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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2005

Joe Maddon

DALLAS, TEXAS

Q. Can you talk about B.J. Upton?
JOE MADDON: I'm going off what people tell me right now. He played against the Angels a couple years ago. I saw him hit the ball really well to right.
I've been talking to our guys and actually met him last night. He's really a wonderful fella, really well-spoken. Nice person.
From what I understand he needs some work, particularly in the bottom half from the waist down as an infielder.
We're going to get that work done this spring. When somebody is that young to make a negative label, saying that he can't do something I think is not really wise.
We're going to wait to see how he grows into this. Adam (Kennedy) grew up to be the best second baseman in the American league, working at second base as a major leaguer; not a minor leaguer. So he taught me a lesson in regard to not saying somebody can't be this or that.
B.J. Upton has such a high end to him and I'm just looking forward to seeing him on the field. See what he looks like in practice. All the different things you hear about regarding his lower half, I've got to see it. But we have some really good instructors, I'm sure it's going to work out well for him.

Q. When you say his lower half, are you talking foot work?
JOE MADDON: Feet from the waist down. That's what I'm hearing, anyway. Until I get a chance to see somebody, we are relying on our people. We have some really good folks. Their mental description paints a real good description, to me paints a form of execution to see what they're talking about.
Once I see the person I'll know more. I think he's going to be a very exciting Major League Baseball player.

Q. You mentioned the folks that you had in place in terms of staff. What does Bill Evers add to your staff.
JOE MADDON: Billy Evers is the second-winningest manager in baseball. I've known Billy for a while. Billy really adds to the knowledge of the Devil Rays which is really important to me and the fact that he's managed as many games as he has is really important to me.
One of the best things about Billy is he doesn't forget anything. I want him to act as liaison between the Major and Minor League also so we don't forget any communication that's going to occur between us and the Minor League people. Knowing Billy in the past, I mean he's not going to forget anything, where I might. So Billy is going to have a lot of duties.
I'm going to give him a lot of the stuff that I did with the Angels to do and then he's going to add on to that based on what he's done in the past but the biggest thing about Billy is he's going to be there to make sure I don't screw up. Absolutely.

Q. Obviously we've been talking a lot about these potential deals here and there. How do you look at the team right now? Are you going to make out a lineup, say you're playing a game this week? How do you see it?
JOE MADDON: I see it -- well, you mean actual names?

Q. Maybe where you get some guys.
JOE MADDON: Obviously the outfield is the strength. I think the middle infield is the strength offensively at this point. We want to make it into a better defensive middle. You know, catching should be a strength. Toby Hall is a very good catcher and when I seen him the last couple of years -- actually a couple years ago when I first saw him, I was feeling good and I still think he's going to be real good.
Travis Lee had a great second half and I think, you know, he's more athletic first basemen there is. I really like the way he plays.
Third base is a little bit open right now. Pitching staffwise, I mean you know all the names and Kazmir as the anchor. The rotation, I think, it could hold its own right now. They came on well last year.
Of course, the bullpen I still think needs to be augmented so until you get on the field with these people and actually get to know people and what fits inside of them, you know, more but just as an observer from the distance to this point, that's what I see as of right now and those are the kind of things we're looking to improve through the trades, whatever, but it's really an interesting field.
It's very athletic. I think we did so well in the second half. It's scary. I don't like to play against these guys. Those guys get hot and you're in the other dugout, you don't want to play against these guys.

Q. Speaking of Kazmir, are you buying into the whole -- it's been said over and over that he was going to be penciled in as number 3 because you don't want him to pitch up higher in the rotation. Do you buy into that or is that --
JOE MADDON: I have not even thought about that, to be honest with you, at this point. I just -- that's the first time I'm hearing that theory, to be honest with you. I don't know that that's -- sometimes you try to get too smart and I don't want to try to get too smart at anytime because actually I'm not too smart.
You don't want to go there. Let's see how it all works out. We'll go to spring training, make those determinations. But that stuff doesn't bother me. This guy is a great makeup. I don't think it would bother him either to be considered something higher than a number 3 starter. That to me is non-issue right now. I just want to get to know the guy and see him in person.

Q. When you looked at the team, how athletic they are, they're a real exciting team to watch. That hasn't translated into wins, necessarily.
JOE MADDON: Right.

Q. How do you get people to come out? Do you have to win first or something you need to concern yourself with if it pans out?
JOE MADDON: Absolutely. But I think, you know, with us, it's about -- for me this whole first year, this spring training is about building relationships. We got to get to know each other.
We've got to formulate the Devil Ray way of playing baseball and we have to get our philosophies out there. That's the primary most important thing to do right now, I believe.
The X's and O's are the -- just going to -- everybody knows how to do a cutoff and relay, how to do a bunt play. I want to keep everything simple regarding the fundamentals of the game.
What really sets teams apart, I think, is what's inside people and I really want our staff to really focus on relationships with the players and making the players feel good about themselves and addressing needs, what do these guys actually need, how do we make them better.
It's not always about adjusting their swing. It might be how they feel about themselves is more important. You really have to pay attention to relationships coming out the chute. When I have my original meeting, that's what I'm going to talk about.

Q. Is that one of the things, with the new ownership appears to be willing to spend money, this is a new Devil Ray team, don't think about last year or the last seven years?
JOE MADDON: Probably just say that one time. I don't really like to focus on the past. We do have a bunch of new things going on here and I think the players understand that.
I think when you keep telling people not to think about the past they think about the past so I'd rather not even go there. I mean just about that we're doing right now, let's stay in the present tense, let's stay on today.
We can talk about all those cliches you want but they are absolutely true and accurate. So I think we really have to apply ourselves in that area and not look back, don't look too far into the future, take care of today.
If you take care of the seconds, the minutes and the hours, then the days take care of themselves. That's what I really want us to do. And it really starts with getting to know each other, primarily, I think.

Q. Where there is a change like that, everybody is aware of that. You went through that in Anaheim; you got a new owner. Do you feel that the players feel that?
JOE MADDON: Oh, yeah, no doubt. You feel good leadership in the top. Artie Moreno in Anaheim, Los Angeles; absolutely, I was right in the middle of training myself. Artie really sets the tone out there.
Again, it goes to Bill and comes to Mike and the coaches, et cetera. Also everybody in the front office. I'm really impressed with the group of people.
They worked really close, talking about relationships. I was there for a while but I mean I think a big part of the success there are the relationships and then it goes to everything else.
So, it does start at the top. It starts out with the owner and the front office people and it relates to the rest of the group. Everybody feels it and then it ends up in the dugout, ends up out on the field to make things happen.

Q. Do you sense that or just the process?
JOE MADDON: No doubt. When I first talked to Stuart I sensed that absolutely then I met Matt and Andrew in Houston and I totally felt that.
I did it again, I met Gerry the second time and then it just kept building. I was really excited. I would have been disappointed, I really believe disappointed if I didn't have a chance to do this right now. The whole thing was that good, I thought. It began with the people in charge, without a question.

Q. How much are you looking for actually in -- you've done the research, you looked at the films, talked to these guys?
JOE MADDON: I'm really looking forward to that, absolutely. First of all, I've never done spring training before. This is going to be kind of different. I've never done that. That's going to be interesting.
So Tom Foley is really responsible for a lot of that stuff right now. You just want to see this all happening on the field. We're going to get to go in January as a coaching staff and do kind of a mock spring training, get things together, organize it among ourselves and then get all this other stuff together so that by the time we get there in February everybody feels pretty comfortable about things.
I'm really excited about seeing the group together. It's going to be a wonderful experience and something I wanted to do for a long time but I also feel like I'm going back in time.
It's kind of like this is such a developmental situation, I've done this before and I really try to put my developmental cap back on because that was always my first love, so it's different.
So getting there in February and getting all these guys out there and seeing them and getting the programs in place, watching guys grow, that's really a lot fun, actually.

Q. Florida spring training, three words, "long bus rides."
JOE MADDON: I heard about that. That means book, I-Pod, my new XM Radio.

Q. When you have a team in the American League East, how do you sell hope to your --
JOE MADDON: You don't. It's not about selling hope; it's about playing the game properly. The whole thing with me, you got to beat the game through execution. It does not matter what the other team uniform says on the front. It really does not.
This is something I really try to pound into the guys way back when in the Minor League. You can very much get caught up in pinstripes and names but it's just a person in the uniform, basically what it comes down to.
You beat the game through execution on a daily basis. We have to believe that. And if we play the game as well as we can play the game I'll be very happy with that. See what happens.
We'll take the results. But to worry about where -- who is wearing another uniform is really not useful. I really want to get that point across quickly.

Q. Last year, pitching-wise, Tampa seemed to, in spring training, depend on a non-roster invitee, Denny Neagle, Hideo Nomo. What is the kind of philosophy you're going to try to supplement your pitching staff from within, try to get a real veteran starter, somebody that's had a proven track record?
JOE MADDON: Right now we're just trying to probably get that done through acquisitions as much as anything as well as a growing some people from down below.
To go into the big free-agent thing really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us. The guys who you referred to are fine pitchers but I think we're going to try to stay away from that if we can and really try to build something over the course of the next couple of years.
We're not going to do that but overall the plan with Andrew and Gerry and Matt is really try to build up from a younger core of pitchers which I think is wise.
So this will all play itself out over the next couple of weeks, whatever, but that's the game plan.

Q. Joe, as you look back over the second half of last season when the team played much better, you had the usual meetings in the off-season, was your feeling among the guys the team has turned the corner or is there a danger of putting too much stock in the second half?
JOE MADDON: I think there's a danger in a sense because I've seen regressive moments in situations like that. I mean the offense is so wonderful and you look at all these athletes and you're expecting them to do so much more in the next year but I'm not.
I mean I really just want to take it and see how these guys react, how these guys play. If you start expecting too much, you can be setting yourself up for a fall quickly. So let's let these guys be themselves, let them play and grow.
Regression sometimes occurs after situations like that because expectations rise. You have to really be careful about that. These are the kind of conversations we've got to have with the guys and address and be very open and honest about because I really want to avoid that possibly because I'd like for us to pick up where they left off at the end of our season without --
Q. You mentioned coming up and teaching the Devil Ray way of doing things. Will you use the Angels way as a template or be analogous of a lot of things?
JOE MADDON: Do you do the amalgamation? I've been an Angel, obviously, but I've been involved with a lot of different coaches, managers, instructors, really good ones.
That's there, but also I want to take the expertise of Tom Foley and Bill Evers, Steve Henderson and George Hendricks and Butch and Bobby Ramos, some really good Minor League personnel. And Jimy Williams is on board.
I'm really open to all that stuff. I really, when it comes down to arguing all those different points, get into meetings and you argue for like a half hour over the most stupid little thing that never gets satisfied after the end of that half hour. I'm really not looking forward to that.
I just want to get a nice simple plan now. We're not going to be very complicated. Like the Packer sweep, they knew it was coming but it was still successful. They're going to be simple but they're going to be successful. These are the kind of the things I want to try to get done as we talked to everybody, everyone is going to be included in this plan.

Q. Have you had any conversations with Lou Piniella at any point?
JOE MADDON: Only at the end of the season during the playoff. Not since the end of the season. I haven't talked to Lou since then. I have a ton of respect for that man. Tremendous manager but I'm hoping to get a chance to speak to him.

Q. Does following him pose any special challenges?
JOE MADDON: Oh, I don't know. I mean I'm not saying how great he is. I just don't think of it in those terms. This is a new situation. Lou is going to move on to someplace else and continue to be a great manager. That kind of stuff really is not important. That can just get in the way. I don't normally go there.

Q. How do you plan to use Jimy Williams?
JOE MADDON: Well, he's going to be within the Minor League, obviously, and pretty much carte blanc. Jimy is one of the better instructors this game has ever seen, whether it's offense, defense. He's also very good with infielders and baserunning too.
I called him. We really haven't touched base yet. I want to give Jimy a wide open slate. I want to know what Jimy wants to do.
I really want to point him to the B.J. Upton situation is a perfect example. So as we get to sit down and talk about this, I really want to utilize him as much as he wants to be utilized. Tremendous asset, tremendous resource. Actually I've known him since '77 and '6 in the Angels when he was Triple A manager in Salt Lake City.
Jimy was the coolest manager in spring training at that time. So, always had a lot of respect for the players. Always. Great guy.

Q. Hard to think of Jimy as "cool."
JOE MADDON: He's always up, he always running around, always fun. He was the fun guy. He was the fun guy in camp.

Q. Jimy Williams?
JOE MADDON: Absolutely. Absolutely. I really -- you know, you got to get to know somebody to really get to know their sense of humor. You might get to know George. George is beautiful.

Q. Have you started calling, start calling players thinking in January or December?
JOE MADDON: I did Thanksgiving and then there was still a lot of phone calls to return and just -- I put a lot of things on paper and put it out to the coaches and plus I got to live. I still like to ride my bike and going to workout and going out to dinner at night. I'm going not putting a hold on that stuff.
I really haven't had an off-season. I like the off-seasons, too. You work so much but you don't work to the point where you just come to the point of diminished returns. I'm not into that.
Anyway, I'll be doing a little bit of everything. Mike Butcher has already been on the phone with the pitchers. Butch calls me every day. If it started tomorrow, he'd be happy, he'd be very happy.

Q. How would you describe your managing style, you know, how would you describe yourself as a manager?
JOE MADDON: You know what I really don't like when people describe themselves so I'm not going to do that. You watch interviews and you watch TV and people describe themselves and I find that very boring. You know, I'd much rather somebody else describe me.

Q. Do they let you ride your bike across the causeway?
JOE MADDON: I'm not going to even try that.

Q. Come on.
JOE MADDON: No. I don't ride in New York City, I've not done that. I love Boston. Detroit, Chicago.

Q. Are you doodling lineups, doodling rotations --
JOE MADDON: You know what? No, not yet. We're talking about that on the way over here. Remember the book "Blink," you guys read "Blink" yet? Got to read "Blink". Anyway, it's about thick slices and thin slices. Put all this stuff in the back of your brain. Kind of like cooking in that stew pot.
So all I've been doing is like gathering portions for the pot right now. As we get closer to this moment, we'll start doing the doodling kind of stuff, putting it on paper. Right now it's all just in the pot and just trying to gather as much information as I possibly can, listening to as many people as I can and think when it comes down to it all of a sudden, boom, all these answers present themselves to you if you really do the homework. That's like how I want to approach it. You have things up in the air, there's going to be a little bit of uncertainty, yes.

Q. "Blink," who is that by?
JOE MADDON: Malcolm Gladwell, I think is the name.

Q. He's from New York.
JOE MADDON: The thick slicing is basically the gathering of all the information, you got it in your mind. When it comes down this making a decision a lot of times you (inaudible) that you believe to be a first impression by the seat of your pants but it isn't.
I really gathered all this stuff and basically reacted to the moment. If you can think in the moment it's always a better way to do it. Obviously you talk about the season.
Josh Paul recommended it to me and whenever JP recommends a book, I read it. He was absolutely right about this thing. It should be required reading for all coaches, I think, and a lot of players.

Q. Are you going to require your coaches to read them?
JOE MADDON: Tom Foley -- some of the guys are really not readers, you know. Maybe I'll get them a DVD.

Q. Get it on tape.
JOE MADDON: Pop this in your car on the way to the ballpark. That kind of thing. Yeah. I did tell Foley to read it.

Q. Can you tell us about the leaving?
JOE MADDON: I said it, it's true. It like leaving home. It's like leaving your grandparents or parents, your brothers, your sisters, usual cousins. I mean God bless, I'm going to miss everybody now. It's a great group of people. They were awesome to me.
They groomed me, gave me a chance, a lot of things. I'm going to miss them a lot. I'm going to get over it quick but I'm going to miss them a lot.
When you go to play in Anaheim I have no idea what it's going to be. I'm looking at two different dugouts this year, one in Tampa and one in Anaheim.
When we get out there it's going to be a little bit weird, actually very weird but you move on. This is the right time for me. I feel really great about everything. There's certain aspects I'm going to have to go through one time to know exactly how I feel. You can always project but you never know until it happens.

Q. Joe, a lot of managers talk about wanting their players to play the game right --
JOE MADDON: That's right.

Q. -- and execute. How do you do that?
JOE MADDON: Exactly. That's exactly what you mean. That is me? That's fine. Well, first of all, it's all about concepts. You have to devise concepts and keep things simple.
You go out there on a daily basis and realize that ever day counts. You do not turn your head to lack of execution. You don't berate somebody. It's not about getting in somebody's face.
It's not like football. You've got to talk to these people. It's a daily basis with little things. This is what we did when I was with the Angels in the Minor League.
You put the plan out there, put the concepts out there and you don't settle for less, just don't settle.
And you have to have the players understand that you're right, everybody wants to win, everybody wants to do it right, everybody wants to execute.
Part of my plan is also to make sure that they understand some of this during the season, also whereas you tell the players in advance. When it happens during the season most of the times it's a unique situation, it's not a punitive situation.
We're planning this in advance. One of things we look at, maybe the arms aren't that good but I don't know exactly. Maybe you don't throw to the bases right. Catchers, down last year in regard to throwing percentage. Maybe he's not throwing it. I don't know.
But I want that built into the plan like for instance those are the things, infield practice. The biggest misconception in all of baseball is outfield catching.
Infielders take a thousand groundballs a day and throw to first base. Outfielders rarely throw to a target. Catchers rarely throw to a target.
Those are the things you address again during the course of a season, not in a punitive way. The guys will be fine with that. I think that in and of itself makes it good.

Q. Are you not going to bring them back for taking infield?
JOE MADDON: No. What I want is outfield/infield practice at home before you take batting practice.
You know, when you go out to stretch at 4:20 or what and then you go hit, you throw, you stretch, your throw, you throw, you hit, you run, you hit then you go inside and sit, hang out, watch TV. You want to get the arm out again. Go out and take infield. That's basically dumb.
You're asking them to get hot and cold way too often. Why not take advantage of it maybe three times? In a homestand it would be great to do it three times. You have your outfielders throwing three times, you have your catcher throw to a target three times over a ten game homestand. It's not punitive. It's part of our schedule.
Those are the kinds of things I want to get across. It's going to be up to the coaching staff to make sure that stuff gets done. I'm really going to delegate a lot.

Q. Joe, when you go into spring training, do you believe in getting a lot of work done in a concentrated period of time or do you need that length of the day?
JOE MADDON: I believe in length. Not the length of the day, no. The length of spring training. I like concentration. I like that to be all planned out like short burst, bursts of work. It's got to be monitored.
I really keep track of when you work with somebody, too, what you work on. You have to keep track of all this stuff all the time and, again, this is part of the program. This is that I've done -- it's not that difficult.
You set up a plan for each individual and you know what his weaknesses are. You got to plan his spring training around his weakness. Same thing, go to a shortstop, same thing. Those are the weaknesses we have to address with these people and then go to work and work it back. They're natural, obviously.
I'm not saying overlook that, that desire requires less work. I really believe in mapping out those kind of things prior to camp and then when you sit down, exactly what we need to work on. He knows. He's direct. He knows it was expected of him. He knows when he shows up there in the morning what he's going to need to do.

Q. Is that it?
JOE MADDON: Thank you.

End of FastScripts...

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