Sunday, January 13, 2013
Chris Myers, Director of Sports Programming at WQLR “The Fan”

Chris Myers: As promised, we have the General Manager of the Kalamazoo Badgers as our in-studio guest today.  Please welcome Bob Baginski.  Welcome to our warm studio on this lovely January morning.

Bob Baginski: Thank you and I am glad to be here.  These sub-zero temperatures really get me excited about beginning our spring training.  We have a lot to look forward to!

CM: So let’s get down to the business of baseball.  We have thousands of Hot Stovers that are anxiously looking forward to what the 2013 Badgers season holds in store for the Kalamazoo faithful.  You are the new guy on the block.  What are you going to do different to turn three consecutive losing seasons around?

BB: How much time do we have, Chris?  You’ve been around awhile.  There is no simple answer.  I have had the job for about two weeks now and have been assessing the entire organization, right on down to our short-season club.

CM: I’m with you, Bob; no need to take offense.  You have been around awhile as well, so you know my job is to ask the hard questions.  How is it that you think I made it to sports director of a, um (clears his throat), major metropolitan radio station?  Let’s start with your field general, Martyn Steger.  He is the only manager that this club has known.  He was a star that first year (2007), but things have not been as successful of late.  Don’t you think he is getting stale?

BB: I have confidence in Stegs.  He is very experienced at handling not only the vets but also the younger players.  He has keen insight into the game.  I will be working closely with him to fill out our roster in the coming weeks.  Don’t underestimate him.

CM: Yeah, but he is only signed through 2013 and I haven’t heard any rumors about extending his welcome… I mean, contract.  Anyway, how about if we continue our chat with some discussion regarding Badgers run production?  The club was tenth in the SL in runs scored.  Only two teams were worse!  You are not gonna beat ’em if you don’t outscore ’em.

BB: You’re right, Chris.  We have to figure out how to plate more runs.  The development of the 2013 club is off to a good start by signing Swedlove for the next two years.  He is only 25 years old and has good upside.  I don’t worry about him from a defensive perspective.  He is what I expect from a corner infield spot.  Ed (hitting coach Ed Johnson) will be working on improving his pitch selection and recognition during the pre-season.  I would like to see him cut back on his strikeout numbers.  I expect Joel to contribute significantly from an offensive standpoint.

CM: I don’t know, I’m not sold on Swedlove, but it’s your neck on the line.

BB: Appreciate the vote of confidence, Chris.  The Badgers will also be counting on John Collins to take up the other corner infield spot.  Collins had a respectable season in 2012.  He was fourth in the league in doubles, extra-base hits and isolated power.  From the power perspective, I will have better than average run production from my infield corners.

CM: I like Collins.  I just hope you can keep him off of the DL.  I mean, he is 34 years old.

BB: We’ll just let Carlos (Carlos Estrada, team trainer) run his magic.

CM: Okay, what about the rest of your infield?

BB: I am expecting a bounce-back season for Raúl García in 2013.  This kid can flat-out hit.  After coming off of the DL (four months with a broken hand) last season, García picked up right where he left off but had some stiffness in that hand after the season.  Maybe we had him come back a little too quick.  Carlos has been working with him on strengthening exercises for his hand.  If we can get 150-plus games out of him, he will be a major contributor.  He is a contact hitter and will be on base for Swedlove and Collins.  Defensively, he is an above average middle infielder.  I expect him to start the season at short.

CM: Let’s finish up the infield with some of your thoughts on second base; what’s your plan?

BB: I have some concerns with regard to filling second base.  The staff and I will be looking closely at River Adkins.  We were only able to get him into 58 games last year.  He does have some durability problems that we need to work through, but we’ve got Carlos working with him on some pretty specialized strength and flexibility programs.  As it stands now, the position is Adkins’s to lose.  We’ll see how he is coming along during spring training.

CM: What does your outfield arrangement look like at this point?  Can you share some thoughts?

BB: I’ve got some work to do with the Badgers outfield.  I am still assessing the entire organization at this point in time.  I have heard some pretty good things from my scouting department regarding Álex Martínez, so I will be evaluating him quite closely.  Since I missed the Winter Meetings, I will need to also assess what moves I may be able to make to strengthen the Badgers outfield situation.

CM: Wow, we are just about finished with our segment.  My producer Jimmy, behind the glass there, is hopping up and down trying to get my attention.  I love making him think I am ignoring him.  I think he’s got my next guest queued up, so we will need to wrap this up.  Okay, I see you, Jimbo; you better relax.  So Bob, can you come back next week and give us a rundown on the status of the Badgers’ battery options?  We would love to hear about the organization’s pitching and catching outlook for 2013.

BB: No problem, Chris.  I would love to.  I really want the fans to keep their spirits up as we pass through winter and give them something to look forward to.  See you next week.