NSBB Exclusive: Transcript of Beane's Interview with Baker

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Beane: Why would you like to manage the A’s?

 

Baker: I've never been through a season where everything just goes peachy keen and stays the same all the time. I've never lived a year in my life when everything was beautiful all the time. I'm waiting for that beautiful, extended period where there's nothing [wrong].

 

Beane: I’ve talked to some people and looked at PAP and it appears you may have over-worked your starters…

 

Baker: Pitchers get hurt all the time. You don't like it. Sometimes there's no reason. Pitchers have been getting hurt since the beginning of time. Other than this year, I haven't had hardly any pitchers get hurt my whole career. … So, who has the answer? It appears when you're the manager, for whatever reason, no matter what I do, they're going to talk some stuff about it.

 

Beane: So, you don’t think you’re responsible for the injuries that happened to pitchers under your watch?

 

Baker: People are always looking for something negative. I'm really tired of people always picking at what I don't do or what I didn't do. There are a whole bunch of [managers] out there who haven't done what I have done. I think there's more of those than [managers] who have done better [than me], so I don't pay any attention to that criticism.

I talked to Tom Seaver the other day and he said his [pitch] limit was 140. Go look at Nolan Ryan’s pitch count. I bet he was 150-160 sometimes. I saw David Cone throw a 150-pitch shutout.

 

Beane: Can you detail how you would use your bullpen?

 

Baker: That closer is the guy with the black hood on that's pulling the rope on the guillotine to take the last breath out of the opposition for a loss, and to take the last breath out of anything is tough. I'm a hunter, and I'll shoot a dove or a quail, and right before I'm about to wring his neck, it'll peck me one more time. He can't do anything to me, but he's fighting for his last breath.

 

Beane: Uhmm…ok. Well, your teams in Chicago often made lapses in defense, what role did you or your coaches play in that. How do you get your team prepared to play?

 

Baker: 'm spoiled because I've always had a lot of good defensive teams. I don't know if it's by design or luck, but I take pride in my teams catching the ball, not beating ourselves.

 

Beane: But how does that explain why your teams lacked fundamentals?

 

Baker: Ain't nothing wrong with getting that cheese, as long as you earn it. That's the way I look at it. I'll help my guys get paid, as long as they do the job.

 

Beane: I don’t think I follow you…

 

Baker: To me, food and music are basically the most diverse things people do—food more than anything. There are probably people who don't like Mexicans, but they eat tacos. People who don't like Germans, but they eat knackwurst. People who don't like someone. Everyone almost eats everybody else's food.

 

Beane: Ok…nevermind that. What kind of salary would you be looking for in this job. As you know, our budget here isn’t as large as the one in Chicago.

 

Baker: The sad part about our society is most of the time, the people paying you on your next job are paying you for what you did for your past employer, and what you may do for your present employer. Really, the salary I'm making has nothing to do what I've done.

 

Beane: Ah ok. How would you help a player who is slumping?

 

Baker: You’ve just got to swing your way out of it.

 

Beane: So, how do you feel about OBP?

 

Baker: Yeah, you need on-base percentage guys to put the pitcher in the stretch. I don't agree with going up there looking for a walk unless the game situation dictates it. This isn't Little League.

Beane: Excuse me?

 

Baker: The whole thing boils down to that half of on-base percentage is getting a good pitch to hit. Most of the times when guys are striking out, a bad pitch has been swung at during the course of that at-bat.

 

Beane: It seems that you are devaluing the walk?

 

Baker: I think walks are overrated unless you can run. If you get a walk and put the pitcher in a stretch, that helps. But the guy who walks and can't run, most of the time they're clogging up the bases for somebody who can run.

 

Beane: Looking at the personel we have here, how would you construct your line-up?

 

Baker: It's just like fishing. You're going striped bass fishing. You've got birds on top and you follow the birds. Where the birds are, the bait fish are below that. Below the bait fish are the striped bass. That's what you want to do. That's how you want to do your lineup. That way they can't escape. That's how I try to make my lineup out so the opposition can't pitch around this guy or that guy and that guy and can't escape. You try to get them in the crossfire.

 

Beane: (shoots himself in the head)

 

 

[This is fictional, however all responses are actual quotes by Baker]

[sethuel1]

fantastic

[Handlebar McSkullet]

hilarious

[Guest]

outstanding work Vance.

[UMFan83]

Brilliant work..I kinda had a feeling those were real quotes because a lot sounded familiar, but it was still a nice little twist.

[SeldomSeen]

Who's Dusty Baker?

[10man]

Who's Dusty Baker?

Who's Billy Beane?

[Derwood]

Who's Dusty Baker?

Who's Billy Beane?

 

Who's Mark Buehrle?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Who's Dusty Baker?

Who's Billy Beane?

 

Who's Mark Buehrle?

 

What's a transcript?

[Sammy Sofa]

What's a truck?

[cubweiser03]

Whats a Manager?

 

Yeah this was great. Dusty's best quote are about hunting a fishing. I didnt figure you used real quotes from him until i read the closer one and thought that sounded awfully familar. The hunting and fishing quotes are silly analagies and if someone said to me, "who is Dusty Baker" i would show them these 2 quotes.

[biittner77]

whose Dusty Baker?

 

She's stripper from Vegas that wears a chefs hat.

 

Whose Billy Beane?

 

He's that British comedian that doesn't talk hardly ever

 

Whose Mark Buehrle?

 

He's the Brawny Paper Towel guy