Sandy tells all.

[OBBoltsFan]

Alderson had a pretty informative interview on the mighty1090 today. Some points I can remember off the top of my head:

* The renewals of Dave Roberts and Mike Cameron will be looked at between him and Towers. All and all, I do not figure this to be a very positive answer.

* Gave the whole "The problem was that the fans expected us to make something happen this deadline...", when in fact he knows damn well that we only expected what we were promised. That ticked me off a little bit.

* Did NOT sound very positive about Bochy staying with the team. Said he'd be happy for him to stay, BUT is going to show Bochy what his options are and that it would be up to Bochy. Entire thingsounded fishy, as did his asessment of Bochy's performance this year.

* GOOD NEWS: Sandy announced (which I will hold him to his word) that Moores DOES plan on retaining the same payroll as this year, roughly 72 million. Sandy made it very clear that if Moores does decide to spend more this year, it could help the team tremendously. He made it sound as if he was almost putting Moores on the spot, which I of ocurse have no problem with.

* On that note ^^^, Sandy said we will be big players in the trade market and free agency, BUT (which really made me worry) that the fans shouldn't be sad if no big moves are made. He claimed that just because we have money doesn't mean we should spend it unwisely (which I disagree with; no many is bad money in the sense that you can trade a position that is strong for a position of need and then refill the earlier position witha free agent, IMO).

* When asked about what we would get, he said something like "Well, the fans are right, a pitcher and big bat". It surprised me that he mentioned pitcher first, which storngly elads me to believe that Zito is a definite maybe.

* Lastly, he mentioned Hensley and Meridith and Peavy quite a few times, leading me tob elieve that none of them are going anywhere.

That's all folks, speculate away.

[HollywoodLeo]

Alderson had a pretty informative interview on the mighty1090 today. Some points I can remember off the top of my head:

* The renewals of Dave Roberts and Mike Cameron will be looked at between him and Towers. All and all, I do not figure this to be a very positive answer.

Why is it not positive news? Because he didn't say they will resign them no matter what? (Cameron should be resigned.)

* Gave the whole "The problem was that the fans expected us to make something happen this deadline...", when in fact he knows damn well that we only expected what we were promised. That ticked me off a little bit.

What was promised? Competitive baseball? Division Champions two straight years isn't competitive?

* Did NOT sound very positive about Bochy staying with the team. Said he'd be happy for him to stay, BUT is going to show Bochy what his options are and that it would be up to Bochy. Entire thingsounded fishy, as did his asessment of Bochy's performance this year.

This is a bit perplexing. Bochy leaves me scratching my head at times, but all in all I think he's a good manager. (Although I question my assessment everytime he brings Bellhorn out to pinch hit.)

* GOOD NEWS: Sandy announced (which I will hold him to his word) that Moores DOES plan on retaining the same payroll as this year, roughly 72 million. Sandy made it very clear that if Moores does decide to spend more this year, it could help the team tremendously. He made it sound as if he was almost putting Moores on the spot, which I of ocurse have no problem with.

And let me be the first to say "I told you so" Why anyone expected Moores to not spend the same amount of money he's already spending is beyond me.

* On that note ^^^, Sandy said we will be big players in the trade market and free agency, BUT (which really made me worry) that the fans shouldn't be sad if no big moves are made. He claimed that just because we have money doesn't mean we should spend it unwisely (which I disagree with; no many is bad money in the sense that you can trade a position that is strong for a position of need and then refill the earlier position witha free agent, IMO).

No suprises here. You want them to spend money just for the sake of spending money? How does that give us a winning team?

* When asked about what we would get, he said something like "Well, the fans are right, a pitcher and big bat". It surprised me that he mentioned pitcher first, which storngly elads me to believe that Zito is a definite maybe.

Don't get your hopes up too much. Zito is not the only pitcher out there.

* Lastly, he mentioned Hensley and Meridith and Peavy quite a few times, leading me tob elieve that none of them are going anywhere.

I hope neither goes anywhere...not that I would be against the "right deal"

[OBBoltsFan]

Why is it not positive news? Because he didn't say they will resign them no matter what? (Cameron should be resigned.)



What was promised? Competitive baseball? Division Champions two straight years isn't competitive?



This is a bit perplexing. Bochy leaves me scratching my head at times, but all in all I think he's a good manager. (Although I question my assessment everytime he brings Bellhorn out to pinch hit.)



And let me be the first to say "I told you so" Why anyone expected Moores to not spend the same amount of money he's already spending is beyond me.



No suprises here. You want them to spend money just for the sake of spending money? How does that give us a winning team?



Don't get your hopes up too much. Zito is not the only pitcher out there.



I hope neither goes anywhere...not that I would be against the "right deal"

It just didn't appear that he was positive about resigning them.

What was promised, spoken verbatim mind you, was that we would acquire a 3Bman in days (Bochy), and that he was goign to be that of the future (Towers). That's what was promised.

I would question Bochy also.

So far, as much as this tells, you are right. I just hope the "Don;t be upset if we DON'T spend the money" is jsut a emre copout.

I don't want te team to just blindly spend money, but Leo, as longa s the team does in fact have money, it allows us to trade positions of strength that we already have fo needed positions, and then filling up that vacant position with a free agent. For instance, ifw e were to trade Peavy for ARod straight up, we could turn around and fill that vacant pitcher role with Zito.

I believe Zito puts us in a great position to make it to the world series.

Anything is up for trade at the right price, I hope. The only player on the team I'm so fond of that I'd not like seeing us trade is Hansley though.

[padrefanforever]

I thought Sandy did a great tapdance.....holding the carrot out just far enough to get critics off his back, while not committing to anything or direction....

I really have to believe that this FO will do what's needed to at least address what needs addressing.........now whether or not those pieces make the difference we'll of course have to wait to see........but at least addressing the issues would show that they are aware and working to resolve the right problems....

[padrefanforever]

Sandy was just interviewed again........what a spin doctor that guy is....he never gave one straight answer......I get why, but wow that's amazing

[HollywoodLeo]

Sandy would be stupid to get too specific.

1. He'd set him self up for assinine accusations of "broken promises" should his intentions not fall through.

2. (and more importantly) He'd give away his strategy to the competition.

There's another GM in San Diego who gives very little information about his intentions to the public that goes by the name of A.J. Smith.

Being a "spin doctor" and dancing around media questions is not such a bad thing.

[HollywoodLeo]

It just didn't appear that he was positive about resigning them.

"Glass half empty" vs "glass half full" here. We'll see, I suppose.

What was promised, spoken verbatim mind you, was that we would acquire a 3Bman in days (Bochy), and that he was goign to be that of the future (Towers). That's what was promised.

I get so tired of accusations of "broken promises" I don't believe I ever heard the word "promise" come out of Towers' mouth when he said he was going to go after a "third baseman of the future"

That being said, this is the exact reason Towers needs to learn to keep his trap shut.

When he told the fans that he's "going to get a third baseman of the future" he put himself into a position where if the other team demanded too much to make the trade not worth it then he has to decide between making a bad trade or breaking what the fans will precieve as a promise.

And then he made matters worse on himself when he found himself in that position, only that the fans didn't agree with his assessment that the asking price was too much.

So far, as much as this tells, you are right. I just hope the "Don;t be upset if we DON'T spend the money" is jsut a emre copout.

I read that as "...but we're not going to spend the money just for the sake of spending money" which is alright by me.

I don't want te team to just blindly spend money, but Leo, as longa s the team does in fact have money, it allows us to trade positions of strength that we already have fo needed positions, and then filling up that vacant position with a free agent. For instance, ifw e were to trade Peavy for ARod straight up, we could turn around and fill that vacant pitcher role with Zito.

And that's fine. But the problem with trades is that the other team has to agree to them.

I believe Zito puts us in a great position to make it to the world series.

I do too, but not if we can't fill other needs the team has because we spent all the money on one guy.

[padrefanforever]

Sandy would be stupid to get too specific.

1. He'd set him self up for assinine accusations of "broken promises" should his intentions not fall through.

2. (and more importantly) He'd give away his strategy to the competition.

There's another GM in San Diego who gives very little information about his intentions to the public that goes by the name of A.J. Smith.

Being a "spin doctor" and dancing around media questions is not such a bad thing.

I know....which is why I said I get why he's doing it

[padrefanforever]

If you can make a trade for Fields to play 3rd......he'll be cheap $$$, yes he'll cost you prospects, but since we have no position prospects in our system as good as Fields it's worth trade to shore up our IF for years to come. If this can happen you leave all 35+M intact to use on a LFer and Starting Pitcher and existing player signings....If you can move Giles and get rid of his contract you free up even more money, which would allow you to sign DR, and still have more to spend.....

I think it will take some creativitiy, but we could end up with 2-3 star players here next year

[OBBoltsFan]

If you can make a trade for Fields to play 3rd......he'll be cheap $$$, yes he'll cost you prospects, but since we have no position prospects in our system as good as Fields it's worth trade to shore up our IF for years to come. If this can happen you leave all 35+M intact to use on a LFer and Starting Pitcher and existing player signings....If you can move Giles and get rid of his contract you free up even more money, which would allow you to sign DR, and still have more to spend.....

I think it will take some creativitiy, but we could end up with 2-3 star players here next year

Fields is also my first choice of any third baseman. Unfortunately, he may not even be available considering the Chisox are wanting to simply move him to left field.

But I would certainly give them an offer that can't be refused; I'd go so far as to throwing in Carillo even if we could sign Zito instead. Wouldn't it be exciting to see a player develop like Fields? Think Gonzo, only more on the lines of David Wright potential.

[padrefanforever]

Oh yah it would......Fields is a better prospect than Carillo.......so I'd do that in a heartbeat......again I'd look at a package of Linebrink/Carillo/Knott for Fields.... that kind of deal......but I agree....a package they can't refuse so long as you don't touch our current core roster and rotation

[Rufio181]

I think we should keep Carillo. No more trading away good prospects as we did in the past.

[HollywoodLeo]

I think we should keep Carillo. No more trading away good prospects as we did in the past.

You have to give up something to get something.

One of the good aspects to good drafting (which we seem to be doing the past two drafts) is good trade bait.

What needs to differ from the past is that we need to make quality trades, not just give them away as has been done in the distant past.

[Rufio181]

You have to give up something to get something.

One of the good aspects to good drafting (which we seem to be doing the past two drafts) is good trade bait.

What needs to differ from the past is that we need to make quality trades, not just give them away as has been done in the distant past.

True, just I don't want to give up Carillo. I see him as a future starter here in this organization. Anyone else I dont mind as much.

[padrefanforever]

I didn't suggest giving up Carillo for nothing......I suggested including him in a trade to land us a MUCH better prospect who happens to be touted as a possible next coming at 3rd base.....you know a guy that can play everyday and sure up one of the best IF in MLB