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MLB WINTER MEETINGSDecember 4, 2007Cecil CooperNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Q. Fans want to know, how interested are you in Hunter Pence batting third, and is that a realistic possibility? CECIL COOPER: Without question. I think any time you can add the speed of the first two guys in Bourn, and also with Matsui, you can follow that up with a Hunter; I'm of the belief that Hunter can do a lot of things in baseball, probably more than most. He's a very gifted player, an exciting player, and for us I think the best fit is for him to be in that 3-hole. But we are going to visit that a little bit in Spring Training, and a lot of it depends on what happens here in the next couple days and then what happens the rest of this winter. We are always looking to improve our club, and there may be some other things that we can do to make us better. So I reserve the right to say that he will be pencilled in there; for the time being I'm going to say that he's the guy. Q. Have you talked to Berkman and Lee? CECIL COOPER: We did a little bit towards the end of the season and it's something that we've kind of just explored a little bit. And I'm sure they are going to have some probably strong opinion when we get into Spring Training, and we'll again visit it again and see. I'm sure they will do what's best for us and I have no, I don't believe that they will, you know, fight the issue of what's best for us. We're also going to try to come to the conclusion which is best for our team and for the good of all, we'll do that. Q. He kind of fits the bill of a clean-up guy in a lot of ways, doesn't he? CECIL COOPER: I mean, when you look at a clean-up guy, he's got to produce power, produce those runs and then still be able to hit for a decent average. And then talk about the prototypical lineup you're talking about a lead off guy; well we think we have one in Bourn who is a prototypical lead-off guy. Matsui is a guy that knows how to play the game, how to run, how to execute, and he's also a guy with speed. So that's an ideal No. 2 hitter that's batting well. Hunter I think is guy I that that if you look at-3-hole hitter, in most cases he's a guy that's going to hit for an average, a guy that's going to produce runs with his legs, he can his doubles, triples, that kind of a guy, and I think Hunter brings that to the table. You look at Lance, he can do basically the same thing, maybe not the same speed that Hunter would do. But he's the same type of a player; and then a switch-hitter he makes it even better for us. If you sandwich him between Hunter and Carlos, that's a night fit there. Carlos is a guy that's going to drive in runs, and more times than not he's going to come up with two out and a couple guys on and he's an RBI machine. So I think that he is the best guy for that position. But again, we're going to have to sit and talk about it and make sure everybody is on the same page with it. I don't think it will be an issue. I think it will be best or the Astros, that's the way I'm thinking right now. Wait and see after we talk. Q. With the speed in the last couple years, the Astros have not had -- you couldn't afford to move guys because they couldn't run as much. Do you expect, you've said from the start, defense, speed; you'd love to win 1-0 more than 8-5. CECIL COOPER: You know, you want to win, yeah, with the big score and a lot of runs. But the last couple years I've been here -- actually, the three years, we've scuffled at times to score runs, and we haven't really had the speed except for the one year that Taveras got a chance to play, so we lost that real speed at the top of our lineup. And this past year, we struggled at times to steal bases and I think we were toward the bottom of the league as far as stolen bases. So we need to change that and we're going to change it, and the only way to do that is add some speed. And I think we've done that with the two guys we have at the top. And the guy possibly that's going to be the third guy is a guy who has been able to steal 20 bases. If you take Bourn, he has the ability I think to steal 50 bases. He will get the green light, he will run, he will be aggressive in those situations, and he'll have the freedom to do that. I think that's the only way you can do it. It will help us, I think make us a better offensive club. If you think about, it too, we've improved our defense, I don't know if you know it or not, much better defense in center, much better defense at second base, and so we should be better defensively, too, because of the speed. Q. Now, when you played, you played with a lost colorful players and a lot of, you know, Robin Yount, Thomas, you yourself were All-Star caliber player and you played in an era where teams were not as big, there was no pitch counts. How did that experience as a player and player development work with younger guys, how does that help you manage this team? CECIL COOPER: Well, I think we have to still try to be careful in a lot of those areas when it comes to pitch count and things like that. I am kind of an old school kind of guy, and I believe that even though I've played on some teams that are really good offensively with home runs and all that; I think the one thing from my standpoint that plays all the time, speed, catching the ball, those kind of things that give you a more consistent chance to win. I think our team is built that way now, and we're going to continue to look to make improvements in other areas to maybe get that way. And whether you know it or not, we have a young catcher who we think as a chance that can steal some bases. So we'll have speed at the bottom, speed at the top and some thunder in the middle and we should be a real good offensive team. If we play to our potential we should be a good offensive team. Q. If you were to start the season right now, what would your rotation, the top three in your rotation look like? CECIL COOPER: Well, as it stands right now after finishing last year, I thought the three best starting pitchers we had, put it that way, things might change, just because of -- you know, some of the names they could change. But the best three I thought we had the end of the year of course were our overall No. 1 Oswalt, and after that I don't count two, three, four. I don't give the names like that, but I think the other guys who I thought pitched well at the end were Rodriguez, and to me to start out with, that's kind of where we start from. And now, whether we include Woody Williams and Troy Patton, also Juan Gutierrez, Gervacio, some of those names will be thrown in that mix, and we'll see who jumps out as our quote, unquote four, five, six, whatever we end up with. But we do feel that we have some depth there, some good arms there. And, of course, Sampson is another name that we talk about. We've actually discussed the possibility of moving him to the bullpen, but that's another option if we decide to go that way. He was probably our second-best pitcher first half of the year, and he had some arm problems. Q. Do you have any concern -- how do you feel when you look at the closing situation? CECIL COOPER: Well, you always want to get better. We always talk about getting better. If there's a chance for us to get better, we'll do it; if it doesn't make us all of a sudden pitch poor or interfere with our starting lineup. But I'm confident, Chad is a two-pitch pitcher, he can throw a slider, he can get it up to 95, good movement. I think he has the makeup to do it. And I think he can handle it. So I mean, he's with the No. 1 option, and we have some other guys who have the potential to do it. The kid we got from Milwaukee we ended up using at the end of the year, Sarfate, I think is a guy that has potential to do it. He's another guy. Samuel Gervacio, veteran reliever, pitched at the end of some ballgames and pitched the eighth inning, seventh inning and been successful, so he's another guy that has some possibility. And we have some pretty good young arms. I just mentioned a kid, starting lineup-type guy, Felipe, has a great arm that maybe one day down the road he might become a closer for us. And we haven't even talked about Nieve, we haven't talked about Matt Albers. So there's a lot of things that we can do. We just have to go to Spring Training and kind of sift through a little bit, and we'll start as it stands today we'll start with Qualls as our guy. Q. There are some rumors your team is in talks to acquire a closer. Let's say that doesn't happen. Houston traditionally is known for having Wagner; seven, eight, nine, it's been that way, and each time you lose a guy, you gain a guy. Is that something that you feel that you're going to see and try to at least replicate as the season goes on, try to get guys in that seven, eight, nine role and be comfortable in those roles, rather than mix-and-match? CECIL COOPER: Well, the ideal situation is to have a guy that you can say okay, this is my sixth inning or seventh inning guy or eighth or ninth inning guy, but I think you also need a little bit of depth. I think we do have that. And you know, I think we need to just get better in a lot of those areas and I think we'll continue to look to do that. I'm confident that we have to start our season with Qualls as the closer. I think the stuff is there, the makeup is there, I think he has the ability to bounce back, three, four days, he can do it. So he's my closer as it stands right now and that's the way we're going to look at it. As I said, we're always looking to get better, without question. Q. You were pretty close with a lot of the players, what do you think Brocail would add? A lot of guys since Bagwell left there has been a void in leadership. Do you get a sense that you guys can use a veteran, a 40-year-old guy just kind of help? CECIL COOPER: You know, '05, we had -- I think it was '05, '06, we had Russ and Russ was kind of like the veteran guru, kind of kept the bullpen guys kind of loose and together and kept them ready. But this past year we really didn't, per se, have that. We had Brian Moehler but he wasn't really, you know, that what I would call significant piece to kind of step up and be that role. So we didn't really have that guy, and Brocail was bringing that to our team. I don't know him, per se. I've just talked to him a little bit but everything I've heard from our guys and the players, he's the perfect kind of guy for that. He's a real good teammate, the kind of guy, he's been through the wars before, he knows how to get guys on the right page if it has to be, and I think every bullpen needs that. Q. If you were trying to six months from now, what will a Cecil Cooper-type team play like? CECIL COOPER: What would we do? Q. Like the style that we can expect. CECIL COOPER: I think just an aggressive kind of style. I think it's one of the things that we talked about when, you know, I was first asked to take over, you know, on an interim basis, we talked about being aggressive. We talked about, you know, being able to take the extra base, to play the game the right way, and to emphasize speed, do a better job of catching the ball. Those are things that we talked about and be able to pitch and get to our guys in the late innings. I think it's the same kind of team that we'll have and it's the same kind of managing style I'll have. Play close games, be able to win those close games; knowing in the seventh inning you have a chance to win the game. And I'll probably manage the game the same way. We end up with close games all the time, have the offense to be able to blow games open, but win the close games and be able to do that, and you do that by playing good defense and catching the ball, being more aggressive on the ball and be more aggressive on the bases, and we'll do that and I think that's the kind of team we'll see. You look at the Diamondbacks, very successful. They have young guys who ran the bases aggressively; California Angels are like that, they are successful. You look at the Rockies, they are that way, they were successful. That's what we have to become. Now at the same time we'll also have thunder in the middle and can do some damage, some of our three, four, five guys. That's what we will be. Q. Is there any pressure on second base for Matsui after the long-time success of Craig Biggio? CECIL COOPER: I'm sure he'll think about it. But you know, Kaz is a different kind of player. He's a guy that will bunt, move runners. Craig Biggio was a power-hitting second baseman for me. He hit 20-plus home runs a number of years. I think that Kaz will be a different kind of player. I think late in his career and over the latter part of his career, Craig Biggio didn't steal the bases that you'll see Kaz steal. I think they are different kind of players. I'm sure there will always be pressure. I replaced a guy what I was a young player, I replaced George Scott in Boston when I first got called up to Boston to play there. And George Scott was a big-time home run hitter, big RBI guy. He was a good player. He went to Milwaukee before me and became like an RBI champion, home run champion. I went to Milwaukee and replaced him again and that's tough to always do that, yes. And I think he will feel some pressure, but that's what this game is all about, anyway. It's about performing under pressure, and I think Kaz showed just at the end of the season playing for the Rockies, he knows how to play in those situations. So I think he'll be fine. Q. How does your life change from last winter as a bench coach to this winter as manager of the Astros? You talked about the first day of school for your daughter; how has your life changed? CECIL COOPER: It's changed tremendously. I didn't realize I guess all of the pressure. You know, it's just a different level all together. And now that it's actually -- you're into the wintertime and doing some of the free agent things and trades and things we are starting to do, sitting over there as a bench coach didn't really think about a lot of those things and now I have to think about all of that and form a team and give opinions and advice on a lot of those things. And before, I didn't think about it. So it's a little difficult sliding over into that next seat, but I know that it's something that I'm capable of handling and the challenge is something that I look forward to. Q. You made a splash acquiring a centerfielder, can you just talk about where Bourn fits? CECIL COOPER: Michael Bourn is a guy that we're excited about in the middle part of the summer. We tried to acquire him; it didn't work out. We were able to pick him up at the end of the year here, and he's an exciting young player, a young man that has a chance to be a real force offensively. He's a good baserunner, a kid that just now is beginning to know what it's all about to play at the Major League level and I think he'll be a guy that will be able to set the tone for us and I've kind of given him a name already. I had given it to one of our players and I've taken it back and given it to him. I used to call Hunter Pence our "igniter" but I've taken it back. I talked to Hunter last week about it, I said, "I'm going to change your name. I've got to come up with a new one, and I gave it to Michael Bourn." When I played in Milwaukee, in the years there, we had a guy named Paul Molitor that got us started and we called him the "Igniter." That's when Michael will bring to us, he's a kid that's a good baserunner, base stealer and will learn more as he continues to mature. But we expect him to be that guy that will set the tone for us. And Kaz Matsui is a guy that's a similar-type player, a switch-hitter. So he'll be able to help us steal bases, and he's a guy that can move runners, knows how to swing the bat. He's also got a little juice in his bat, so he's a guy that can drive in a run when you need a run driven in. He will just be an integral part of our offense. I think any time you can add speed, I think that's what you want to do. Q. With the ebb and flow of the Winter Meetings, day and a half over, are you confident that you guys can make any other moves? CECIL COOPER: Well, I'm sure that we will be looking for that. Whether we do or not is a different story. I know there are some things brewing but just have to have have other teams pull the trigger -- I'll just say this. I think Ed Wade has done a tremendous job as our GM at this point. He's made two really significant moves. I think they are positive for us as an organization and as a team. And I know he's a guy that won't let too much grass grow under his feet. He's continually searching and talking to people and he's trying to help us to get better. If we had to go into our season right now the way we are, we're much better than we were last year and I think we'll be very, very competitive. If our young people, some of our young stars step up and play well, pitch well; if J.R. Towles, my catcher, if he catches, and we think he can; we'll be good. We'll be very competitive. And our division, I think it's open. So we'll have a chance and be back to the kind of team that we used to be in the National League, very successful. End of FastScripts |
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