Quotes from MLB Winter Meetings, Day 1

David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Why does it seem like nothing big will come out of this week’s 2013 MLB winter meetings? A lot of big name free agents have already signed. Some major trades have already occurred. What else is there?

Well, during the first day of the MLB winter meetings, a few of baseball skippers were questioned by the attending media. Surely we can find something there then…

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Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost was asked on the dynamics of the Royals batting order after the acquisition of Norichika Aoki:

Again, you know, we’ll go through it in Spring Training, we always felt all along that Alex was our best option at lead‑off because he was an on‑base guy. But we also felt that Alex was a middle of the bat ‑‑ middle of the order type of batter, a run producer. We’ll look at Hosmer after coming off a great year. Billy Butler being Billy. Salvador Perez. We’ve got to look and see how the lineup stacks up in terms of speed at the top with Aoki. Maybe Bonifacio hitting second and Gordy is going to be in the 4, 5, 6 spot, somewhere in there. Because Hos is pretty much going to nail down the 3 spot, as we sit today.

Yost also noted that he feels the Royals have enough depth in which to construct a starting rotation.

On the offensive front, if the Royals had landed Carlos Beltran, they would have constructed themselves a really good lineup. It’s not bad now and I can see this team putting up a few runs during the 2014 season.

But what might have been…

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Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price addresses Joey Votto‘s hitting:

My feeling about Joey is that I think it’s been mentioned, yeah, he needs to extend the plate to drive in runs. And I don’t believe that. I think it can be very difficult to work hard to get an understanding of the strike zone and be able to manage it like Joey does, and then ask him to go outside that strike zone to be productive with runners in scoring position. I think what we hope is that he’s able to take advantage of more of those triple counts, those times he’s in a good count and maybe not be quite as selective in that situation, still trying to hit strikes, but maybe not ‑‑ there’s sometimes where he got deeper into the at‑bat. In the end, he really did have a phenomenal year, and I think he’s conscientious, that one of his responsibilities will be to drive in runs, and we’ve got to present him with those opportunities, and I think we’ll see differences between 2013 and 2014.

Votto’s approach has been a constant subject since the beginning of the 2013 season. At times, Votto was heavily criticized by a portion of the Reds fanbase. While Votto a stat fiend’s dream, there are those that hold to the belief that he’s being paid too much to not drive in runs.

But I side with Price here and it’s not even close as to which side. Votto did have a great season.

But ask Brandon Phillips if he cared seeing #19 draw all those walks. You know he’ll answer your question.

David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon talked about dealing with the Rays limitations:

Grew up that way, you know? So I do embrace it. I kind of enjoy it. I had that conversation with another writer in the lobby earlier today. The intellectual process that we have to go through on an annual basis to be good, to me, is very exciting. To not just have an open locker full of money to buy exactly what you need is okay because then you have to‑‑ necessity being the mother of invention, you’ve got to try to figure out these other avenues to get the same thing done. I think there is a little bit of purity involved in that. There is more of a pure sense in regards to the game and how it should be played. So for a lot of different reasons I’ve often talked about working where I work to me is the best job in all of Major League Baseball. Managing this particular team is the best job in all of Major League Baseball regardless of money or salary. Just the people I work with upstairs and how we go about all of this every year is exciting and it’s interesting and it’s challenging, and it’s all those things that every year should be. I would never want to be in a situation where you became so complacent and that you just show up and write the same nine names in the same nine spots every day. That would be no fun whatsoever. That would stink. But I do enjoy and we enjoy the mental gymnastics we go through on a daily basis.

Maddon is always a great listen and read. You never fail to gain a little more respect for him after doing so.

He might have the toughest managing job in all of baseball as his Rays have to contend with the big money of the Yankees and Red Sox on a yearly basis. The Blue Jays took that leap this past season and Baltimore routinely spends about 15% more on their payroll each season than Tampa.

Call it “smoke and mirrors”. Call it “more with less”. Call it “getting the most out of his players”, but Maddon finds the means to work with what he’s given. And work it does. In his eight seasons as the Rays skipper, Maddon has led the Rays into the postseason on four occasions with one World Series appearance. The Rays total opening day payroll over that span? $407,174,714.

Add that over the past six seasons, the Rays have posted a winning percentage north of .500 in each.

David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell on Robinson Cano heading to Seattle:

That we’ll only face him seven or ten times instead of 19. You know what, free agency does some different things, and he’s a great player. You remember as a pitching coach, he’s a guy that keeps you up at night trying to find ways to attack him. But I’m glad he’s out of the East.

Had to figure this one was coming. I know of three other managers in the AL East that have the same feeling. That said, the Yankees have added bats including former Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

And Farrell will sleep a little easier…maybe.