Anthopoulos With Blair and Dirk

Just going to make this it's own post instead of putting it in the Day 2 running blog.  You can probably find the audio on sportsnet.ca later on, but here are the cliffnotes.


11:35 ET
- He doesn't like being called a ninja.
- AA told JPA that he was going to be the starter when the trade happened.  Trades happen, and nothing is promised, but JP is the starting C at the moment.  No no-trade clauses at the moment.
- Dirk asks about AAAA guys and pitching depth being important.  AA says that he doesn't like the winter meetings because of all the interference and the media pressure to make a big splash.  He'd rather work from home, either before or after the meetings.
- AA doesn't see anything that could happen to drastically change the outlook of the team, and that they don't have any deals in place right now.  Depth/bench is significantly stronger at the moment, and the concern is pitching depth.
- re: A-Rod situation, the Yankees got away with missing him.  Yeah, they might take a hit offensively, but they still have a good pitching staff.  Cashman is good.

11:40 ET
- Haven't had any significant trade talks at the winter meetings.  Couple of phone calls, but nothing face-to-face.  Names get thrown around all the time to boost value, and the internet goes fucking crazy all the time with rumors.  Things can change quickly though.
- From a payroll standpoint, they probably won't get in to a bidding war for a free agent.  Payroll is beyond where it was planned to be.  It's not like he couldn't go to Beeston (or whoever) and say "Hey, moar plz," but it's unlikely unless the right player came up at the right price.

Blair and Dirk also had Jonah Keri on this morning.