Cincy Mag: Joey Votto interview

[Red Forman]

Per Cincinnati Magazine.....


Cincinnati Kid: Joey Votto




http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article.aspx?id=97056

[Rockermann]

That's a great article. Some real insight there. I love his comments about Cabrera, "And then you get a guy like Orlando [Cabrera]. People complained about that. He’s been outstanding. People don’t realize: you [have to] ignore the numbers sometimes. Orlando has done more for this team than anybody you can even quantify on paper. He has—having him has changed the atmosphere and the attitude in the clubhouse, and that doesn’t get enough credit in our game. Not at all. Statistics can only explain so much. But when Orlando makes a decision, on the field, on the bench, in the clubhouse, that can affect the game more than people realize."

[Griffey012]

Another great quote when talking about Dusty being a players manager,

"And what’s the plus to that approach?

Well, first of all, you’re assured of never getting blown up in the newspaper. So you wake up in the morning, and if you do happen to read the newspaper, or check the Internet, you know that he’s not going to throw you under the bus. That does two things: That gives you peace of mind to know that you don’t have to look over your shoulder every time you make a mistake, and the other thing is you want to play for the guy. You want to play for him because he’s got your back. He gives you more reasons beyond just doing your job to dig a little deeper, get a little more out of yourself. Because you play 162 games. There’s gonna be a lull here and there."

[GIDP]

Where is all the stories of how he loves to shop and how he only likes his coffee with the best of ingredients.

[BuckWild03]

Joey's a Lakers fan? Kobe is his MVP? Ew...

Otherwise, cool article.

[brm7675]

That's a great article. Some real insight there. I love his comments about Cabrera, "And then you get a guy like Orlando [Cabrera]. People complained about that. He’s been outstanding. People don’t realize: you [have to] ignore the numbers sometimes. Orlando has done more for this team than anybody you can even quantify on paper. He has—having him has changed the atmosphere and the attitude in the clubhouse, and that doesn’t get enough credit in our game. Not at all. Statistics can only explain so much. But when Orlando makes a decision, on the field, on the bench, in the clubhouse, that can affect the game more than people realize."

If the numbers don't matter, then let Cabrera sit on the bench and help out that way.

[brm7675]

Another great quote when talking about Dusty being a players manager,

"And what’s the plus to that approach?

Well, first of all, you’re assured of never getting blown up in the newspaper. So you wake up in the morning, and if you do happen to read the newspaper, or check the Internet, you know that he’s not going to throw you under the bus. That does two things: That gives you peace of mind to know that you don’t have to look over your shoulder every time you make a mistake, and the other thing is you want to play for the guy. You want to play for him because he’s got your back. He gives you more reasons beyond just doing your job to dig a little deeper, get a little more out of yourself. Because you play 162 games. There’s gonna be a lull here and there."

no question Dusty is a players manager, which is all and fine, be a players manager in the press and such, but you have got to do a better job of in game management.

[malcontent]

Joey's a Lakers fan? Kobe is his MVP? Ew...

Otherwise, cool article.

Reds need to be paying attention there. Get him a (yellow) Kobe jersey for Xmas, that sort of thing.

Don't want him to start envisioning a future as a Dodger (if he isn't already).

Oh. And an LTC wouldn't hurt, either.

[malcontent]

If the numbers don't matter, then let Cabrera sit on the bench and help out that way.

I'm at a loss to know what those little things (intangibles?) are.

Great interview, though. Votto is a really bright guy.

[mattfeet]

Awesome article, thanks for posting!

-Matt

[texasdave]

If you buy in to the fact that Cabrera turned the attitude and the atmosphere in the clubhouse around you also have to buy in to the fact that it wasn't all that good then.
Right? And wasn't Dusty "Players' Manager Extraordinaire" Baker here for a two full years before OCab signed on? I thought that player's would run through walls for Dusty. But the clubhouse attitude and atmosphere still had to be changed when OCab got here. Throw in the fact that everyone praises the leadership qualities of Scott Rolen and he was here before OCab and something isn't quite adding up in my mind.

I am not discounting leadership, attitude and other intangibles. But the timeline has me confused a bit.

[Quatitos]

If you buy in to the fact that Cabrera turned the attitude and the atmosphere in the clubhouse around you also have to buy in to the fact that it wasn't all that good then.
Right? And wasn't Dusty "Players' Manager Extraordinaire" Baker here for a two full years before OCab signed on? I thought that player's would run through walls for Dusty. But the clubhouse attitude and atmosphere still had to be changed when OCab got here. Throw in the fact that everyone praises the leadership qualities of Scott Rolen and he was here before OCab and something isn't quite adding up in my mind.

I am not discounting leadership, attitude and other intangibles. But the timeline has me confused a bit.

I think the general roles, based on how I've heard them talked about in interviews, are as follows:
Dusty protects his players and tries to give them chances to succeed.
Rolen leads by example and shows guys like Bruce and Phillips how to play the game right.
Cabrera is the guy who will call you out if you mess up and helps control the mood in the clubhouse.

They all lead in different ways and different people will respond to different leadership styles, and apparently they have the right mix of leadership right now and everyone on the team seems to be pretty happy about it.

The timeline may confuse you because you hear it from different people. It seems Joey, although he is very much like Rolen in being quiet and letting his play talk, enjoys Cabrera's leadership very much. While when you consider someone like Gomes, he seems the most impressed with Rolen when you listen to some of his interviews. And in the case of Dusty, the team has improved every year he has been here so he is at the very least not hindering the players performance, since the team itself is more talented than it was when he got here. I'm sure some people will not give Dusty much credit and say the talent is a lot better is the reason they are playing better, but talented teams with bad managers will still do bad.

So yeah, different strokes for different folks, and the Reds appear to have a good mix of leadership styles and are playing well now so lets hope it keeps up!

[Mutaman]

I think the general roles, based on how I've heard them talked about in interviews, are as follows:
Dusty protects his players are tries to give them chances to succeed.
Rolen leads by example and shows guys like Bruce and Phillips how to play the game right.
Cabrera is the guy who will call you out if you mess up and helps control the mood in the clubhouse.

They all lead in different ways and different people will respond to different leadership styles, and apparently they have the right mix of leadership right now and everyone on the team seems to be pretty happy about it.

The timeline may confuse you because you hear it from different people. It seems Joey, although he is very much like Rolen in being quiet and letting his play talk, enjoys Cabrera's leadership very much. While when you consider someone like Gomes, he seems the most impressed with Rolen when you listen to some of his interviews. And in the case of Dusty, the team has improved every year he has been here so he is at the very least not hindering the players performance, since the team itself is more talented than it was when he got here. I'm sure some people will not give Dusty much credit and say the talent is a lot better is the reason they are playing better, but talented teams with bad managers will still do bad.

So yeah, different strokes for different folks, and the Reds appear to have a good mix of leadership styles and are playing well now so lets hope it keeps up!

Good piece of writing.


Joey really appreciates Baker and Cabrera. He thinks stats don't tell you everything. He values guys who do "the little things". He appreciates that baseball is a 162 game season. Joey would never make it on Redzoan.

[foxfire123]

Another great quote when talking about Dusty being a players manager,

"And what’s the plus to that approach?

Well, first of all, you’re assured of never getting blown up in the newspaper. So you wake up in the morning, and if you do happen to read the newspaper, or check the Internet, you know that he’s not going to throw you under the bus. That does two things: That gives you peace of mind to know that you don’t have to look over your shoulder every time you make a mistake, and the other thing is you want to play for the guy. You want to play for him because he’s got your back. He gives you more reasons beyond just doing your job to dig a little deeper, get a little more out of yourself. Because you play 162 games. There’s gonna be a lull here and there."

I would practically kill for a manager like that. Mine will throw you under the bus faster than you'd step on a cockroach.

[Reds]

Thanks for posting this, I really enjoyed the read!

It would be a dream of mine if we lock up Votto long term, he's going to turn into the best player in the past 30 years to play for the Reds, if he's here for a career. As it stands right now, he has to be the best value in the game, has to be.