The Second Coming of Greg

One of our old Dodgers GM's, Greg was originally booted from BBSBL for not being active enough, but a number of vacancies created an opportunity for Greg to return and he did...to the other side of LA to manage the Angels. Hopefully, Greg will be more successful in multiple ways this time around! I caught up with him to see what this transition period was like for him. Here we go!

1. First off, welcome back! What was going through your mind when you were booted from BBSBL earlier? Were you pissed? Or was it not that big of a deal to you? Do you think you could've done anything different in order to have prevented that situation from even happening in the first place? And are you happy and thankful to be back here?

Well, I wasn't thrilled with it no. You develop an attachment to the team/players and all as I'm sure you you know. Needed to be more active but I really hate typing. Yea, glad to be back.

So it really seems like you enjoy being active and participating here, but simply do not enjoy typing generally speaking. I mean you sound like one of the older guys here with an old school approach to things and it's understandable. The younger generation here is so dependent on technology for many aspects of life that typing for us has simply become second nature and something we do all the time. This could probably explain why the younger guys here post more and look more active.

2. You didn't really chat that much generally speaking in your first go-around. Let's get to know you a little better. Describe yourself, like where you are from and what you do. A few notable facts about your life that no one would ever guess would be great to hear as well.

I'm from Dallas and work at home. I don't know about notable facts really. Pretty boring I guess. Used to be wild as hell but have settled down since I got married and had kids.

First off, the Cowboys suck! Anyway, that's pretty cool. With a wife and kids, it definitely sounds like you are busy, but working at home is nice!

3. When you got removed before, your old Dodgers were rebuilding. Now, under the ownership of Dale, they are still in a long rebuild. Meanwhile, you are now in charge of the Angels, who are also in a rebuild stage. If you had to choose between the two teams, would you rather have the Dodgers again or do you like the Angels more? Which team will have the brighter long-term future and why?

I'd rather have the Angels now. Some of the guys I had on the Dodgers that I really liked are gone and Anaheim is now my home. Kinda cool I'm still in LA although in a different league.

Fair enough. The Angels do seem like they're in better shape between the 2 teams. You got some stud spects to build around for the future. It will be interesting to see which LA team ends up being more successful.

4. If you could choose one of your old Dodgers to be on the Angels right now, who would it be and why?

I think Drew Henson. Love power hitting middle infielders. Of course that's assuming he develops that power. It's a shame how his real career turned out.





I was actually banking on you saying Wainwright if anyone. He's gonna be sick. A dependable innings-eating ace is nice to have! Henson looks good too though. And yeah, he did not end up having much of a baseball career and his football career was not any better.

5. Let's move onto those Halos. It looks like you are trying to continue the rebuild that your predecessors have begun. What exactly is the plan here? Will it be a long time before the Angels become successful? Or could you see it happening within 2-3 seasons from now?

I'm hoping sooner rather that later. Fan base is pretty low and need to start bringing it up in order to be a competitive team. I'm shooting 2 yrs max. Hoping for a good FA and make a couple trades to show improvement next yr.

Your lineup needs a few more younger pieces at certain positions. When Salmon retires, that will leave a huge hole in the lineup. Erstad could be a useful trade chip if you decide to move him. You have some pitching, but you may need a few more hitters to ensure of more run production. With the A's and Rangers both retooling, I really don't know where the Angels will be in 2005 or 2006 but they could be a Wild Card contender by then.

6. Your top prospect Jayson Werth is an absolute BEAST!!! G/G/F/B/A/G and he definitely looks ready to go for the 2004 season. Also has decent speed and can play every position except catcher and shortstop. Always great to have a lot of versatility! Where exactly will Werth fit into the Angels roster next season? What will be his most ideal position? What kind of offensive numbers will you expect from him? AL Rookie of the Year favorite? Any plans to franchise him?

Unless he takes a talent hit I can certainly see franchising him. Where I improve the roster will dictate where he plays. I really don't know at this point in time where that is. I'm expecting 40 HR's a yr and he better damn well win rookie of the year or I'll trade his ass.

You gotta TIA his walks! That's like the only real missing piece for him. Can't believe he's already 8 in homers...that could be 12-13 in homers potential right there. The sky is the limit for that. I'd say CF would be his best position for both range and fielding percentage, but yeah you gotta see which areas would work best for the team.





7. You have some other good prospects that could use TIA's, such as Brandon Phillips' hits, Alberto Callaspo's home runs or walks, Chris Young's home runs allowed and Jason Standridge's hits allowed, among others. How do you plan on getting all the board cash necessary to give these players what they will need to become more elite? Or is waiting for good PD's to happen the more likely course of action?

I probably am gonna need to get board cash in trades and bonus stuff etc. I'm just not a high poster guy.

I believe that all free giveaways of any kind should be taken advantage of. Having more flexibility with board cash and other stuff is huge! You definitely should look to trade some of your in-game cash for more board cash. That's by far the easiest way to get those TIA's you need and to have a little left over in case for any potential PD reversals. Posting generally speaking is good, but 200 posts can take a while for some people, so if that's not the course of action, you gotta explore all other options and see what is best.





8. If any Angels hitter has been the face of the franchise in recent time, it has been Tim Salmon. At almost 35 years old, Salmon has a career .254 average with 292 career home runs and 981 career RBI. Will Salmon be an Angel for life? Or could his days in Anaheim be coming to an end rather soon? Do you see him becoming a BBSBL Hall of Famer one day?

Tim will be an Angel unless I get an offer I like for him. He's fading but could still probably help a contender. Surprised I haven't gotten any inquiries at all about him. Not sure he's HOF caliber. He was a nice player but I dont know about HOF worthy.

BBSBL GM's generally speaking do not like to trade for aging talent. Everyone prefers youth and you might not end up getting as much as you want for Salmon if you end up moving him. He might make it to a HOF ballot, but probably won't get in.





9. Which particular areas are the Angels lacking in? Do they need more hitting? More pitching? An upgrade at a certain position? A better bullpen? What do you consider the overall blueprint for potential Angels success? How do you plan on improving your team? More building through the draft or could a few big trades change the direction of the Angels just like that?

I'm hoping to make a few big deals if the price is right and sign a couple good FA's ideally. We need everything at this point on the ML level. But in particular another good SP or 2 and a lot of pen help. Plus another couple power bats ya.

Your pitching for the future looks solid with Blevins, Weaver, Wade Miller and Chris Young. Plus, you have Chacin in the minors who could be up in 2004 or 2005 at the latest. Standridge, Ford, Galaragga and Vaught are all nice spects as well and you should look to maybe trade 1 or 2 of them. Offensively, you have Bard, Erickson, Salmon, Erstad, and Cepicky. The addition of Werth next season will be big, but Phillips and Callaspo probably won't be ready until 2005. In free agency, you should look to target an outfielder, a 1B and a 2B in particular. Your pen actually looks ok with Sherrill and Sullivan leading the way. You should be able to find a few more solid relievers on the open market as well.





10. One glance at your finances and it's clear that the Angels are in excellent shape with in-game cash and will have quite a bit of spending money for the next offseason. Will all this money continue to be saved? Or could the Angels possibly be going on a spending spree with free agents? Any thoughts of trading some of your in-game cash for more board cash?

I do plan to make competitive bids this offseason. I don't like to grossly overpay though for guys so I wouldn't anticipate that happening. I may move some cash around at some point but not right now.

You gotta trade that in-game cash for board cash! It's a no-brainer for you because as long as you are rebuilding, you will more than likely earn positive revenue. Gotta be careful with overpaying, and that's smart of you to say that.

11. Are there any of your favorite MLB players that are currently in BBSBL that you wish you could have right now? Any current real life players that are not in this league yet that you would particularly like to draft in the future?

Hmmm, I guess my favorite player in BBSL still would be Pudge on the Rangers. He's not the dominator here and he's old though so I'll say Adrian Beltre. Love the way he plays. A guy that obviously loves what he does for a living.

Not surprising now that I know that you are a Rangers fan. Beltre is a beast though both here and in reality. He is a big-time slugger that can hit and he plays 3B as well as anyone. If he is hitting that well for the Jays, I can only imagine how awesome Wright will be.





12. Historically, the AL West has been both one of the weakest and one of the most unpredictable divisions thus far. The A's had a nice 3-year run that included a World Series championship in 2000, but they seem to be retooling now. Replacing them atop the division are the young and talented Mariners, who have burst onto the scene after a 3-year rebuild. With a current 14-game lead in the division, the Mariners look like they could be atop the division for years to come. And then there are the Rangers, who were successful in 2000, but have had trouble doing well ever since and are currently retooling.

How do you see the AL West playing out in the future? Are the Mariners now the team to beat? Will the A's be back in better shape soon? Will the Rangers find a way to become successful again? Or will it be the Angels that could soon give the Mariners trouble in the west?

Hopefully we'll make some noise but man Seattle looks great. Plus a good minors system...I mean damn. Gonna be an uphill battle to get by them. The A's and Rangers could be good too later on. Regardless, an uphill battle for them as well.

I agree that the Mariners look awesome both offensively and with pitching. They should be the AL West favorites for a good number of seasons at least. Nanz is sorta lucky to have Votto, but regardless, he has quite a few beasts on that team and just about all of them are young. Broph is a smart GM and I could see the A's making some noise by 2005 or so. Dan will probably have more work to do. Holliday is an MVP in the making but needs a lot more protection in the lineup besides just Juan who isn't even a long-term factor for the Rangers. He needs a few more solid offensive spects. His pitching has been underachieving, but they should be better next season. You got your work cut out for the Angels yourself. Like Dan, you need a few offensive upgrades and need to do some TIA's on a few other players and then the Angels could maybe get somewhere. We just gotta see how it plays out. Everyone will keep saying the Giants and Padres will own the NL West in the future, but I see things differently in the future, for example. You just gotta believe in yourself and not let negative voices cloud your judgment.





13. Generally speaking, are there any rules or stipulations in this league that you more or less disagree on? Any kinds of changes, improvements or suggestions you could offer on any important matters?

I'm really not much on the PD reversals. I think that's just a little too much but eh, gotta have something to bitch about right.

I see what you mean there and I understand where you are coming from, but I think the PD reversals are good because some of the PD's are ridiculous for young players and others occur at the worst times possible and that just isn't as fun. The other thing about PD reversals is that due to the fact that you can only use 1 reversal per player, you have to be wise with it and only use it when you feel like you need to. There is a lot of strategy involved in this and that's a fascinating challenge in itself to see if you did the right reversal at the right time. They aren't exactly cheap all the time either so it's like you gotta earn the reversal. It isn't free.

14. Last but not least, you know the drill: Please give us your predictions for which teams will make it to the 2003 World Series and who will ultimately win it all!

I think Seattle and Cubbies. Look for the Cubs to win it, their staff is made for the postseason.

Interesting choice there with the Mariners. They could definitely make some noise and I would take them over the Yankees, Jays and Indians in the postseason. But there is also the 800 pound gorilla known as the White Sox. The White Sox are loaded in just about every aspect on their major league roster and Waldo only has a few more seasons of competing at most before age starts to really catch up. I just think that this has to be his year or it might be a while until he gets back to the World Series. In the NL, the Cubs look like they are the clear favorites and are very loaded themselves, but they have found ways to choke away. Maybe this will be their year, but they gotta face their moment of truth in order to win it all. The Expos, Pirates, Giants and Padres could all give the Cubs a run for their money, but this season, I could really see an all-Chicago World Series happening with the White Sox taking it all before Bonds probably retires.