Interview with Bill Bavasi this morning
In case you missed it, Mitch on KJR interview Bavasi this morning, and it was pretty interesting. I didn't take notes or anything, but here are a few general points that were made.
-- Before the season, Bavasi and the rest of the FO felt they had enough money to sign 3 big-name free agents. It wasn't until Glaus signed with Arizona that they realized the market wasn't going to allow that.
-- As I predicted at the end of last year, Delgado was the #1 off-season target of Bavasi.
-- The FO never targeted Beltre initially, for a number of reasons. One, Boras. Two, they thought it would take a long time. Three, he probably wouldn't want to come here. Four, it would cost more than they wanted to spend. He said it all came together during the winter meetings. He met with Scott, and explained he needed to move fast in order to not be left with nothing later on. Scott said he understood, and things moved very quickly from then on. Within days, the deal was done.
-- The club really was targeting Sexson and Delgado (i.e. reports were true). They spoke with Sexson, and he was fine with playing left field. However, the team soon realized Delgado was having problems accepting a pay cut; he was the only major FA who was going to have to take less this winter, due to his huge deal with Toronto. Once Bavasi sensed this, he said he realized having Sexson and Beltre on the corners was far better than having Delgado at first and Sexson in LF.
-- He openly admitted they overpaid for Sexson. He said they had to prove to everyone they were serious about signing big time FA's, and getting the first was the hardest. Basically he implied it took Sexson to get Beltre to come here.
-- They really hoped to get Perez, but again the market went crazy on them. He realizes a trade is the only way they are going to get a decent pitcher at this time.
-- He admitted they aren't close right now to any deal for a starting pitcher.
-- Randy Winn and Meche are the two players receiving the most interest from other clubs.
-- He said he spoke with Boras at various times about Beltran. He also mentioned he has a good relationship with Scott, and respects the way he takes care of his players.
There were a few other topics, but that was the main focus off the conversation. I thought Bavasi came off as a genuine person who answered the questions honestly.
If I missed anything or anyone heard something different, let me know!
In case you missed it, Mitch on KJR interview Bavasi this morning, and it was pretty interesting. I didn't take notes or anything, but here are a few general points that were made.
-- Before the season, Bavasi and the rest of the FO felt they had enough money to sign 3 big-name free agents. It wasn't until Glaus signed with Arizona that they realized the market wasn't going to allow that.
-- As I predicted at the end of last year, Delgado was the #1 off-season target of Bavasi.
-- The FO never targeted Beltre initially, for a number of reasons. One, Boras. Two, they thought it would take a long time. Three, he probably wouldn't want to come here. Four, it would cost more than they wanted to spend. He said it all came together during the winter meetings. He met with Scott, and explained he needed to move fast in order to not be left with nothing later on. Scott said he understood, and things moved very quickly from then on. Within days, the deal was done.
-- The club really was targeting Sexson and Delgado (i.e. reports were true). They spoke with Sexson, and he was fine with playing left field. However, the team soon realized Delgado was having problems accepting a pay cut; he was the only major FA who was going to have to take less this winter, due to his huge deal with Toronto. Once Bavasi sensed this, he said he realized having Sexson and Beltre on the corners was far better than having Delgado at first and Sexson in LF.
-- He openly admitted they overpaid for Sexson. He said they had to prove to everyone they were serious about signing big time FA's, and getting the first was the hardest. Basically he implied it took Sexson to get Beltre to come here.
-- They really hoped to get Perez, but again the market went crazy on them. He realizes a trade is the only way they are going to get a decent pitcher at this time.
-- He admitted they aren't close right now to any deal for a starting pitcher.
-- Randy Winn and Meche are the two players receiving the most interest from other clubs.
-- He said he spoke with Boras at various times about Beltran. He also mentioned he has a good relationship with Scott, and respects the way he takes care of his players.
There were a few other topics, but that was the main focus off the conversation. I thought Bavasi came off as a genuine person who answered the questions honestly.
If I missed anything or anyone heard something different, let me know!
posted by Tom at
10:09 AM
