ARod Interview

[Coolbreeze44]

I heard ARod today on Adam Schein's show. Some really interesting stuff:

1) In regard to the baseball hall of fame: He said he would love to be in the hall, and he has great respect for Cooperstown. But he said if he doesn't make it, he has only himself to blame. He admitted he made mistakes and seems resigned to let the process take its course. I thought it was pretty impressive by him. So many of the steroid era players will deny their involvement to the end.

2) Said he is excited that the Wolves have TC guiding the ship for us. Predicted the Nuggets are going to win the title and that TC built that team.

3) When asked about the Wolves prospects for next season, the first person he mentioned was KAT. I've been thinking we almost have to trade KAT this offseason, but after hearing him speak, I'm not so sure the organization is set on doing that. I still think they should, but I'm less certain now.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for posting, Cool! I'll try to find a replay of that interview. I'm not surprised that A-Rod said things that suggest the Wolves won't trade KAT this summer. I don't think they'll trade Rudy either. Unfortunately, I think ownership and the front office have bought into their own story from last summer when the Rudy deal went down. TC said recently that going forward it's all about building around Ant. That comment suggests an openness to trading KAT or Rudy. But I learned last summer not to expect that TC's actions will align with his rhetoric. He made the Rudy deal about two weeks after saying that his priority was to "stay out of the way" and "not screw things up." That comment clearly conveyed a sense that he wasn't going to do more that tweak the roster -- essentially letting the 46-win team move forward another season with Ant and Jaden likely improving and evaluating the team before making any major moves.

I trust your take-away from the interview. But I'm still hoping the Wolves move one of our two bigs. I say that even though I have a high regard for KAT's talent and his consistently high offensive efficiency and productivity. In fact, I'd prefer to keep KAT and move Rudy. But if not Rudy, I'm now convinced the Wolves should move KAT this summer. It's time to build this team the right way in alignment with Ant and Jaden.

[Coolbreeze44]

Good post Lip, I get where you're coming from. My desire to move KAT has nothing to do with his talent or what he brings to the table. He has ability in spades. But the opportunity is two-fold for me. One, we have the chance to get a couple of very good pieces who would be great fits. I think Simons and whoever we could get at #3 present a rare opportunity to add the right elements to this roster. And two, I don't like KAT's impact on our culture. He's not a troublemaker, but he's also not a good leader either vocally or by example. I think the change is necessary, and the timing is here.

[Lipoli390]

Good post Lip, I get where you're coming from. My desire to move KAT has nothing to do with his talent or what he brings to the table. He has ability in spades. But the opportunity is two-fold for me. One, we have the chance to get a couple of very good pieces who would be great fits. I think Simons and whoever we could get at #3 present a rare opportunity to add the right elements to this roster. And two, I don't like KAT's impact on our culture. He's not a troublemaker, but he's also not a good leader either vocally or by example. I think the change is necessary, and the timing is here.

I've always liked the way you've stated the case for moving KAT - never over the top; just a sober, fair assessment of KAT and the situation we're in.