ESPN Insider: Mark DeRosa Q&A

[polosprt009]

Just noticed on ESPN that Mark DeRosa recently did a Q&A. You have to be an ESPN Insider to read past the first question. Are there any ESPN Insiders out there kind and willing enough to post the full interview? Should be a great opportunity to get to know the guy a little better.

 

The Cubs' Mark DeRosa answers questions about the NFL draft, the nastiest pitch he's ever seen, and turning the double play. Q&A

 

Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2853028&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2853028%26name%3dolney_buster

[killthegoat06]

Just noticed on ESPN that Mark DeRosa recently did a Q&A. You have to be an ESPN Insider to read past the first question. Are there any ESPN Insiders out there kind and willing enough to post the full interview? Should be a great opportunity to get to know the guy a little better.

 

The Cubs' Mark DeRosa answers questions about the NFL draft, the nastiest pitch he's ever seen, and turning the double play. Q&A

 

Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2853028&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2853028%26name%3dolney_buster

 

I am not sure about the ESPN Insider copyright laws. If it prohibits copy-pasting, can a summary be posted? Thanks

[Garwilly]

1. If you had been running the Oakland Raiders, who would you have taken with the No. 1 choice in the NFL draft?

 

MD: This was argued for days inside the clubhouse. The obvious choice is JaMarcus Russell. His size, arm strength and mobility are unmatched. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't take him and he turned out to be the next Donovan McNabb, if not better.

 

2. What was the nastiest pitch you have ever seen, as a hitter?

 

MD: Set the stage. Yankee Stadium, two outs in the 9th and "Enter Sandman" starts playing. ... Mariano Rivera strikes me out with his cutter which I was convinced -- to this day -- was drilling me in the ribs.

 

3. You've played most of your career in the infield, when you can talk all the time with the other infielders, the baserunners, the umpires. Do you do any talking when you play the outfield?

 

MD: The only conversation that goes on with the CF during the game is where to position certain hitters. Maybe during a pitching change you go over and talk. If you want to chat with people all you have to do on the road is turn around and you'll find thousands of people to talk to.

 

4. Who is the most competitive teammate you've had?

 

MD: This is the easiest question of them all. John Smoltz is hands down the most competitive person I've met in the game.

 

5. You play the Cardinals tonight on Sunday Night Baseball. Which St. Louis player do you enjoy watching?

 

MD: The obvious answer is Albert Pujols. He is on another planet when it comes to hitting and will go down as one of the game's greats. But I really enjoy watching Scott Rolen play the game. He plays the game the right way and is respected by all of his peers. He came through huge for the Cardinals in the World Series last year and that is the sign of a gamer.

 

6. If you were commissioner for a day, what change would you make?

 

MD: This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd?

 

7. Different second basemen use different techniques for turning a double play. How would you describe yours?

 

MD: I think for me turning the double play can get too mechanical if you let it. I just try to be an athlete.

 

8. You often don't really get to know a player until you see him every day. Along those lines, what have you learned this year about your new teammate, Derrek Lee?

 

MD: I have been lucky in my career to play with some of the game's greats. Maddux, Glav, Smoltz, Chipper, Andruw, Sheff, Mikey Young, Texieira, to name a few. Derrek goes right in that category. First off, he is a better human being than baseball player. The off-the-field stuff with his daughter and the community hopefully doesn't go unnoticed. And anyone that wins a batting title and Gold Gloves should be considered one of the game's best players, but to turn down a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina to play baseball shows the type of talent we are dealing with. This guy is a off the charts.

 

9. There's long been a perception that the best hitters get the best quality of wood for their bats. Since you've improved your production, has the quality of your bats gotten better? And how do you pick your game bats, when you get a box?

 

MD: I'm sure if I was the CEO of Louisville Slugger or Rawlings I would make damned sure the best players were getting the best product. For me, I swing a maple bat and don't really know the difference between good or bad until I'm running to first base with only the handle.

 

10. Do you feel any kind of kinship to Major League Baseball's other Ivy Leaguers, like the Padres' Chris Young (Princeton) or Houston's Brad Ausmus (Dartmouth)?

 

MD: It's such a small group that there has to be a connection. For the few that have reached the big leagues I know it wasn't easy... I wasn't a can't-miss prospect in either football or baseball in high school and wasn't ready to hang one up, so when the Ivy League knocked, my parents listened.

 

11. You just signed to play with the Cubs, who have most of their games in the daytime. Which would you prefer, daytime or night games?

 

MD: When I signed with the Cubs I knew playing day games would be the biggest adjustment. In talking to the guys in spring training, they told me it would take about a month to six weeks to find a comfortable routine to prepare for the day games.

 

 

 

 

Note: All of those questions were snipped considerabley, there is a ton more content, including explanations to every answer in the article.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

6. If you were commissioner for a day, what change would you make?

 

MD: This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd?

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

[seanimal]

6. If you were commissioner for a day, what change would you make?

 

MD: This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd?

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

 

Yeah, not cool Derosa. Not cool at all.

[tkenm356]

Oh hush

[CubinNY]

6. If you were commissioner for a day, what change would you make?

 

MD: This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd?

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

 

Yeah, not cool Derosa. Not cool at all.

I don't get that argument at all. It's simple, if I were a Cub fan I would want to see Floyd. If I were the fan of the team opposite the Cubs I'd rather see the pitcher.

 

As a fan of baseball, a game played by 9 individuals against 9 others I am not a fan of the DH.

 

Imagine if scorcer/football would let tan extra player only when a team is on the opposing teams side of the pitch?

[seanimal]

Oh hush

 

No I won't hush. The game that the American League plays is not baseball. Baseball is this awesome sport where everybody who takes the field, bats, and vice-versa. This does not happen in the American League, therefore it is not baseball.

 

The DH was invented, IIRC, to curtail the competitive disadvantage that the American League possessed compared to the National League. Well, hey, guess what, it worked. Now get rid of it.

[Vinestal]

Oh hush

 

No I won't hush. The game that the American League plays is not baseball. Baseball is this awesome sport where everybody who takes the field, bats, and vice-versa. This does not happen in the American League, therefore it is not baseball.

 

The DH was invented, IIRC, to curtail the competitive disadvantage that the American League possessed compared to the National League. Well, hey, guess what, it worked. Now get rid of it.

 

To bad the union in thier almighty power will never allow it to be removed. Maybe if the owners allowed another roster spot to compensate or something but I just seriously doubt it will ever happen. The DH sucks, its not real baseball in the AL its like some artificial form of something resembling baseball. There are many threads about this topic though if you really want to see what most people on the boards here think of it.

[Marco4]

The DH rule would mean Z didn't bat. That would be a bad thing.

[DiamondMind]

The DH rule would mean Z didn't bat. That would be a bad thing.

 

At times in 2003 I wondered why Prior wasn't hitting 7th or 8th.

[TruffleShuffle]

The DH rule would mean Z didn't bat. That would be a bad thing.

 

and marquis too... he's probably up there with livan hernandez as the best hitter in the game

[tkenm356]

Let me regail you non Insider subscribers with his full answer (mods feel free to block it if you want)

 

This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd? I know Carlos Zambrano and Jason Marquis would argue this to their grave, but for my money I want to see the nine best hitters in the lineup.

 

And I said "Oh hush" becuase not liking a player for voicing his opinion on a subject is dumb. If DeRosa came out and said "Pedophilia should be legal", then yeah, hunt him down and crucify him. But if him, or any player says they think the NL should have a DH don't act like you're disowning him just because he has an opinion like everyone else in this world

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I hate the DH.

 

DH in the NL = no Kerry Wood HR in Game 7 of the NLCS and no Kerry Wood HR in his first game back from TJS.

[seanimal]

I hate the DH.

 

DH in the NL = no Kerry Wood HR in Game 7 of the NLCS and no Kerry Wood HR in his first game back from TJS.

 

But we'd get to see more Floyd!!!

[snoodmonger]

Let me regail you non Insider subscribers with his full answer (mods feel free to block it if you want)

 

This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd? I know Carlos Zambrano and Jason Marquis would argue this to their grave, but for my money I want to see the nine best hitters in the lineup.

 

And I said "Oh hush" becuase not liking a player for voicing his opinion on a subject is dumb. If DeRosa came out and said "Pedophilia should be legal", then yeah, hunt him down and crucify him. But if him, or any player says they think the NL should have a DH don't act like you're disowning him just because he has an opinion like everyone else in this world

 

i don't think anyone was really disowning him or not liking him. i think they were just expressing their distaste for his opinion on that issue.

[TruffleShuffle]

I hate the DH.

 

DH in the NL = no Kerry Wood HR in Game 7 of the NLCS and no Kerry Wood HR in his first game back from TJS.

 

thanks a lot, i'd blocked out those two memories

[pitchcs]

Let me regail you non Insider subscribers with his full answer (mods feel free to block it if you want)

 

This is a tough question and your catching me in a transition phase back to the National League, but if I were commissioner I would strongly consider implementing the DH in the National League. For example, with the Cubs, would you rather see the pitcher hit or a guy like Cliff Floyd? I know Carlos Zambrano and Jason Marquis would argue this to their grave, but for my money I want to see the nine best hitters in the lineup.

 

And I said "Oh hush" becuase not liking a player for voicing his opinion on a subject is dumb. If DeRosa came out and said "Pedophilia should be legal", then yeah, hunt him down and crucify him. But if him, or any player says they think the NL should have a DH don't act like you're disowning him just because he has an opinion like everyone else in this world

 

i don't think anyone was really disowning him or not liking him. i think they were just expressing their distaste for his opinion on that issue.

 

I would think that his opinion has a lot to do with the fact that he was a utility player. Having a DH enables guys like that to get many more at-bats, a job and more money.

[tkenm356]

i don't think anyone was really disowning him or not liking him. i think they were just expressing their distaste for his opinion on that issue.

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

Yeah, not cool Derosa. Not cool at all.

 

Not trying to step on toes here, but it kinda sounds like it to me

[snoodmonger]

i don't think anyone was really disowning him or not liking him. i think they were just expressing their distaste for his opinion on that issue.

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

 

I just lost my respect for DeRosa. No DH!

Yeah, not cool Derosa. Not cool at all.

 

Not trying to step on toes here, but it kinda sounds like it to me

 

earth2sean said "not cool" RE DeRosa's opinion on the DH, not "you are dead to me."

 

And I suspect Vance's post was more hyperbole than his actual feelings toward derosa. I think you might be overreacting.