-He expects a good year for Griffey and Dunn due in large part to Dusty Baker (DB). He says DB gets his vets to play well, especially in the first couple of years.
-He's worried about DB ruining our young arms. He says DB is not a great strategic manager, but can really handle a clubhouse.
-Doesn't think much of Fogg (and he was trying to be nice)
-Cueto's not quite ready, and Homer shouldn't be in Dusty's hands for a full season
-Would've liked to see the Reds make a deal for Joe Blanton. He said he would've given up Bailey/Cueto AND Joey Votto. He said, "I don't think much of Bailey
at all." He said he thought this because Bailey can't/won't succeed in GABP and because he's with the Reds organization. He also said, "Putting a young pitcher in the hands of DB is tantamount to suicide."
-He went on to say that Votto is solid but no superstar. Also, he said Hatteberg
will start over him no matter what Votto does in ST because of DB. Along those same lines, he said Freel will get the nod in CF over Jay Bruce because of DB. He said, "DB
always wants the veteran over the young guy", and then invoked the obligatory Neifi Perez example.
-He liked the Hamilton for Volquez deal. Hamilton was a risk and they were trading from a position of depth for one without depth. He said the Reds got a "good young arm" out of the deal.
-Says he mainly covers injuries for Baseball Prospectus and DB has helped him keep a job.
-On Wayne Krivsky's reputation around baseball: there's quite a dichotomy. He came out on fire and looked like a genius in his first few months with the Phillips and Arroyo moves, but really got made a fool in the Nationals trade. He said WK needs to win this year to keep his job due to Jocketty looming.
-Predicts NL Central will be close. No team will run away with it. He expects the Reds to be in the mix but the Brewers and Cubs are the class. He also expects the Cards to be good because of Albert Pujols (I guess you only need one good player on your team).