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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2005

Ned Yost

DALLAS, TEXAS

Q. Make any trades today?
NED YOST: No. I did trade for Sweet-n-Low twice at the coffee counter but that's it.

Q. More active today though?
NED YOST: For us? No. Our discussions, we've been involved in discussions going to the beginning of last week, I think in Milwaukee but still nothing past the discussion point. Things are really heating up right now.

Q. You're down to one guy now in the World Baseball Classic but were there concerns about that?
NED YOST: No. You know what, I think it's really kind of a neat thing, a chance for a baseball player to play for his country is something that's special, and you know, I think it's neat. Doesn't really mess up anything we're doing. And they have got good people running the American team, they have got good people on the Latin American teams and I trust -- you know, I trust them and I know that they know what they are doing and they are not going to get anybody hurt so, I think that's a good thing.

Q. Assuming your input is asked for, and I would assume it is, what do you tell them when they ask you, what input do you give back?
NED YOST: Well, we've been talking for weeks. My input is I'm looking at 90 wins, somehow. How do we get to 90 wins? Can we take Lyle and fill in some holes that will help us get to that plateau? You know, if we can't -- I love Lyle Overbay, he has pluses in every column. He's an established Major League hitter. He's great in the clubhouse, the fans love him, the players love him. There's no negatives to Lyle Overbay. So for me I just that want to say to get rid of Lyle Overbay is crazy, that's the last thing I want to do. But if it improves our team, we feel that Prince can come in behind Lyle and get his career started and give us some productivity and take those pieces that we trade for Lyle and make us a better team, and I'm for that. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to go to that 90, 91, 92, 94-win plateau.

Q. That's what you feel to get into the playoffs it's going to take?
NED YOST: I hope. That's what we're shooting for.

Q. What else do you think you need?
NED YOST: We definitely need to improve our bullpen. And we definitely need to improve our bench. Our starting lineup is pretty solid. I'm happy with the guys. I think Billy Hall can handle third base defensively and offensively, and he's not going to be a lock at third base every day because there's days he's going to play short and there's going to be days he's going to play second. We like the progress that Corey Hart has made. I think that Nelson Cruz has got a chance to be a good player. But we definitely need help behind Turnbow and Matt Wise in the bullpen. We like our starting rotation, but like any other Major League team, everybody's starting rotation can be better with a piece here or a piece there.
We're really looking, we were talking about it today, we were looking at about an extra one-and-a-half win a week. If we can do that, that will get us up there. But still what we accomplished last year was pretty special, but we got guys coming back that got a year under their belt and are coming back more established Major League players, which helps them, guys like J.J. Hardy, guys like Rickie Weeks, Prince has had a taste of it, Corey has had a taste of it, Eveland has had a taste of it, Doug Davis needs to get better, Turnbow, Matt Wise is healthy and strong and pitching as good as anybody in a bullpen anywhere in baseball. So you know we've got those pluses. It's just adding to them now.

Q. You mean one and a half a month?
NED YOST: One and a half a month would work, too.

Q. One and a half a week would be really good.
NED YOST: Yeah, I think you're right, it's probably one and a half a month is right. I think one and a half a week is pushing it. That's an extra nine wins. That's what we're looking for. Oh, that makes it a lot easier on me. (Laughter.)

Q. When you go to Spring Training, it's different this year, do you approach it any differently talking to guys?
NED YOST: Not really. I don't think you have to. I think we've gotten to the point now where our guys understand where we're going and where we're at and feel good about what we're trying to accomplish, too.

Q. To get where you want to get with this team and to get the plan moving where you want to keep it moving, how important is it for Billy Hall to settle in and be your third baseman?
NED YOST: I think Billy is going to settle in. And I don't put an extraordinary amount of pressure on Billy to get us to the playoffs. But I just think Billy's progress as a Major League player, he's gotten better and better year-in and year-out. I still see room for improvement in Billy's game, and that's special when you've got a player that's pretty talented that still has upside, that still has ceiling to reach, and I think Billy is that type of player.

Q. What about Prince, would you expect him to go through -- at the plate, some growing pains?
NED YOST: Sure. And you know just like J.J. did, like Rickie did last year, like Eveland did at the end of the year. Sure, all those young guys go through that their first time around the big leagues, but they are talented kids with good makeup. They can handle that.
But it's expected and part of it.

Q. Would it be difficult to keep, for instance, a Cruz or a Hart on the roster in a developmental stage in their career not playing them regularly?
NED YOST: It definitely hurts. Hart is at a stage where he's probably ready to try it. If we don't make a deal for Overbay, it will not kill Prince and Nelson Cruz to go back and get more experience at the AAA level. And that's kind of a nice problem, you can either -- they can get it at the big league level or they can get it at the AAA level. Just depends what the situation is, but it would not kill either one of them to be able to go do that.

Q. How important is it for you to know the makeup of these guys, some guys you can let up there and struggle for a while and they will be okay.
NED YOST: You can do that. We did that last year. You go into it very open-minded knowing that some of these guys are going to struggle, and going into it like J.J. and Ricky, you know they are going to have struggles. But they are such talented players that's part of what you have to expect. You know that once they get their feet on the ground and get going, they are going to be really good Major League Baseball players. So there's some of that involved and you have to have the patience with that and you have to be able to mentor them through that. And we've got great coaches now, especially with the addition of Robin Yount and Dale Sveum to be able to help these kids get through those periods.

Q. How do you think you'll divide defensive responsibilities between Rob and Dale?
NED YOST: They will handle it, two guys will be one. They will handle it together. It will be a two-man team.

Q. Because Dale was originally announced as the infield coach and that was before you got Robin, so just wondering if they are going to be stepping on each other's toes?
NED YOST: No. Those two guys are as close as they can be. They are best friends. The thing that is so unique about those guys is that their philosophies and their style of play and their thoughts on the way the game is played is exactly alike. There's not two different philosophies where there will be any stepping on toes. They both have the exact same philosophies and the same plan, so it's very natural that they both can do that job together.

Q. They are both pretty low on the ego meter, too.
NED YOST: Yeah, they are wonderful. Both of those guys communicate so well. You.
You know what, this is Robin Yount, this is Dale Sveum. These guys have known each other for a long, long time and they know each other inside and out and they know their baseball philosophy and they know what's important to them as coaches. That's why they hit it off so well and why they are such close friends, is they do believe in the same system so to speak as far as developing young players and developing the game the way it should be played and the way it is played.

Q. Why was it to important to get Robin on your staff?
NED YOST: Because he was the one guy that for me exemplifies what we're trying to do. He was the guy that was a Hall of Fame talent that gave every bit of effort that he had every single day to be the very best that he could be. He had no flash. He never played the game to enrich himself. He always played the game so that the team would come out ahead no matter what it took, he would give his best effort for that. Never slacked off, didn't matter where he hit the ball, if he tapped it back to the pitcher or hit a slow roller, he always gave 100% down the line. You know, if you think of Milwaukee Brewer baseball, the first thing that comes to your mind is Robin Yount.

Q. A lot of guys never saw him play there, they are so young, will they know just by reputation?
NED YOST: Yeah, they know by reputation what he was. We had some guys come in last week, Billy Hall and Lyle and some of those guys, and it was amazing to me, when Robin introduced himself to those guys, you just see their face light up a little bit. They know who Robin is and what Robin is all about and what type of player he was.

Q. How tough of a task does he have, if you do something with Lyle, is that a concern, the right field defense?
NED YOST: I think our defense as a whole can get better. I was looking for somebody that had a lot of passion in what they are doing to help Rickie Weeks to help J.J., to help Prince, to help Lyle, to help Billy become the best infielders that they can become and hope that they have that work ethic to go out and do it. It's something to be a Major League coach and just try to go out and try to get your guys to play as good as you can but it's something else to have a real passion for the player and want that player to be the very best that he can do and have that coach be willing to do whatever it takes to make that player or help that player be everything that he can be. And that's the thing that I think that will make it so much easier and better is that Ricky wants to be a good defender. J.J. wants to be a good defender, Billy wants to be a good defender and so does Prince. So they will put forth the effort to be good players.

Q. Do you think there's any advantage at all in having the last two National League champions in your division, these young players are seeing for virtually a quarter of the season exactly where the bar is.
NED YOST: I don't know if there's any advantage to it or not. It definitely makes our job tougher when you're playing teams like Houston, Chicago, St. Louis and you're playing these guys as many times as we play them. It definitely makes what we're trying to do tougher. But also, that's how you get better is by playing the better teams and competing with them and getting yourself to a level where you can day-in and day-out compete with them and be successful.

Q. Some people who saw Prince in the Arizona Fall League said he acted like he didn't want to be there and he did leave early, but he's had some attitude adjustments along the way in the minors, different guys who have had him have at times had to get him refocused, what's your take on that situation?
NED YOST: I've got kids that are older than Prince. We forget that. Prince has been talked about for a long, long time. Prince is only 22 years old -- he's 20. Is he only 20 or 21? I thought he would be 22 next year. I think he's 22 next year if I'm not mistaken. But he's young, all right. And you know with young guys, sometimes you go through those things.
But the thing that he's got going for him is he's extremely talented. And I can see Prince's point of view, too. Prince played all summer long and he was ready to at the end of the season, Prince is a guy that really works hard during the off-season to strengthen and condition himself. I think he had more of a mindset at the end of the year to get into a strength and conditioning program so that he could be ready 100% come February. I think he was looking at it that, you know, if I go to the fall league, that's a month out of my conditioning program that's going to set me back a month, and I think some of that had to come into it, too. It's not that he just wanted to go home and lay on the couch. He had other plans, and his focus was February instead of October where we wanted him focusing more in October getting more at-bats and more playing time for the time that he missed when we had him in September, but, you know, his focus was February. So there's something to be said about that, too.

Q. But if he wants to take Lyle Overbay's job, wouldn't the advice be to go to Arizona?
NED YOST: I understand what you're saying, but in his mind, I think that he thought that, I'm going to tear it up wherever I'm at anyway, so I might as well go get strong. You know, there is something to be said for that and it's an inner confidence. I'm with these guys every single day. I don't need to be harping in their ear during the winter, too.

Q. How much easier will your job be with your revamped coaching staff?
NED YOST: I don't know if it will be easier. I don't know. You know, Dauer and Donnelly did a nice job, but I just think with the addition of Robin, it's going to help. As a bench coach, Robin is a very, very smart baseball person, you can't become a Hall of Famer without being smart, both instinct type player and the smart baseball player on how the game is played. And I think he'll bring that experience. I think that the addition of those two guys will make us a better team.

Q. We haven't heard the Brewers mentioned with some of these top free agent starting pitchers. Do you have any desire to see the team make a play for some of those players?
NED YOST: Well, I know the monetary restraints that we're working under and I know where we're at as far as our budget and our payroll. There's just sometimes some different areas you have to work through. I don't think that we're in a position right now to go out and pay 7 or 8 million dollars for 10 or 12. We have to find ways to get around that. We found them in guys like Doug Davis, Capuano, so we can get that job done. I've got confidence we'll find the right people.

Q. Even though it took the Brewers 12 years to get back to .500, most people say it's harder to take the next step. Do you agree with that and how far away?
NED YOST: Well, it was awful tough to get to .500. But nobody said it was going to be easy, and especially in the division that we're playing in. It's not like we're playing in a division like the West was last year. We're playing in a division that, you know, has, again, we're talking St. Louis, Houston, we play those guys 17, 18, 19 times a year instead of six, and it makes it very, very difficult. But when you can start to compete in that division like we did right up until the end, you're making progress and you're getting there.
The thing that we've got going for us are the young guys. I know they are going to be there for a while, and they are only going to be getting better.

Q. It would appear that you have enough flexibility within the salary structure to make the kinds of changes you're suggesting if you're talking about adding relief pitchers and bench guys; that's not unreasonable.
NED YOST: No, no, that's very reasonable. But we're looking at different scenarios and different trades and again, you know, the money plays into it, and you can trade for a guy that's making $9 million or try to find a guy that's almost as -- with the same production at $5 million. So we're trying to look at all of our options and find out what's the best for us, what's going to make us the most successful, and then have money left over to fill in some of the pieces that we need to fill in.

Q. Do you have even any concern whatsoever that Turnbow could be a one-year fluke?
NED YOST: No. I have no concern whatsoever. If he is a one-year fluke, I'll be the most surprised person.

Q. Because of?
NED YOST: Because of his makeup. Because he is perfectly suited for that position. You know, some guys will come out and by accident have a great year, and then all of a sudden they start thinking, boy, I've got to really push this year to do better. You know, I think Turnbow understood that he came out every day and did what he was capable of doing and had an excellent year. And I don't think that he's going to put anything more into it than he did last year, and his stuff is outstanding. So I just think that he's going to come out and I don't think he's -- I think he's going to be just as good as he was last year.

Q. Could he even get better?
NED YOST: He could.

Q. That as an awful impressive first year.
NED YOST: It was. But he did it basically with the fastball. He threw very few strikes with his secondary pitches. By the end of the year you could see his breaking ball starting to get better. He was starting to develop a changeup, pitches that he never had. If he can get one of his secondary pitches that he can throw for a strike at a semi-consistent rate he's going to be lights-out because they just sit on the fastball now. His breaking ball was so nasty last year, how many times did he throw it for strikes that they swung at it, very seldom. There were balls bouncing out two feet in front of home plate that guys were swinging at. If he can get to the point where he can throw that secondary pitch with some form of consistency, he's only going to be better.

Q. There's a growing sentiment, without a lot of fanfare that Mike Maddux is really one of the best pitching coaches around.
NED YOST: Well, if you ask me, I'd be hard-pressed to find a better pitching coach than Mike Maddux. He in my mind is as good as they come. And what he does so well is he communicates, the guys trust him implicitly with his game plan every single day. But he sits for hours and hours dissecting the opposing team and details a plan of attack personalized to that pitcher against this team tonight, and the pitchers will sit and they go over it and the catchers know what it is and what the pitcher does, it eliminates all thinking for the pitcher. All the pitcher has to do is go out and execute to be successful.
They have bought into it, and they know the numbers and they know the areas and they go out and do it. They know that Mike is there for them and they trust that. Just look at the difference it's done for Doug Davis, what it's done for Capuano, Benny Sheets has gotten better and become a better pitcher than he was two years ago. He's done a wonderful, wonderful job.

Q. Assuming Ohka comes back, who else do you see competing for those starting spots?
NED YOST: Well, Rick Helling. Right now as it sets up, it's probably Sheeter -- not in any particular order because we'll probably split up the lefties but it's probably Benny Sheets, Doug Davis, Capuano, Ohka and Helling, but we've also got Eveland that we'll throw in the mix. Of course we'll have Hendrickson in back and seeing where he's at and some of those other guys.

Q. Last year with Ben in spring training, you took a whole different approach with him; will there be a similar approach this year coming off the shoulder problem?
NED YOST: I don't think so. I think we'll go into it cautiously but I think by then he'll be in good shape and he'll be ready to go. Last year we really refrained from doing any extracurricular stuff as far as bunting, swinging and trying to improve his game fundamentally as far as fielding his position. We didn't do any of that stuff. It was all side work and of course all of that stuff will be incorporated this year.

Q. And he was really bad at all of that stuff, too.
NED YOST: Well, that's an area that we want to work on and get better, fielding our position and throwing to the bases.

Q. Do you see him competing in Spring Training games, not being held out of things?
NED YOST: I don't see any reason for him to be held out at this point, no. I think that if his rehab continues to go at the way it's gone now, he will be 100% ready to go in Spring Training.

Q. Sounds like you don't want to encourage him too much to play in the World Cup.
NED YOST: I don't know where we stands with that right now. I haven't really thought too much about it. Again, it's a special thing and if he's ready, we will make a decision on that.

Q. Being ready for that and Opening Day are like four weeks apart.
NED YOST: That's the difference. From day one in Spring Training our goal is to have them ready to go Opening Day, I mean it's not -- we kind of work into it real easy and bump up their pitch counts every start to have them ready so by the time the season starts they are ready to go one hundred pitches. Four weeks early is really pushing it for a guy like Benny. So probably not but I'm not going to completely rule it out at this point.

Q. Have you gotten better and in what way, at managing the grind and the scrutiny that comes along with the job?
NED YOST: You know, I don't know if I've gotten better at it. Maybe a little bit, I don't know. You always learn, you always live and learn at this job and you figure out ways you can do things better. But so much of it is, you know, is instinct and gut reaction, knowing your players and knowing your style and adhering to it. I don't think I've really sat back and thought to myself why I've gotten so much better in this area. I think the first couple of years really in my mind we were just treading water trying to get through the year last year. We really made a push to get to that .500 mark. With more talent, you can do more things on the field but there's still a lot of areas that we need to improve in before we can really get over that hump.

Q. If you don't have many new additions to the team and right now it looks like you might not have a lot, how fair is it to set the bar a lot higher for the team you have?
NED YOST: I think that you have to keep pushing. It's like that carrot, you have to keep trying to reach for it. If you stand there and they just put it in your face it doesn't do you any good. You have always have to be reaching for something.
Again our players left at the end of the year, with the year's experience behind them and it's like I tell my players every year at the end of the year, I expect them to come back at the end of the Spring Training better players. I want them to take the good things and the bad things the year before and digest them all year long and show up a better, smarter, more fundamental baseball players. I think we're going to be a better team with the same guys when we show up in Spring Training than when we left at the end of the year last year.

Q. Is Bill Hall a poster child for that?
NED YOST: He was the guy that really made -- yeah, really showed that because the difference between a year was no more dramatic for any player in the League than Billy Hall. He wasn't very got year before and sat down with Billy in my office and said, look, that is what I want you to think about and this is what you need to do to become a better player. When Billy showed up next year and it wasn't a lot -- I mean, he showed up, it's a lot of digesting mentally and mentally visualizing yourself as that player. And you show up a better player.

Q. In theory, if you showed up with the same roster in Spring Training you would be better than any other club?
NED YOST: That's barring injury. Yeah, I think if we showed up with the exact same team that we had at the end of the year last year, we're going to be better. And there's still, like I said before, there's still a lot of little areas in our game, our baserunning, we need to improve baserunning, defensively, we were just very, very average, at best. Defensively last year, I think we're going to come back. I think we'll come back a better defensive club. Look at the progress we've made offensively as far as fundamental baseball goes; bunting, getting runners over and in. We've improved from the first year to the second year and made a great improvement from the middle of the half on next year. Our guys are starting to see the benefits of playing fundamental baseball in the way that it correlates in winning baseball games where we never saw it before. And that's all this up here. It's all about playing the game to win and learning how to win baseball games, just don't go out and play the game. You have to play to win and you have to play every day to win the ballgame, and our guys are starting to see that and feel that, which makes you a better team through experience.

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