.
Ted: Of all the moves you made this off season which one are you the happiest about and which one do you regret the most?
GM: The one that I regret the most would be having to move guys that have been in the system through all the lean years that started before current management came on board. Guys like McGregor, Tudor, and Martinez. The Yankees are putting together a team that could dominate for a decade or more. We felt like we were stuck in baseball purgatory and we either had to tear everything down or go for broke. We went for broke. I think the most exciting move has to be the improvement to the back end of the bullpen and the left handed bats that we have added. Gross and Hodges adds a nice jolt of youth to the clubhouse but can definitely have an immediate impact with their bats. Thanks for coming everyone and one more thing:
