October 3, 2006

Theo On 2006 -- And 2007

Theo Epstein reflected on the 2006 season:
This is one of those years I tend to agree with my critics. ... We have a lot to address and we plan on being active ... We need help in the starting rotation, at least one [more] starter. We need help in the bullpen, certainly by moving Papelbon ... There are several spots in the bullpen. We'd like to add some more offense and depth to our lineup, some power to be our lineup, and continue to be an on-base threat as a club as well.

[T]here were two separate and distinct things which happened in the second half. The first was that the team had some weaknesses and those weaknesses weren't revealed in the first half but were exposed in the second half. There were injuries. But that's not a crutch. You can't let the fact there were a lot of injuries mask the first factor. ...

At the trading deadline ... we could have made some moves that were largely cosmetic, to cover our backsides a little bit. But that's not the way we want to do things. ... [B]ased on our injuries and based on our performance the rest of the way, there was not a deal that we could have done or a player we could have acquired that would have made a difference. ... I'm convinced it was the right decision.
According to the Courant, former Dodgers hitting coach Tim Wallach and White Sox minor league pitching coordinator Kirk Champion are the leading candidates to replace Ron Jackson and Dave Wallace. Terry Francona played with Wallach in Montreal and when Tito managed the White Sox's AA team in Birmingham in 1994, Champion was his pitching coach.

Jackson wrote a letter to Red Sox fans.

11 comments:

laura k said...

Just have to take a second to call Dan Patrick an idiot.

Always worth the effort.

Going by names. A man gets paid for this. Amazing.

Peter N said...

There ya go..that's where I heard the news of the possible replacements for coaching. A nice hometown paper for me. Not too heavy on the Yankees. Oh, the Yankees...damn, they look strong. Go Tigers.

Jere said...

Dan Patrick believes his own hype.

laura k said...

E in ESPN stands for entertainment

No it doesn't. It once did, but now it's not an acronym.

I don't find Dan Patrick the slightest bit entertaining.

Jere said...

Hey, can a human change their name TO an acronym?

allan said...

the E in ESPN stands for entertainment

I thought it stood for LOBOTOME.

Peter N said...

THE Yankees lose...that's right!!!!!!

laura k said...

Hey, can a human change their name TO an acronym?

Why not? People have changed their names to a single letter, or a number. What acronym do you want to be?

Jere said...

I've been thinking about it. Couldn't come up with a really good one. Was thinking of ones for you, like, Lefty Gal Irritates Righty Lugnuts. For me I thought of Jeter Eats Rat Excrement. That would look weird on a driver's license, I think.

Jere said...

Yes, this Tigers win made me very happy. It "reminded" me that the Yanks are not all-powerful. It just goes to show you how pervasive the media can be, making someone like ME worry (if only just a little) about the "Curse of Tony Clark"-era Yanks!

Although let's not get too excited about Kenny Rogers...he beat the Yanks....thirteen years ago. And not a good playoff guy. But other than that, I've got confidence in the Tigers. I'd love to see Randy walking off that mound cursing. And early.

Another good reason for the Tigers to win: The disgusting person in my office (she also LOVES the Mets! Woohoo! A backup plan!) who I hear right now saying "the Yankees are gonna win the next two!" I'm confident I could win any baseball argument with her, especially about her own team(s), but she'd THINK she's win because she'd just talk louder.

Peter N said...

Great coments on this Friday morning! And the results of tonight's game in Detroit are in....on my blog. My mind tells me so. Fiction soon to be fact? That's a great question. We'll see. And hey guys, let me know when the video tape comes in...should be soon. Take care. P