Monday marked the first episode of a new show on KOA, AM 850 titled “Rockies Prime Time”. The show will air each Monday at 7:00pm from now until the end of spring training. The shows hosts, Jack Corrigan, Jerry Schemmel and Mike Rice were joined by the Rockies VP of Communications and Public Relations Jay Alves. The two guests lined up were Michael Cuddyer and GM Dan O’Dowd. After almost 10 minutes of the panel discussing the Hall of Fame results and their thoughts on its single inductee, and others that might be deserving, they had Michael Cuddyer on for some questions.
The first question asked of Michael Cuddyer was if he was excited. His answer leaves little room for doubt:
I’m excited to get out there. I wish the season was tomorrow, that’s how excited I am. Ever since I signed I’ve been looking forward to putting the jersey back on, putting the spikes on and getting back out on the field.
He went on to talk about Tulo giving him a call and he was asked what he thought of Tulo before he met him. Cuddyer said he is a huge fan, after watching him on TV and playing against him, he was very impressed with Tulo’s tenacity. He said that Tulo was one of his favorite players to watch play.
When asked about the call Tulo made to him, Cuddyer said:
Through the process right after the Winter Meetings when I started talking to the Rockies and the possibility of coming to play there, he gave me a call a couple of times and just expressed his excitement to have me as one of his teammates and to start this championship team with me. That spoke volumes to have him reach out to me and just express his excitement.
Another question asked was what kind of player can fans expect to see out of him as he plays in Colorado? What kind of player does he see himself as? How does he evaluate himself?
Well first and foremost I play hard every single day. I pride myself in running out every single ground ball. I pride myself in taking the guy out at second base on pretty much every double play I get a chance to. I’m gonna play the game the way it’s supposed to be played…one thing you are gonna get from me, day in and day out, is everything I’ve got. I can make that promise to every fan out there and I appreciate them and they will appreciate going out and watching me play and I think that’s what it’s going to be like with this whole ball club: going out there and playing hard, playing the right way and being accountable for what you do when you get out on the field. That’s the only way i was taught to play and that’s the only way I know how to play.
When asked what some of the factors that he felt made the Rockies the right team to join, he said that in talking with Dan, Tulo and everyone in the organization he got the same feeling that the team was going to be like the Twins, in that it was a family atmosphere. He felt comfortable from day one in that it would be what he was used to, comfortable. Everyone was excited to have him come to the team. He said he wanted to be on a team that wanted him.
One of the interviewers mentioned that Dan O’Dowd said, that when he was calling people about Cuddyer to see what kind of player he was, that he called Jim Thome and Thome said to Dan:
Michael Cuddyer is the best teammate he has had in his 20 years in the big leagues.
After talking about Thome for a bit they asked him what he felt about the team he was joining. He spoke very highly about how excited he is and gives praise to Tulo, CarGo, Giambi and Helton. He then went on to say something very interesting:
One thing I’m really excited about is the pitching staff. It might be funny for me to say that, because they are unproven and young, but man they’ve got arms. They’ve got a lot of stuff, and stuff that can’t be taught. You can hone young pitchers and you can teach them how to pitch, but you can’t teach a 95 – 97 mph fastball with a nasty slider, you can’t teach that. These guys have that and I’m excited to watch them learn and grow as pitchers and grow as a pitching staff. And I’m excited about the potential that this team has.
He finished up talking about why he chose the number he did, that he really looks up to Harmon Killebrew and he wanted to wear #3 for what Killebrew stood for. He told a pretty funny story about Harmon talking trash about his autograph.
Overall it was an excellent interview and you really feel his sincerity and desire to play.
Next up was GM Dan O’Dowd.
O’Dowd said they have been very active this off-season, with the vision they had to implement. He mentioned several times how hard it is to make deals, trades, etc.
One of the first questions was if we can we expect some more moves with this team, roster wise, before spring training?
Yeah, I think so Jerry, I mean who knows what’s gonna happen, again, as Jay knows because Jay’s been in on all of those discussions, he knows how difficult it is to make trades. I think we’d still like to look to add a little more starting pitching to our club, if possible through trades or though the free agent routes, probably more a non-roster basis via the free agent route. We still have some more irons in the fire and we’re still trying to do some things but I’m not sure how all that will come together.
They went on talking about how the team ended last year and if they, the front office, have done something in this off-season that will help the team. O’Dowd feels that they are a young talented team and they have acquired the players that can help, as long as players that are currently on the team will understand their sense of accountability. He said that it also depends on guys coming back from injury as well.
There was discussion on how they scout players and what they do during the process before approaching a player they want to pick-up, collecting tons of information over years and years, finding out how they are as a person, under pressure, etc. They started looking into Cuddyer during the middle of last summer. They also do a lot of statistical analysis that he touches on briefly.
He spoke about Cuddyer being exactly what they were looking for, a right-handed power hitter who was a veteran who played multiple positions, great clubhouse guy that will be accountable. After hearing the interview with him everyone agreed they nailed all of the aspects he was looking for.
O’Dowd then talked about Casey Blake’s roll and how he “gets it” and how Blake saw, as a Dodger, how our club was from the other side of the field. He mentioned that the players brought in will add to the season, but success will come from the internal players.
They went over 2nd and 3rd base and how Nolan Arenado went off during the AFL (he hit .388/.423/.636 with six home runs, 33 RBI and a 1.059 OPS over 29 AFL games). Speaking about Arenado, O’Dowd said:
We had no clue that Nolan Arenado would put himself in the position that he did at the conclusion of the Arizona Fall League. We knew we had a special player, but when you do what he did (during the season) and then go to the Arizona Fall League and do things players just haven’t done. I mean, his numbers , his RBI’s, especially with runners in scoring position – two outs – you know, guys just haven’t done that in that caliber. He moved himself completely up in our timeframe based upon that performance. What we’re not sure about is where his maturity level is at, as it relates to all of the things you have to handle at the big league level. Skill-set, defensive capability, passion, toughness, aces across the board. It really put us in a position to really aggressively move Ian Steward, because we are extremely comfortable with Nolan as our future.
O’Dowd continues by talking about how they really liked Casey Blake a lot, but weren’t sure about his medicals. How the medical staff checked him out and said that his issues weren’t that bad, and with the contract being favorable it will be the best for the team going forward.
He spoke about 2nd base being the spot that has several players lined up and possibly if the right veteran player comes along they might sign someone. He sees 2nd as the player hitting 8th, so that is the mentality going forward.
Overall it was an excellent show. I’ve only typed up about ½ of it, many of the questions and answers were longer than I have time to type out, and hearing Cuddyer speak for himself really got me excited to see this guy play.
To listen to the whole show you can find it here: http://www.rockiesradionetwork.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=rockiesprimetime
Jaredean,
Thank you for taking the time to post this. I’ve been meaning to see if I can find a podcast of the show, but just haven’t had the time. It was very nice to read your great synopsis. Maybe it’s just the season, but I am gradually shaking of the negativity from last year and starting to get some kool-aid down.
Ditto.
I’m glad you also caught DOD’s comment about the 2B-man hitting in the 8-hole. I hope Jim Tracy was listening to the show too.
I’ll interpret DOD’s comment as: the Rox are looking for DEFENSIVE 2nd basemen but the Prado deal probably ain’t gonna happen.
Yeah, i got that feeling as well…it also seemed to me that with his constantly talking about how hard it is to make a deal that maybe they have been trying to get Prado but with other teams wanting him as well, financial, etc. that it isn’t as easy as saying, “get me that kid, don’t care what the cost is”…
I also felt with the Cuddyer quotes that he, Cuddyer, was saying what he was being sold on…make sense? So, Dan tells Cuddyer, “we have an excellent young pitching staff” and Cuddyer says it in the interview. I don’t doubt the guy loves baseball and will eventually get to know the staff, but I wonder how much he really knows about our pitchers and what they are capable of. Coming from the AL and not having to play us much means he doesn’t have a lot of scouting on them, etc…
Overall I was really impressed with him though and am very excited to see if our 3, 4,5 and 6 hitters become a force in the league like they can if the cards fall…think of last season and each one of them (CarGo, Tulo and Helton) had streaks where they were hitting out of their mind – if you bring in a 4th power hitter and all of them “streak” at about the same time – wow…
I also like bringing Cuddyer, with his numbers, into our park – all things being the same, those numbers will go up…it will be like pulling AGon out of San Diego and dropping him into Fenway – what was a pop-up before is now over the monster…
Probably right, Miketober, but perhaps the Rox are just laying low right now on Prado so as not to contribute to driving up the price on the guy.
He loves our pitching staff??? It’s probably the worst in the division. Oh Michael…
Whats not to like about our staff? Its young and has an extremely high ceiling. Don’t put us at the bottom when the season hasn’t even started yet. We have some good arms and should be intrigued about them, not constantly putting them down and dreading what only might happen.
Tony, while I agree it is mostly young and with the potential for a high ceiling it’s hard to argue there are not HUGE question marks. Intrigue is a good positive way to look at it. It is a largely unproven staff. Beyond Chacin and Hammel? Too very good guys coming back from injury. Will they return to form? I sure hope they do. The rest? Young and/or unproven.
Mr. O’Dowd is going to the bank with the hopes the young guns are everything they are projected to be. If they are not then Ego’s statement could become a statement of fact.
In the grand scheme of things we currently have several that would be solid #5 or #6 in others rotations. For me the rest are ???
Two days ago the Braves were talking both Prado and Jurjjens starting the season as members of the Atlanta Braves.
I hope everyone’s excitement about Cuddyer continues throughout the season. Only time will tell. My vote was one of the 8 for Hernandez. Is Cuddyer better than one “insider” has proclaimed? A one win upgrade over Seth Smith?
Jaredean,thanks so much.As one of the least “fanatic”[a compliment to all other posters],posters here,I’ve loved this group for all the love,devotion,and knowledge I am gleening about the Rox on a nightly basis.As someone who grew up listening to his hometown Rochester[N.Y.] Red Wings on the radio all summer long I think its cool that some of the best preseason info seems to be coming from that antiquated medium.Thanks again.Oh yeah,what about that “return to top”button?
Ha! Gary, believe it or not i’ve looked into that as an option and i’m thnking of changing the whole comment section to have that and a “like” button, etc…it would mean a pretty major switch, so i want to make sure i don’t lose our current comments in the switch, etc…i haven’t forgotten about you!
Don’t worry about the back to top button-Prog’s magic cure works! Hit home on the keyboard and voila=top of page.
Hey Gary, not sure if you know this, I didn’t until recently…but the “Home” button on the keyboard takes you to the top. Pretty easy thing in the meantime until the link.
Prog,thanks for not making me feel totally non techie.I’ll try it Jaredean,I love the site so don’t make any changes based on my requests.
Gary, you must be a closet Oriole fan like me? It might be a few years before we can actually come out of the closet though!
Rich M,if ur referring to my Rochester,N.Y.roots,I’m actually old enough to have started listening when the “Wings”were still a Cardinal farm team in the 1950′s.Wally Moon’s-”Moon Shots”were legend,including the one that lodged in the clock atop the center field scoreboard at the old Norton street ball yard.In the 60′s,after switching to the Orioles,I remember seeing Boog Powell,Don Buford,Paul Blair,Don Belanger,and “groove”-Don Baylor.Also saw the Alou Bros.all playing for the Havana Cubans[before Castro],and AAA legend Luke Easter for the Buffalo Bisons.College,Vietnam,marriage,and moving kept me from returning after the mid 60′s.I drove by the new statium several times in the 90′s while moving my Mom to Colorado,and still have trouble accepting the Wings as the Twins farm club.Not a closet Baltimore fan anymore,but as a Yankee hater I would love to see them more competitve and kick the bronx a..holes and Bosox in the butt!
Hey, why isn’t there talk of Cuddy playing second? He has before, so why not now? That would keep Seth in right…interesting thought.
GUessing but from the reports that I read from Minnesota, Cuddy would have less range at second than he does at third. They all seem to think he can play a passable right field with a strong arm.
WOW, what a great read. Thanks Jaredean, I continue to be impressed with this site. I was concerned when ITR went away, but now I see there is nothing to worry about.