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MLB WINTER MEETINGSDecember 8, 2010Kirk GibsonLAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA Q. What are your thoughts on having J.J. Putz this year as a closer? Some of the moves that Kevin's made? KIRK GIBSON: Going in, you know, Kevin was very clear that he wanted to start rebuilding our pitching, starting with the back end of the bullpen. And bringing J.J. in is obvious. He's had experience as a closer. He's been in the closer role before. He's got the kind of stuff, a big, tall guy with downward angle. Throws the ball hard, he's got a good split and very effective. He's certainly capable. And Gutierrez -- Juan is -- he closed for us last year also, so he's got some back end experience. Looking at him probably 8th inning, trying to get to J.J. And then David Hernandez, got really good reports on him. I talked -- when we acquired him, I talked to Juan Samuel, who is in the Baltimore organization, and was a teammate of mine and I coached with him in Detroit. Got real good reports on him. So when you look at the back end of the bullpen, you see so far this off-season that's what KT's really tried to address and I can assure you he's not comfortable with where we're at yet in that aspect. So I think he'll continue to try to improve us there. Q. Of the guys that you have left, I would say there are probably three or four of them you could count on in the mix? KIRK GIBSON: What are you talking about? Q. Gutierrez, Vazquez? KIRK GIBSON: Well, you know, Vazquez didn't have very good command last year, let's be honest about it. If he's going to come in and you look at opposing hitters getting on base, almost had a .400 clip against him. Vazquez has to improve upon that. He's going to have to earn a spot on the team in my mind. Q. And Demel? KIRK GIBSON: Demel, yeah, he had kind of a mixture last year. Like him a lot. Like his stuff. Got lefties out better than he did righties. He had worked on a lot of things last year though. I like his action. He certainly will be in the mix in the bullpen, yes. Q. And Alberto's basically your only left-hander right now? KIRK GIBSON: So far, yeah. But, again, those are areas that we're going to try to address. I don't plan on going into spring training with one left-hander. And he's got great stuff. He's another guy. Batting average against is around .200, maybe .230. But his command has not been good, so he's walking too many guys. We all know if he can get control of those issues, he would be dominant for us. Q. Gutierrez is the other one? KIRK GIBSON: Yeah, Gutierrez had a down year early, rebounded well. We put him on the DL. He was hurt. I was only able to actually throw him about once every three days. He was really strapping our bullpen, so we put him on the DL. He agreed it was the right thing to do. He got strong. It really wasn't something he needed a lot of time. He was on the DL for 15 days. But after that he was light's out. So we have to use him properly. What is this, his third or fourth year now. He's certainly in a position to have a consistent year for once for us. The last two years have been somewhat inconsistent. Q. Do you have any early thoughts on how you see the lineup shaping up especially in the middle of the order? KIRK GIBSON: I really don't. We'll see who is there in the lineup. Again, I think it's early in the off-season. I know I've talked to Kevin a lot, and we have different thoughts on different things. I think the personnel could change before we get to spring training, but I look into all those things. For the guys we know who are going to be here, CY, and Stephen, Kelly, you know, Miggy, J-up, obviously there are places you'd like to put them, hopefully our personnel will be such that we can put them in the best spots and they can be productive for us. Q. Who do you see as your leadoff guy? KIRK GIBSON: That one there is in open. I'm not sure. I have different ideas on that. I've looked at different options. Stephen's actually, if you look at his numbers up there, he's done very well at leadoff. Yet I'd rather have a leadoff guy who is maybe a little more, has a little more effect on the game when he gets on base. Stephen's going to maybe steal 10, 15 bags tops. You look at a guy like CY, who's also done well for us in the past at leadoff. He's become very good last year. Kind of came together with him on the bases, very dominant out there. Really affects the at-bats when he's over there at first base or second base. It influences the pitch selection. Yet he's been hitting over 25 home runs for you too. So you have a home run hitter leading off. We've always had that dilemma. Kelly is also a guy that can get on base. Again, when you look at how he might influence things on the bases, I'd like to have somebody up top that is going to change the way the opponents look at us with a guy on base. I'd love to be as aggressive as I can. Obviously I'll only be able to do it if personnel allows me to do it. Q. Do you see your team having less power now that Reynolds is gone? KIRK GIBSON: Sure. Right now we've lost -- Reynolds had 32, LaRoche had 35, so that's 67 home runs. We also lost almost 200 strikeouts. We've picked up some veteran guys in Mora and Blum. You know, like last year, you get to a 3-1 or 3-2 count, you'd like to put guys in motion. Or even 2-2, or putting hit-and-run on. Last year it was virtually impossible to do. We'll be able to, I think, do a little more of that. We'll put the ball in play more. Try to put more pressure on people. Q. Once you became manager, was there something that -- even though you spent all this time in the game, was there something about managing that you didn't understand until you were in the chair? KIRK GIBSON: Not really. I think that whether you're a player or whether you're a manager or a parent, it's always a work in progress. I'm going to address things the best I know how to. I'm going to prepare myself the best I know how to, try and analyze what the right thing to do is and in all those capacities I'm talking about. Your aim is to be successful at it. You're not always going to be successful, and I think the quality of the team is to be able to overcome those things. Something that, frankly, we've not been very good at. Looking to try to develop a different culture, one of being way more competitive, more consistently. Compete our way into good situations, compete our way out of bad situations. You really have to have a commitment to play this game over the long haul, every pitch of every game and you can't concede. You have to understand if you're behind by eight runs, by you competing to the end of that game, you can influence tomorrow. That's important. When things have gone as bad as they've gone for us, we just have not had our priorities straight. So we haven't played the game the right way. That's certainly something that I aim to change. Q. Sparky was so great at the head. What little Sparky voices do you hear in the back of your head sometimes? KIRK GIBSON: I see him shaking his finger no, no, no, no, no (laughing). I mean, he taught us how to play the game. He taught us when to do things, when not. He had team meetings. He put his slippers in the middle of the clubhouse and he'd walk around and talk about things that happened within the game, things that happened that shouldn't have happened. At the end of the meeting, he'd turn around and point to his slippers and say those are Cinderella's slippers, make sure you try them on. If they fit, there is a white horse outside the clubhouse door and you're welcome to get on it. And a day or so later somebody would be gone. Obviously, the game has changed somewhat. But he said he likes gardens. He doesn't like weeds in his gardens. If I see a weed, I'll pluck it right out of there. Virtually, what he taught us with Sparky was you're on my program, our program, or you're not. If you're not, you're not a part of the program. Again, the game has changed and it's not that easy where I understand you can't just say you're not in the program and we'll get rid of you. Yet I will address it. I will confront it. He's not with us anymore, but I made a statement that I will continue to spread Sparky's good words as long as I'm in the game. Q. Along those same lines, has character been an important attribute for these guys that you guys have acquired here? KIRK GIBSON: I think if you look at them, you just see maybe Kevin targets a little different type people. We definitely want to develop a ton of character within our clubhouse. Beyond that, within the organization, right through to the minor leagues, it's everybody's goal. Some of the things that we're going to work on, it's nothing new, it's not rocket science. I'm not a rocket scientist or anything like that. It's just really trying to get them to buy into it, and there is got to be a method to do that. If they do, then we'll start to have better outcomes at certain things that we try to do. Again, the competitive part of it is if you fail at it, you have to continue to be committed to come back maybe in the next situation, and you can't be proud about the previous situation. You have to be in tuned to the game and what's going on. We have nobody to blame for our performance but ourselves, or nobody to thank by ourselves. It's not -- I mean, we're the ones on the field. We're the ones in the clubhouse. We're the ones that are either going to execute or not execute, and I'm just not into excuses about it. Q. Will spring training be different this year? You talked about going through a lot of drills and talked about keeping the guys out there and working through things. Will it be a little different than it has in year's past is this? KIRK GIBSON: I think it will be a little bit different. Again, my goal is to get them to understand the importance of if we're going to work on bunt plays, for example, they have to understand the importance of why we're so specific about things in the bunt plays and how they can affect a game. You have to execute them. I can think of a game, it was the game Kelly Johnson hit for the cycle, we lost to the Giants like 11-9 or something like that. We didn't pick up a ball. We've got a guy on. We were late getting over on the bunt, he got on, and that was the winning run. Those are things that we can control. So we need to be committed to learning how to make those plays. That's not a hard play. We can practice it over and over and over, but that is just the way the game goes. The game gets a little tougher and speeds up a little bit. You're in the ninth inning, and you just have to be committed just like you do in spring training on the field. You have to pick it up, and you have to take care of it. In general, I think in the past you don't generally practice those things maybe full speed. That is something that I will try to do more of. We'll go through the walk-through and the coaches are on the bases. But we'll also go through executing plays at full speed, at the risk of hurting somebody. But that is, in part, your responsibility also. You have to be under control and you have to take care of yourself. That's how you play the game. Q. Is it just to say that the NL West is probably the most competitive division right now in all of baseball? KIRK GIBSON: I really don't know. We all know the Giants had a great year last year. They did it with pitching really and their defense was very good. They're going to be good. We all know that. They're the world champions. The Dodgers have always been tough. San Diego was one game out last year. Colorado, they really do it with pitching too as well. They're going to continue to address their needs. You know, you can predict who is going to be where every year. It's just a prediction. We just need to take care of getting better ourselves and competing better. Then hopefully we'll fall into a magical season. I did it in 1988 when I was with the Dodgers. I went there and we finished in fifth place the previous two years, or they did. We had a magical season and we won the World Series in 1988. We have not fared well here the previous two years. It's not even close to what we want. There's been expectations, and I'm hoping that we can redesign some things and recommit some ways and change our culture the way we compete and we can fall into something magical also. Q. It just seems that that division, the last place team can be in first place the next year? KIRK GIBSON: I hope so (laughing). I certainly hope so. Q. What are the changes in culture that you refer to? KIRK GIBSON: Just the way we think. I think just paying attention to details are the right thing. Committed together. I didn't see a connection that I don't think we need to have in the past. You've been in the clubhouse. I'm not going to get into detail about it, but there are some things that are going to change in there. It's nonnegotiable. But we need to go in there at a certain time, lock in, and be ready to prepare for the game. And there is nothing else we have to do from that time on. You guys were in there last year when they had the toy gun sign, I mean, that's bullshit. How could you even think about it. Stuff like that is a thing of the past, trust me. If you want to go play toys, you're in the wrong spot. Q. So it will be out of the clubhouse comely beforehand? KIRK GIBSON: Will something like that? Yeah. Q. I remember the pitchers used to go out and model planes on the field too? KIRK GIBSON: That won't be happening either. I tell you, this is the basic criteria. If can you convince me that would help make us a better team, I'll let you do it, okay. But if you want to fly your toy airplane, you can stay home an extra hour. I'd rather have you come in an hour later and be prepared and ready to get to the baseball-related activities and preparation. Q. What about like musical instruments, guitars and -- KIRK GIBSON: I'm not going to go into anymore detail, but it's going to be different. Q. Do you think a veteran presence like Jeff Blum will help you with that? KIRK GIBSON: I hope so. And I think he will. In fairness to our team, if you look at the years that I've been here, the last four years, if you look who people like our young guys have had as mentors, probably not as much as we look around the league, as many teams. So in all fairness to them, we have a great group of guys. They're great kids. Some guys are not so young anymore. They all mean well. It's just my job to do a better job of helping them understand a different direction that we want to go in and how we can get there. I love my team. Q. Do you look to Melvin Mora for a little of that also? KIRK GIBSON: Melvin Mora is experienced also. When you get older, maybe your abilities, your physical abilities aren't as good as they were when you started, yet your mental abilities are better. You have a confidence about yourself, and you understand how the game goes, the situations of the game, that you have to be patient. There are times that you're not going to succeed and that's okay. If you do it the right way and you go down, that's one thing. But if you just go up there and do it the wrong way and make a quick out or you don't, I guess, adjust to the situation of the game and you make the wrong play, then that's not going to help you. So, yeah, I do hope that there will be an addition in that area. Q. What is your style in terms of the off-season staying in touch with players? Do you get on the phone with them periodically? KIRK GIBSON: No, not really. I've been in Phoenix quite a bit. I've seen a couple players around. I've been busy formulating how we proceed from this day. Yesterday was yesterday. You know, I will have a communication with them at some point here when I actually know exactly. I think we kind of know when our spring training is going to start. When we get to spring training, it's my job to make sure my staff and I are on the same page. They fully understand what we're trying to execute, and that everything runs smoothly and we get to work. We'll have plenty of time. Q. Have you talked to it looks like now the decision is leaning towards Justin. Have you talked to him at all in this process? KIRK GIBSON: I talked to Justin last week. I was at the stadium and he was there. I talked to Justin, had a good talk. Matty Williams was in there, Casey was in there. Justin is still a young kid. He has high expectations on him, rightfully so. I fully understand it. I had the same thing. Wanted to make sure that he understood that there is nothing negative about what was said about him. I believe in him, we believe in him. There is no one player that we could go out and acquire that would be greater than Justin Upton. At the same time it's our responsibility and his responsibility to continue to mature him as a ballplayer, as a person, as a role model for our organization as a spokesman. As much as we want him to be the finished product today, it is not going to happen that way. We talked about it. He's in working out, he understands that. We've had several conversations about the fact that he's basically played 130, 132 games the last two years and that's not enough. He's too valuable to not be able to play. We want to make an attempt at trying to have a different workout routine for him. Stretching, strengthen and conditioning to where we can get him on the field for 150-plus games a year. He understands that. He's committed to that. But I think a lot of people, because there are expectations -- and this is what I told him, maybe his perception is people don't appreciate him and he's probably right. But he's a damn good ballplayer, and he's had a pretty good year at this point in his career. He's still a star in the making in my opinion. Q. How's his shoulder? KIRK GIBSON: He's good, yeah. We had him stay after the season, I stayed after the season, and he continued to do that. We went down to instructional ball. He went down there and he was hitting and he's totally fine. Like when he gets hurt, if you can go back and look at it, sometimes he's let down on things. Like he'll get into a routine, and our training staff is very good. He'll be on it, then he'll slack a little bit. If you look at the late, late August and September is when it's happened to him every year. So we know that we have to do a better job and we have to stay atop of it, and we have to try to avoid that. Q. How excited are you to have your good friend Al Trammell back with you and what does he bring to the organization? KIRK GIBSON: He brings a lot of experience. He's a great baseball guy. He's a very loyal person. He has a great understanding of how to compete. I wouldn't call it exciting. It's kind of an honor to be a part of the guy that is so dedicated to the game of baseball. He understands -- and we were brought up the same way, he understands it's our obligation back to the game. The game doesn't really owe us, we owe the game. He's been a coach for the Padres, the manager for the Tigers. He's four years on the bench for the Cubs. He's very detailed, he's very organized, he's very, very keen. I think it's just important to have guys like Alan Trammell to assist and you help you make the right decisions. We're looking at different types of things and different plays that we may try to get out of trouble, and the infield, different pick plays and stuff like that, different bunt defenses. So he'll be instrumental in helping us make a positive decision in the direction we want to go. Q. What do you think you learned most from your time in Detroit? KIRK GIBSON: As a player or as a coach? Q. When you were together coaching. KIRK GIBSON: First of all, it was his first year as a manager, and it was my first year as a coach. We had a $38 million payroll or something like that. So we were in a total rebuilding process. I think it was a learning experience for us all. Unfortunately, we were over there three years and felt like we were going in the right direction. Tigers had a chance to hire a guy like Jim Leyland and his credentials are obvious. So that was unfortunate. There were no hard feelings there, but there were three years of a great lesson. We learned a lot about coaching, handling players, rebuilding organizations, and that was key. We both went on. When I was coming up with the Tigers as a player, there is a guy named Les Moss who was the manager of the Tigers, not for very long. Sparky Anderson became available, so Sparky was the manager. That's just how things happen sometimes. We learned a lot together. Since those days, Alan went to Chicago and I went to the Diamondbacks, it's kind of probably good and wholesome to go to a different organization because different organizations do things differently. So me being in Arizona and Alan being in Chicago and then communicating all along the last four years, I think we're much different now and we'll prepare much differently for the task. Q. Speaking about your coaching staff, it seems to be pretty solid top to bottom. How much input did you have into that? KIRK GIBSON: It was a decision, an organizational decision. We interviewed several people at each position and that's the way it shook out. Alan's got a lot of experience, Don Baylor's got a ton of experience. I was talking to Clint Hurdle today, he said if you didn't hire Baylor, I was going to. So I'm very comfortable with that. Eric Young does not have a ton of experience, but he's young, vibrant, energetic, I've known him throughout the years, KT knows him and has a good history with him. I'm very excited about that, and he's a no-nonsense guy. And Charles Nagy, I've always respected him as a player, and KT has known him a long time. He's always appeared to be a smart, well thought out individual, very good at handling people. I think in the end he's got the opportunity to be really a stock pitching coach. All that said, what we all did -- and Glen Sherlock, obviously, has been here forever and he's one of my best friends. Matt Williams has got one year under his belt. Matty is really special. Learned a lot last year, and really enjoy him being a part of my staff. Then to have him be part of the organization like he did in 2001 with the World Series team, is also very important. All that said, we met last week for two solid days. We went through a lot of things. I could tell we're going to communicate very good. There is no clicks. I think we were committed to each other. We all know, and I told him that it's our obligation to execute our plan and ultimately we need to get them to buy into it. If they can do that, we're going to be on the right track. End of FastScripts |
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