Post by Ex-Oakland GM on Jan 22, 2009 10:27:46 GMT -5
Here we are with the Toronto Blue Jays GM. You win the AL Championship but fall short in the World Series. I’m sure you wanted to win it all but you must still look at it as a great season. The Blue Jays had the most wins in the AL. Any thoughts on the past season?
Well, we certainly didn’t finish the season the way we had hoped to. We wanted to bring a Championship to Toronto and didn’t do that. That being said, the season was still successful, albeit disappointing in its final moments. In a tough division like the American League East, nabbing a divisional title is something we can be proud of. With tough teams like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox chasing us throughout the summer, there was definitely a sense of urgency in clinching our playoff berth. When people talk about pressure, they usually find it is a negative. In this clubhouse, we used that pressure to our advantage and found that it was actually quite fueling. Had we coasted early, there may have been more lackadaisical play down the stretch. As it was hyper competitive, we had to fight for everything we were to get which made this team a better one.
I noticed that the Blue Jays finished with the best Fielding Percentage in the AL. Is fielding something that you look for in your players?
There is an adage that says that good defense and good pitching wins Championships. It’s the strikeouts and the home runs that grab the headlines, but defense is a factor that underlies every great team, of any generation. We focus a great deal on our defense before we take BP, with extended practice sessions and exercise. As this team is a young one, there is a lot of athleticism which is also a tremendous boon when you are trying to field a defensively excelling squad of nine individuals. Orlando Hudson earned a gold glove at second base, the youngsters Alex [Rios] and Vernon [Wells] have been stellar in the outfield, along with our veterans like Shannon [Stewart] and Tony [Batista], so this team can flash the leather when it needs to.
David Wells, Tony Batista, and Carlos Delgado all had a big year. Plus we can't forget about Fred Mcgriff having 36HRs. With your younger guys getting better do you think you will get the same contributions from your older guys this season?
You know, we’d love to see McGriff and Boomer [Wells] continue putting up outstanding numbers, of course. We feel they will be contributors to the 2002 Toronto Blue Jays club. But, at 38 and 39 respectively, it wouldn’t be outrageous to assume that they may be nearing the end of their careers. The scouting and player development department has done a marvelous job over the past few years in drafting and developing youngsters who can come in and attempt to replace the big shoes. While McGriff will get his at bats, we’ve also got a kid named Eric Crozier who will likely take a few cuts for us as a first baseman or designated hitter. The situation is similar with David Wells. There’s the outstanding prospect out of Pittsburgh who did well for us in September, David Bush, who will more than likely start in 2002. So, we try to keep the veterans involved while not shutting out the kids from getting the opportunity to contribute. There is an ever present now and future mind set in this organization. How can we maximize both avenues?
Looking back, is there any players that you would’ve used differently during the season?
I feel we did a good job mixing and matching our lineup until we found one that would work. We were able to give both Raul Mondesi and Alex Rios over 400 at bats splitting time in right field, which was certainly one of the best platoon situations in all of baseball last year. We were proud of that. Of it all, what could have made a difference was a more stable bullpen. Trying to get a lot of different players innings, there was a lot of turnover and we didn’t always give the kids enough time to work through their problems. That will change in 2002.
The Jays have some potential award winners on the team. Doc Halladay could win a Cy Young someday and Delgado could win the MVP. Do you think they could make a case for that this season?
Carlos [Delgado] seems like he is always in the MVP discussion these days. So, I could have seen him earning the honors. Although, he did win the award in 2000 with his 46 home run attack on American League pitching last year, so perhaps it is best to spread the love around. As good as Halladay was for us in the playoffs, he had some shaky stretches in the season which had to keep him out of the Cy Young discussion. In fact, our best pitcher in 2001 was David Wells, who went 11-3 with a 3.09 ERA and earned ALCS MVP honors.
Do you plan on making any moves?
In the draft, we managed to tab Dioner Navarro and Corey Farleigh thus far, who we are extremely excited about. Navarro was one of the top catchers in the draft and should advance through the Minor Leagues quickly. As a switch hitter, he was very desirable and we are very lucky to have him. We lost a few excellent players in the Rule 5 draft which was regrettable, but two of them, Werth and Johnson, were blocked in our system by the likes of Wise, Stewart, and Gross. At this point, we are confident in our chances going forward. But, I will not hesitate to make a move if I feel it will better this team’s chances of winning.
Finally, do you have any predictions for the new season?
We plan on remaining competitive, reaching the post season, and hopefully advancing one further than last season.
Good luck this season
Thank you.