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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2005

John Gibbons

DALLAS, TEXAS

Q. Given that this is happening here shortly, I don't know what kind of latitude you have to address it, how do you see A.J. fitting into this scheme for you guys?
JOHN GIBBONS: Well, you know, he's a big sign, no question. Coming into the off-season, we targeted agents, (B.J.) Ryan, Burnett, and Brian Giles out there with San Diego. Getting two out of three of them is huge for us. There's no question they both have big contracts, eye-opening contracts, you know, and the past few years we haven't been able to lure them to Toronto by guaranteeing them post season so you've got to pay top dollar. It definitely strengthened us, no question about it. Now we need to address our offense a little bit. You know, maybe we'll be taken a little more seriously.

Q. Do you think your rotation is pretty set at this point?
JOHN GIBBONS: We've got Lilly, Towers, Batista is still around with us. We like -- we like that. You know, we like our bullpen. Our bullpen was good last year. We signed Ryan. The first year he did a heck of a job for us, he really did. But, you know, it takes him out of that role. We can go either way with him. Plus there's a lot of injuries out there.

Q. Burnett obviously has all the physical tools but his track record is kind of spotty. What makes you think he's really ready to play now?
JOHN GIBBONS: He's got that connection with Arnsberg. Arnie Moreno is convinced maybe he can help him get over the top. There's -- I've seen where he's basically been a 500 pitcher his whole career. The stuff is there. We feel like he's just coming into his prime and he's on the verge of exploding and hopefully that's what we get.
Anytime you got an arm like that; you know, everything clicks at once, it's pretty good thing and anytime you run them out there, you know you got a chance to win the game. That's all anybody can ask for.

Q. What's Arnsberg told you about him?
JOHN GIBBONS: First of all, he's got a great relationship the kid. He knows him, physically how he works. The big thing is, you know, Arnie can -- A.J. now at least he's coming into a new environment, he knows the pitching coach. That's a big thing. Now, we got to go out and score some other guys.
I reviewed last year and I thought for the most part our pitching was solid all year. Score a few more runs and guys have a few more wins. I think there's still an area that needs to be addressed. If we do that, I think we're a pretty tough club.

Q. Do you think there's stuff in the works right now to use the excess pitching to beef up the hitting?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah. J.P., he's working pretty hard. There's no question we got something there. So, you know, he's talking to a number of teams and looking at different options and we hope we can do something. We've got some pretty good chips.

Q. Do you think there's anyone in your mind other than Doc and the two new guys that you would say "we need too keep this guy in order to make our run"?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah. I don't know if I'd tell you who that is but there's a few guys like that and Chacin did a nice job for us. He's a lefty. You wouldn't want to give that up. You've got McGowan out there on the verge of doing something big. There's a few guys. Sometimes you have to give things up to improve in different areas but we think there's some expendable guys; bring us some bats that we need. We have to go through any of that. Might not even have to dip down to the Minor League much.

Q. John, you said now you might be taken a little bit more seriously. Signings like this, people are going to take you seriously. There's going a to be little more heat on you?
JOHN GIBBONS: That's right. That's a good thing. You want the pressure to have to perform. Personally, I didn't take the job just to say I managed in the big league. I wanted to manage in the big league for a winning team. Personally, there was added pressure to perform better, get the most out of the team. You know, I like that. As far as the team, on paper, yeah we're better but we still got to go out and execute it. I think we gained some confidence, especially some of the young guys last year. It's going to make a big difference. No question about that.

Q. The Yankees and the Red Sox sort are a broken record for years; first, second, first, second. Do you ever a feel now with the moves that you made that you guys will sort of break that stranglehold?
JOHN GIBBONS: You never know. We hope so. You know, Every year they're going to be strong. They're going to make the moves that they need to. That's why they're always near the top, you know? The Red Sox went out and got Beckett so they're doing some things. The Yankees are going to do some things. You can talk about it all you want. Until you actually make a move on those teams, the talk is cheap. We'll see.
Baltimore made a good run at it yesterday and then couldn't weather the storm but we're trying to move in that direction. We just don't want to be a competitive team; we want to be a winning team.

Q. When you look at your offense right now, how do you feel about it in terms of what you have? Teams have certain types of things they look for, power. What is the need other than just to say hitters?
JOHN GIBBONS: I think we need to add another bona fide run-producer. There was games that we played last year, we scored a run or two extra here or there, made a huge difference. You never really know how the game is going to play out, you know. You can only guess but maybe add to the lineup. I think it could be good.
We're also banking on a young guy like an Adams. We don't know what's going to happen with where he fits now. If he's one of our everyday guys, you got to figure they're going to be better. Counting a lot on Vernon Wells having a good year. Coskie, hopefully he's injury free. There's no question that's an area we need to address a little bit.

Q. Your rotation has an interesting balance especially now your first four guys. You've got Halladay, Burnett, Lilly and Chacin?
JOHN GIBBONS: And Towers.

Q. Is there somebody you would look to, righty, lefty, or something that it will just play out?
JOHN GIBBONS: It will go with the first two. The first couple weeks -- I haven't really looked at the schedule that close. We've got some options. We feel good about our rotation definitely now that we've added Burnett. It's one of our strengths.

Q. Ted Lilly had a difficult year from the beginning of the season on. Talk about what you're looking from him coming into this season.
JOHN GIBBONS: We need a big year out of Ted. What did he win last year, nine, ten games? It was a really frustrating year for him and he missed, you know, time sporadically throughout the year. He got off to a bad start being hurt in Spring Training. This year and previous years so he needs to show up at Spring Training ready to go, injury free and get off to a good start. Ted is a good pitcher. There's no question about it. I think the whole key for him is he needs to be injury-free early on so you can come at it full strength. This will be his free agent year, too. He's got something to prove from that end. So we're hoping this is his best year ever.

Q. What stands out about your pitching staff is almost every single guy has seen some kind of adversity early in his career. As a guy who yourself had adversity in your early years with the Mets, how did that help the staff mature as the season goes on?
JOHN GIBBONS: Well, very few guys you know in baseball take the game by storm and never struggle. Those guys there's only a handful of those guys. Everybody has their ups and downs. Halladay like you said, struggled early on and we built and rebuilt himself and came back. You know, I don't know -- I know enough about A.J. I don't know all the ups and downs. He's got one of the best arms in baseball and we hope he puts it is all together with us. Chacin, this year, he's was little a rocky. He kind of disappeared for a while. Towers has been kind of -- he hangs on. They've all been through their tough times.

Q. How can A.J. and Doc compliment each other, make each other better?
JOHN GIBBONS: Well, you know, Halladay, he brings out the best in guys. He's not a loud guy but he's a quiet guy but he does a lot of talking with fellow pitchers and got some great things to say to them. He actually came up through that first visit with Burnett and he showed up in Toronto. I think that was one of the big selling points to get Burnett there. I'm sure there's not a harder worker in the game. The guy leads by example. Burnett will see that.

Q. That can be really beneficial to A.J. Is he set to be the big guy?
JOHN GIBBONS: It's still Halladay's team.
He's still the main guy. He's earned that. He's a fixture in Toronto and it will be good competition. We hope they'll compete against each other.

Q. Since you're a lot smarter now --
JOHN GIBBONS: That's still debatable.

Q. Who would you rate as one of the best of the starting rotations?
JOHN GIBBONS: I mean we've got to be right there. The Yankees are still tough with Johnson and -- you got Schilling, Beckett, those guys.
You can't argue those two but I think we stack right up there with those guys. I mean that's just speaking from our division there. You know, the White Sox are pretty darn tough. I think we feel strong top to bottom now by adding Burnett.

Q. How much do you think it will help Burnett, there's going to be a lot of focus on him because of the contract but he does come in not having to be -- Halladay as you said is clearly the number one guy, so he does get to sort of slot in behind him. Is that something that you think will help him?
JOHN GIBBONS: I don't know. The season works, off days, on. Usually those top guys end up facing the top guys one time or another anyway but I don't think it takes any pressure off with the nice contract he got but he's got one of the best arms in baseball. On any given night he can shut you out. I just think he'll fit in perfect. He's going to follow Halladay. I think Halladay will help get the best out of him.

Q. In the course of the negotiation and discussion about him, he had a bad ending in Florida. They had to get rid of him. Did that come up at all in terms of attitude and whether anything like that, something you -- obviously not. You guys signed the deal.
JOHN GIBBONS: No. I mean we never even considered that. I knew A.J. -- I didn't really know. I was in the Mets Minor League when he was first drafted over there. I met him and knew him briefly but I've always liked the guy. I've heard good things about him. Sometimes there's personality conflicts, what have you. But, you know it's the manager's job to get the most out of those guys. I don't want to talk toughness but you like a little get-up-and-go out of a pitcher. You like a little emotion out of those guys. I'm sure it all happened when he was frustrated. Some things were said he probably regrets or whatever happened. That's beyond him now. We'll work good together. I mean I'm easy to get along with.

Q. A lot of good pitchers have problems, probably already asked this, making the change from league, guys like (Javier) Vazquez, are you at all concerned that A.J. might struggle coming over against these lineups?
JOHN GIBBONS: No. You know, he'll have to learn the League. But his style of pitching, too, he's power all the way. It's not like he's going -- he's not a finesse guy. He's got to look for weaknesses, probably study a game plan. He's a guy that's going to come after you hard like power guys do. The key for him like anybody else, you still got to locate the ball, throw strikes and work ahead. If he does that with that arm, he'll win some games.

Q. How much do you feel like you've closed the gap on the Yankees?
JOHN GIBBONS: I feel good about last year. I think we played very good against both those teams. We gained some confidence. Like I said earlier, talk is cheap. You still got to go out -- they're the teams to beat. They're going to improve on what they were. But I think we've closed a little bit. You go to the series in a Yankee Stadium or Fenway, anyway, Chicago, any of those places. If you can run Halladay, Burnett, however it stacks up, the third guy, you feel pretty good. I mean anybody can get hit on any given night but they also, those guy gives you a chance to win every night, usually, too. So --
Q. The ownership's new commitment to the team and invigorating it with cash and high-profile players has to really change the energy for you this year as opposed to last year coming into the season.
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah. I mean it's tough to compete, make an improvement with spending all that money. That's just a given. Especially they pay a lot of money to the teams, so but I think it brings in optimism to the town and since J.P. came over, first job was to get the books in order. If that happens, might have some money. That's what's taking place and it's given us a chance to add a couple guys that are difference-makers in baseball, hopefully with a attitude. Yeah, I think teams benefit when there's optimism during the off-season. It helps the fan base, helps guys on the team. You don't use the same old song and dance, you know. Hey, maybe puts us on the map a little bit. We'll see.

Q. What are your impressions of watching Ryan in Baltimore the last couple of years and seems like he's really turned the corner on his career?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah. You know, you never wanted to see him come in. He's just coming into his own right now but he's a guy that he can dominate.
He's a big strikeout guy too which I think is so huge in that role. Sometimes contact can hurt you late in the game like that. He's proven he's a strikeout guy. He's a big strong guy and he's durable. I think, you know, he's one of the premieres in the League. He wanted to come here. You feel good about it when he first showed up. He liked the way we played last year I guess so there's a big difference.
He'll see a lot of pretty good left-handed hitters which is pretty big. You go to those places like Yankee Stadium, swing for the fence. Hopefully that will work to our advantage. He gets the strikeout.

Q. You've got so much tied up in these two guys, both financially and otherwise here, Ryan and Burnett. Does that make you nervous or apprehensive at all, how these guys could go a long way in saying how you guys go?
JOHN GIBBONS: I don't worry about that end of it.

Q. You don't worry about the financial end. If these guys are a flop?
JOHN GIBBONS: Baseball is a gamble. We went for the top guys out there. We were able to land two of them. Everybody has got to stay healthy. No question about it. But we're banking on them and they're banking on us or else they wouldn't have come here. I feel pretty good about it.

Q. (Inaudible). If you got into the 7th how would it settle up now if you got to the 7th and went to your pen. What would you be looking at?
JOHN GIBBONS: As of right now, my kind of view like I did last year, we got so much flexibility out of these guys, they all did a good job. I really base it on who is fresh who or who is pitching the best.
Of course we've got Schoeneweis in the mix. I can't say it's going to be Frasor. I think they're all very similar and they all have done a good job, you know. Gives us some option. We're not tied to -- if one guy emerges and he's the most dominating guy, the right-hander, that will be his job.

Q. Is it good that you can shorten Schoeneweis and make him more of a left-handed specialist with Ryan?
JOHN GIBBONS: Exactly. Ryan from the left side. Maybe it will be a little earlier. He was so valuable to us last year too. The way it's stacking up right now we've got Downs out there, too. I really got three, Downs put himself on the map last year with a good solid year. We've got three lefties coming out which is a luxury, I think.

Q. You said you guys went for the top guys out there and were able to land two of them. Did you think that was a long shot say three, four weeks ago?
JOHN GIBBONS: Realistically you don't know. Personally, I would say you hope you get one of them. Then we were able to get two, A.J. From what I understand, you know, you never really know. Pretty close on Giles, we at least felt good about it. That's key. Like I said, these guys, I really couldn't dangle that post season carrot at them like some of the other teams can. So we had to get them somehow. They both got good contracts. We got them there now, hopefully they can help us get to that point.

Q. When you look at the AL East right now, how does the landscape look in your opinion?
JOHN GIBBONS: We're stronger. No question we're stronger. On paper we still got to go out and execute it. Still top to bottom, it's a strong League, you know. Two front-runners, New York and Boston, they're going to get better. Very rarely do they not address their needs, you know, so I'm sure they'll do that.

Q. Even though it was a short time playing in New York, you know, obviously you got hurt right away but Davey Johnson taking a shot with you being the catcher in '84, showing that kind of confidence you. A, does that help you in your experience with managing in the Minor League system, help the young player to deal with their early stuff.
The second thing is did playing in New York prepare you for all the media that you're going to have to deal with and you deal with on a regular basis?
JOHN GIBBONS: There's no question, yes. It wouldn't only be New York. It would be both. Yeah, I'd say that helped. As far as a player, it gives me more patience. I'm a peace guy. If I believe in a guy, I'm going to stick with him. Yeah, that's definitely helped me.
Davey Johnson was a tough guy. One thing about Davey, he has some kind of confidence. He can handle a pitching staff. But he treated you with respect and you felt good about that.
I tried. I felt good about that. We'll see if it helps.

Q. I want to ask you about the offense a little bit. How important is it to address the middle of the order? Do you think that you can contend with Coskie say hitting four, five?
JOHN GIBBONS: You know what, we like our offense. We like it to make that next effort. There were some scratches during the year. We struggled. We had trouble. Over the whole year, it might have made a difference in it. By no means is that a knock against anybody. I think if you want to stay status quo you can be a good solid five for the club, maybe eight and above. You can move up beyond that, you've got to have it all.

Q. If Rios hit ten times as many home runs as he did the year before, one would think that if you add a batter to him the pressure is off him, he's hitting 8 or 9, what can you expect from him?
JOHN GIBBONS: I think Alex will get better and better each year. He's a big guy. Being a young guy, you got to learn how to hit. He's doing that. He's a good outfielder, good base runner. He's one of those guys you throw him out there and leave him alone. Three, four years down the road he comes into his own. He can do everything and a be superstar player. The end of last year even before the position he was playing, right field, power position, he wasn't doing that. It's tough. Plus playing in a big ballpark did a lot of good things. Eventually I think he's going to hit a bunch of home runs. He needs the confidence.

Q. One more question. First one is how excited are you about this, about J.P. being so active about adding so much to the possibility of --
JOHN GIBBONS: The comment made earlier, myself, "I want to be successful." That's his mindset. It's always been my mindset. He's looking at different things to make it better to hopefully push us over the top. He's not going to sit back. He makes deals if he can. You got to like that.

Q. Are you going to have a little extra jump in your step with all these changes?
JOHN GIBBONS: (Inaudible) I already have a jump in my step.

Q. That's a very good point.
JOHN GIBBONS: I feel very good. I feel as Bob Elliott said, "a little bit smarter. Little more enthusiastic."

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