On the Beat with Brad Mills

Last year, we landed then Astros Manager Cecil Cooper for a quick interview for my online blog for Global Traveler. This year we continued the Manager trend, but with current Manager Brad Mills.
Mills played four seasons with the Montreal Expos. He was a teammate of recently featured Mets coach Razor Shines. Mills was traded in 1984 to the Astros, but never played for the major league club.
The Astros are going through a rough time and Mills has them playing about as well as could be expected (maybe even better). Hopefully, the Astros young talent will develop and will be aided by some acquisitions to solidify the team in 2011. Otherwise, it might be a long season next year for Mills.

On the Beat with Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell and his 449 HR's should make it to the Hall of Fame in a few years. I had the pleasure of watching him up close several times a year as I visited my sister in Houston. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing him in Minute Maid Park.
Bagwell was standing by the batting cage before batting practice. The Astros really hadn't started bp yet, therefore I took my shot and approached him.
My normally reliable video guy (my nephew Matt) missed the very beginning of my question, which was "how do you like being back in baseball?". Bags stated that he was really enjoying it.
Recently, I heard that he probably will not return as a coach because he wants to spend time with his family. While I am glad that I got to interview Bags (especially if he doesn't return), I can't help but think how cool it would have been if he gave us the possible scoop.
I know, I have to be dreaming to think Bags would give us the scoop. I'm just saying...wow that would have been cool. Oh well, at least I logged in another (probable) Hall of Famer.

On the Beat with Jim Deshaies

In the "leaderboards" Section on the Baseball-Reference page for Jim Deshaies, you will see he got a Hall of Fame vote in 2001. That's a bit unusual for a pitcher with a career record of 84-95 over 12 seasons.
I am sure some reporter probably voted for Deshaies because he liked him and figured it would be cool for Deshaies to get a vote. No matter the reason, Deshaies logged in a vote to the HOF. (I would probably incorporate that onto my business card if I was Deshaies.)
He chuckled a bit when I asked him about it. I wasn't being sarcastic. I told him I thought it was pretty cool.
A special tip of my reporter's cap goes to my nephew Matt, who spotted and recognized Deshaies on the field. Once Matt pointed out the former pitcher, I wasn't going to let him escape without trying.

On the Beat with Jamie Quirk

While on the field conducting interviews for my weekly online Global Traveler piece, I occasionally get to talk to my favorite players from my youth. Such was the case last year with Jose Cruz.
This time at Minute Maid Park, I really targeted Astros Coach Jamie Quirk. Quirk had an interesting 18 year major league career. Originally, he was an outfielder, but he started catching a bit several years into his career. At this point, he was converting into a solid utility player.
In 1984, Quirk joined the coaching staff of the St. Louis Cardinals, apparently ending his playing career. By the end of the season, he joined the White Sox as a player and then finished the season with the Cleveland Indians. He went on to play 8 more seasons, mostly as a backup catcher (and you all know how I love backup catchers).
Another bit of Quirky trivia (sorry) is that he is #2 on the all-time list of HR's by a player with a last name starting with 'Q' (having recently been passed by Mark Quinn). How odd is that, he isn't even the #1 Q in Royals history?
If all of that wasn't enough, I had to recoup my lost interview with Quirk in Wrigley Field earlier this year. Among the other problems that day, my videocam died right as I got Quirk. I told him I'd see him in Houston later and he became one of our main targets.
As always, it really is cool to talk to these men, whose images appeared on the baseball cards of my youth. I never would have imagined this.

On the Beat with Michael Bourn

Last week while in Houston for some work for Global Traveler and for some fun, I got my nephew Matt (aka Big Money) into the act. Matt has proven himself to be a top notch assistant to me in these endeavors and deserved some airtime himself.
I got a couple interviews to start the evening. Then it was Matt's time to shine. Matt picked Michael Bourn as his first target. Picking Bourn, a Gold Glove winner in 2009 and an All-Star in 2010, was setting the bar high for a first attempt.
As Bourn made his way to the batting cage, Matt confidently approached him. Bourn politely declined, although said he would do it after batting practice.

Was this a shun? Would it turn out to be a false promise by Bourn? Would Bourn be too busy after batting?

Of course not! Besides, if Matt got shunned, the title would have been Shunned By Michael Bourn.
Matt was not to be denied. As Bourn headed for the dugout following his swings, Matt approached him again and snagged a quick interview about travel.
The first one is always the toughest and Matt handled it like a pro (or at least better than I did my first time). Matt went on to get a couple more interviews, which will be posted here in the near future.

Random Interview:Jason Michaels

For most of his career, Jason Michaels could probably be best described as a 4th outfielder or the better part of an outfield platoon. He's the kind of player every team wants, except for a fantasy team. Also, he is a very nice guy.
When we approached him in Houston, he was eager to answer our questions. He really seemed to think about the questions, rather than just throw out an answer. He gave us a very insightful response.
Players like Michaels won't make the Hall of Fame, but these guys make baseball. His playing time decreased last season, but hopefully he will rebound in 2010. As an added piece of trivia, his grandfather John Michaels pitched for Boston.

Random Interview:Cecil Cooper

Cecil Cooper had a very good career. With a couple more of his average seasons, he might have gotten Hall of Fame consideration. Coop was a pleasure to watch.
I got to watch him up close as the Manager of the Houston Astros for parts of 3 seasons. He took over the team during a tough time. The team was transitioning from the 'Bagwell-Biggio' era. Unfortunately, these Astros never found a real identity and floundered around the .500 mark.
I really liked Coop as a player and I respect him as a Manager. I hope he gets another shot somewhere. When we were in Houston this summer, I had the chance to talk to Coop for a couple minutes. As always, no matter the topic, it is always a thrill for me to talk to these stars of my youth.

Random Interview:Geoff Blum

I have had a lot of fun interviewing players over the last couple years. Of course, I am not a trained journalist (although I worked for a newspaper for 17 years and did some writing).
I have to admit though, Geoff Blum came up with a simple answer, but not one that I expected. I asked Blum where he liked to play as a visiting player. His answer made total sense, but caught me a bit off guard. Perhaps I need to do a little more research before asking any question (although I probably won't).
I did bounce back a bit and seemingly surprised Blum by commenting on his brief tenure with the Chicago White Sox. Players generally do not get complimented by reporters.

Jose Cruz:A Definite Childhood Mancrush

When I was a young Johngy, Jose Cruz was one of my favorite players. I know what you are thinking, "but Johngy, Cruz was actually very good". Yes he was and I know I usually followed backup catchers and utility infielders, but Cruz was one of the exceptions.
Cruz played for 19 seasons, racking up 2251 hits while batting .284. He had an excellent career. His number is retired by the Houston Astros, the team for which he currently coaches.

Talking to Cruz was one of my main goals on the last trip. I was not to be denied. It took a while, as he was busy watching the Astros take batting practice, but we did get Cruz.
When Cruz answered our question, he mentioned his brother playing in Chicago. For whatever reason, I thought of Tommy (his brother who had brief stays with the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals).
Cruz corrected me and named Hector (his brother who played with the Chicago Cubs for parts of 3 seasons). Hector had a much better career than Tommy, although nowhere near as good as Jose.
My mistake was not realizing how little Tommy played in Chicago and the fact that if the Sox were in town, the Cubs were probably away, meaning Jose wouldn't have been here either. But hey, these are the kind of flubs a rookie makes, especially a rookie talking to one of his earliest mancrushes.

Hunter Pence Approaches Us

When we were in Houston, we made an attempt to get a quick interview with Hunter Pence of the Astros for Global Traveler magazine. Pence had to take some swings in the cage and politely declined.

We thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn't.

We continued to hang on the field talking to some other players. All of a sudden, Pence approached us and asked me if I was ready. He surprised us so much that my usually unflappable videographer Matt Parker (aka Big Money) missed the very start of the interview.
We couldn't believe how cool that was for Pence (an All-Star) to find us and ask us if we still wanted to talk to him. I was tempted to joke "Window closed, Pence", ala my friends Chachi and Jim, but seriously I was too floored to attempt the humor. I just fumbled to regain my composure.
This guy is pure class.

Catching Up with Brad Ausmus

When my sister's family lived in Houston for much of the 00's, we would always go to the Cubs games at Houston. Brad Ausmus was always one of our favorite players (except for the infamous ball incident with my brother-in-law Scott).
This year, Ausmus is playing closer to his home with the Los Angeles Dodgers. At 40, there are questions about his future. I addressed these two topics, when I talked to him at Miller Park in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago.
Ausmus is a class act. He is one of the real gems in baseball. When he retires, he will be missed, at least until he becomes a major league manager, as many predict.
Check out my interview with Ausmus here, along with the rest of my interviews on YouTube.

Brad Ausmus and me in Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI-July 2009.

The Brad Ausmus Ball

Things went well on my first couple of trips to visit my sister and her family after they moved to Houston. I was having fun hanging with them and seeing this great city.
We went to a few Astros games there, always when the Cubs were in town. Scott and Matt were White Sox fans (thus Cubs haters), so they quickly became Astros fans.
Things went well for the Cubs in the beginning. Then came the moment which we all agree signified great changes and the Cubs have had troubles there ever since.
The Cubs were winning the game. They had men on and big hitters coming up. Well, the big hitters came up and then went down. Sammy Sosa made the last out of the inning woefully flailing at strike 3.
From our seats behind the Astros dugout, Scott and Matt stood up and cheered wildly. Brad Ausmus jogged in heading for the dugout. He looked up and flipped the ball directly to Scott, who one-handed it.
The next inning, the Astros came roaring back, thanks to some shoddy defense by Moises Alou and some even shoddier pitching by a few of the Cubs relievers. The Astros went on to win that game and many more that I attended since.
I love Brad Ausmus, but I have to blame him for this change in destiny. Why did he have to throw that ball to Scott? I know Scott has that ball prominently on display and takes great pride in the belief that he was part of reversing the fortunes of the Astros and the Cubs!

Scott Parker holding the ball that changed history in Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX-early 00's.

Phil Garner was a Real Cut Out

With the Houston Astros playing my Chicago Cubs, I am reminded of good times I had in Houston. As I have written before, my sister and her family lived in Houston for a few years. Whenever I would visit, we would attend a few Astros games. We always hit the Cubs games, but I like to forget those, since the Astros always seemed to beat the Cubs when I went.
My nephew Matt Parker (aka Big Money) was a big Astros fan (He has since rediscovered his love of the White Sox or whichever way the wind is blowing...).
Matt has joined me in my quest for celeb pictures. Together, we met Astros legend Jimmy Wynn (with help from Matt's dad Scott) after one game. After another, we had a chance to get a picture with then-Manager Phil Garner.
Phil was looking a bit stiff that particular day. Maybe it was a bad day. Maybe he knew his end was near as manager. Either way, we were not going to be denied. We got our picture and Garner did not say a word.

Matt Parker, 'Phil Garner' and me in Houston, TX-early 00's.

Jimmy Wynn:The Toy Cannon

Scott (my brother-in-law), Big Money (my nephew) and I always attend a bunch of Cubs-Astros games every season. They lived in Houston for a while and both hate the Cubs. Therefore, we have a nice rivalry, although I usually end up on the losing side whenever we attend games in Houston. Former player Jimmy Wynn did some post-game broadcasting for the Astros last season. We attempted to meet him, but were almost sent away with the rest of the crowd, until Scott informed the ushers that Jimmy had instructed us to wait for him. I owe Scott for that one.
Wynn had one of the greatest nicknames, the Toy Cannon, which aptly described his strong arm. It isn't a slick modern name, like JWynn or J-Wy or some other such non-creative moniker. He was the Toy Cannon and you feared his arm!

Some 'fans' questioned us about who Jimmy Wynn was and where he played his career. Wynn's #24 hangs proudly as one of a handful of retired jersey numbers of the Astros. Wynn spent 11 seasons in Houston and still ranks high in many of their all-time offensive categories. Of course, some fans also stated that Brad Ausmus was one of the best hitters on the Astros.

Big Money, Jimmy Wynn and me at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX-August 2007.