9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

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9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

Post by RonCo » Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:11 pm

It’s no secret that the state of the Nine, as it were, is not good. The team is sitting at a record of 32-32, and sitting in second place in a suddenly tepid Heartland Division—tepid, in part, because the one-time juggernaut under his guidance has seemed to slip into disrepair. Against that background, the staff of 9-News recently sat down for a few words with the franchise’s oft-beleaguered GM, Ron Collins. It was a long interview, presented here in reduced form to spare you any more boredom than absolutely necessary.



9N: Good afternoon. Thanks for sitting down with us. We know you’ve got a lot of things to do.
RC: Not a problem. Always great to see you guys.

9N: Let’s start by asking how are you feeling about the season?
RC: I think we’re in a good place.

9N: 7.5 games back is a good place?
RC: Well, things could be better. Sure.

9N: The fans would say so.
RC: The fans are always right, too. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be better. But things can be going poorly, and we can still be in a good place.

9N: So, what’s going well?
RC: Well, you know, we’re getting some serious play out of our superstars for one.

9N: Yes, like Lucas McNeill (.307/.408/.520, 11 HR, 46 RBI).
RC: Exactly. He’s on pace for what, 7 WAR? That’s near-Silk level of performance. And Angel De Castillo (.299/.366/.521, 15 HR, 37 RBI) is standing tall, too. He’s turning career-year kinds of numbers while playing at both second and third. Huge season. Then we look at Aaron Stone (.266/.377/.422, 4 HR, 14 RBI), whose numbers don’t look as big as last year, but that’s because he was hurt for several weeks. But he’s getting on base at a .380 clip and his defense has improved.

9N: LaLoosh and Chavez?
RC: (wry smile) You guys have let everyone know what a tough time Crash had in those first couple games, but yea, he’s back to being Crash. And Jose just became the team’s all-time win leader. He’s throwing about as well as he ever has.

9N: So, what’s the problem? I mean, it’s clear the team isn’t hitting on all cylinders.
RC: (Laughs) Not hitting on all cylinders. Hmmm.

9N: Seemed to fit.
RC: Yeah. Well, you know I’ve said before that I believe teams win championships with their second-line players, right?

9N: Yes. Admittedly, though, that sounds a little pretentious.
RC: Pretentious or not, all you have to do is look at us today to see it’s true. Our stars are all carrying the water, but we’re just having a helluva time everywhere else.

9N: George Robertson (.214/.282/.372, 6 HR, 20 RBI)?
RC: George is getting heat because he was so good last year he set expectations. But he’s not alone. We’ve got a lot of kids up who aren’t having a great go of it. Pat Allen (.186/.227/.429, 5 HR, 17 RBI) and Mauro Saucedo (.256/.305/.392, 4 HR, 25 RBI) are both in deep funks. Miguel Padilla (.251/.294/.342, 2 HR, 17 RBI) has struggled with the bat. Rob Thomas (.249/.279/.473, 11 HR, 38 RBI) is having a tough season in streaks. So, it’s not just one guy. I mean, these kids were probably the second best offense in the Frick last year.

9N: The pitching has struggled, too.
RC: We’re an equal opportunity under-performer.

9N: (laughs)
RC: I think we’ll be fine, though. Carlos Valle (1 - 4, 4.03 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 72 K) is going through that period where he’s adjusting to the league’s adjustments, but our baseball people say he’s still getting better. He’s going to be great. Crash is Crash, and Jose Chavez (6 - 5, 3.08 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 85 K) is having another special season. He might be leading the league in wins if we could get him any runs.

9N: You traded Victor Guerra for Hiroyasu Osaragi (6 - 3, 5.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 72 K) in the spring.
RC: Neither one of them are having a great time, are they?

9N: No, they aren’t. Osaragi’s 5.28 ERA can’t be what you were hoping for.
RC: But Hiro is a good pitcher. He’s 6-3 for us, but of course he’s getting a lot of run support. It’s a long season, you know? Sample size and al that. He’s throwing great FIP.

9N: Well, I hear fans don’t really dig FIP.
RC: I would agree with that.

9N: Attendance is down.
RC: Same thing with last year, but we started the season on the road so much that we’ve maybe lost some touch with them early (the team played only 12 home games in the first 50 games). We’ve got the best fans, though. I trust them to come back. People think we’re older than we are. But we’re a very young baseball team right now. When the kids heat up, the fans will be back.

9N: I understand that those older guys are under some discussion when it comes to contract talks.
RC: Contract talks are always going on. What do you hear?

9N: I keep hearing the number $25M thrown around, as in “Lucas McNeill (.307/.408/.520, 11 HR, 46 RBI) or Crash LaLoosh wants $25M to void their opt-out. Or Angel De Castillo (.299/.366/.521, 15 HR, 37 RBI) wants $25M to extend.”
RC: They are going to be expensive, that’s for sure.

9N: Will the team be able to keep them?
RC: We’re really focused on 2036.

9N: But contract negotiations are on-going, right?
RC: Sure. But we’re focused on 2036.

9N: Can you confirm the $25M numbers we hear?
RC: We’re certainly in negotiations, so throwing specific numbers around would be inappropriate. But really, we’re focused on trying to get the wheels back on the bus this year. We think we can win a Landis now. The future will take care of itself.

9N: That doesn’t sound promising.
RC: I think that’s just the press’s natural tendency to be a Debbie Downer.

9N: Well, thanks for sitting with us this afternoon. I know you have a conference call with (owner) Bo Jordan to get to.
RC: You’re welcome.
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Re: 9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

Post by usnspecialist » Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:33 pm

ugh that Guerra trade is not looking good for me right now. Even if Osaragi had a 5.28 FIP instead of ERA I would still rather have him back haha.
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Re: 9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

Post by RonCo » Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:40 pm

I'm surprised he hasn't bumped into those new potentials.
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Re: 9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

Post by Ted » Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:58 pm

RonCo wrote:
Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:40 pm
I'm surprised he hasn't bumped into those new potentials.

Why? He's 30 and lumping his actual ratings. His potentials could bump to all 13's and it wouldn't matter. Sure every once in a rare, rare, rare situation it happens, but not often at this age, and almost never when the player is already lumping.
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Re: 9-News: 36.038– An Interview with the GM

Post by RonCo » Mon Oct 08, 2018 8:12 pm

It's very unusual for an older guy to get that kind of bump, so it makes me think the game is doing something special. But I don't really know much about that kind of thing.
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