Minors & Majors - March 22nd
March 23rd, 2008
Today on Minors and Majors, my nationally broadcasted baseball show on XM Satellite Radio, I spoke with David Price, Mark DeRosa, Kyle Davies and Kevin Cameron.
Price, the top pick in last June’s draft, is the top prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays’ minor-league system. He’s also probably the top pitching prospect in the minor-leagues period. He made his pro-debut in an exhibition game against the Yankees last week, and the left-hander popped at 99 on the radar gun while striking out the side. He talked to me about his pro debut, among other things this morning.
If the season started today, DeRosa would be the starting second-baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately for DeRosa, it doesn’t, and word out of Chicago is that the Cubbies are still trying to make a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for Brian Roberts. If Chicago adds Roberts, he’d take DeRosa’s job at second, a scenario DeRosa talked candidly about in my interview with him this morning. A former Atlanta Brave and Texas Ranger, big leaguers don’t come any nicer than DeRosa.
Like DeRosa, Davies is a former Brave. One of the best interviews in baseball, Davies is a laid-back talker who is easy to have fun with. Among the topics I discussed with him today were, his new manager - Trey Hillman, and what he has to do to rebound from a dissapointing 2007 season.
Cameron is entering his second-year in San Diego with the Padres. He was taken in the rule-5 draft last season, and soon after the start of the year he burst onto the scene as a top-notch middle-reliever. A former standout at Georgia Tech, Cameron told me that the strength in San Diego this season will be defense. He also declared Petco Park baseball’s best stadium.
Here were a few of the quotes from the show this morning…
“I’m open to moving to different positions if it doesn’t mean me coming out of the lineup. I’m going to have a hard time with going back to the bench.”
-Mark DeRosa is open to try a new position if the Cubs sign Brian Roberts.
“That’s the problem I’m running into on this team if this deal goes down. There are so many superstars on this team, and they’re going to be hard pressed to find me some playing time if Brian Roberts comes to town.”
-Mark DeRosa explains his potential feelings of grief if the Cubs sign Brian Roberts.
“There’s just not a lot of real hard throwing lefties that are in the big leagues right now. I think my agent sent me stats on lefties that throw over ninety-five [mph], and there’s not a whole lot of them. So, that’s definitely something that a team can cherish, and you can cherish as a player, because that is something that you can use to your advantage..”
-David Price talks about his speed as a left handed pitcher which sets him apart from most.
“I think Trey’s got a great enthusiasm about him. I think all the players have taken a liking to him. I think we’re trying to buy into some of the stuff he’s saying. He’s going to be a really enthusiastic guy. He’s not going to settle for anything, which I think is good [for] a team like the Royals who haven’t won in a while need someone like that, and I think he’s going to be the guy who’s gonna bring us out of it.”
-Kyle Davies talks about new manager Trey Hillman’s qualities which should provide the spark the Royals need to starting winning more.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 am
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