Angelswin.com Interview with Angels Ron Roenicke

Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke (right) giving Guerrero (left) some love after a home run

Interview conducted by Angelswin.com columnist - Victor Varadi

We had a chance to get in touch with Ron Roenicke after his Tempe workouts with the players on Friday (February 20, 2009) to ask him some questions that pertain to Ron's career as a ball player, third base coach and now bench coach of the Angels after taking over for now Rays manager Joe Maddon. Get to know Ron the person as well and what he likes to do for fun when he's not in an Angels uniform.

So, kick up you feet and enjoy reading this informative interview that Victor Varadi conducted with bench coach of the Angels, Ron Roenicke.

Q: (Angelswin) - What is the role of the bench coach, but also, does your role differ from roles of other bench coaches around the league?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - I think the bench coach job depends a lot on what the manager wants. Some guys don’t do any scheduling, they have a guy that does that. Some guys, the manager wants him during the game to be talking all the time during the game; some guys don’t want that guy next to him during the game to talk to him. My basic role is I do the scheduling, I do the lineups, I do the umpire cards.

Then during the game I make sure everyone is loose. I’m also there to talk to Mike when something is going on, to throw things at him. So our relationship there is kind of “as needed.” I don’t stand next to him all game if there’s nothing going on at the time. I’m also needed to pay attention to the outfield because I’m still the outfield coach. But I look at other teams, I see, for instance, Jim Leyland from Detroit, I see there’s no one next to him going to talk to him during the game. So it does differ from team to team.

Q: (Angelswin) - It sounds like you and Mike talk about in-game strategy. Do you guys ever disagree on in game strategy and do you ever talk about it after the game if you do disagree?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - Oh Absolutely. Part of the question I had when he asked me if I’d go from 3rd base coach to the dugout was ”Mike we’re gonna disagree on some stuff,” because we did when I was a 3rd base coach. And so “are we gonna butt heads too much to the point where it’s not gonna be good?” One of the things that he said was he wants to hear somebody’s opinion, he doesn’t want a bench coach that just sits there agreeing with everything he says. He wants to hear different opinions. And the nice thing is because we are friends, and I think because of the personalities also, even if we did get a little fired up every once in a while, in 10 minutes it’s done. So, maybe he gets mad at me for something I say to him during the game; maybe I disagree with him on something. The next day or maybe that night we’ll talk about it, but the next day I know it’s gone; I know there’s no problems. And it’s a great working environment when you can do that, when you’re not worried, well if I say this to him he’s gonna be mad at me for a week or whatever. That doesn’t happen here.

Q: (Angelswin) - You talked about the fact that you used to be a 3rd base coach, and you did so for 6 seasons with the Angels. Do you miss being on the field? And when you were promoted to become bench coach, was there anything you took from [Joe] Maddon that he used to do when he was bench coach?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - Yes, there [are] some things I miss about being on the field. You’re kind of one of the players when you’re out there. You are in the action and you are part of the action; you win and lose games out there.

Some things I love about being bench coach; it’s a bigger challenge. It’s more of the thinking things, helping out. It’s more of being like a manager. And I really enjoy that part. I really liked my time at 3rd base, but I’m also really liking my time as a bench coach.

And taking some things from Joe Maddon? Absolutely! Joe is without a doubt one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around.

Q: (Angelswin) - And he’s certainly proving that now.

A: (Ron Roenicke) - Yea, well, you know, things can be different as a coach and a manager. I’ve been around some really good coaches and they become a manager and they really weren’t all that great as a manager. Some guys are great coaches and great managers, and Joe is one of those guys. He’s got a different feel, he’s kind of like Mike. They’re very intelligent people, they really know the game of baseball, but they have these great personalities: they have a great sense of humor and they’ve got great common sense. And for me that is very rare to have all of those qualities in a manager. Joe has it and Mike has it.

Q: (Angelswin) - It doesn’t happen very often that Scioiscia gets ejected from a game. I know it happened a couple of years ago and you went 4-0 as the manager while he was gone. When it looks like he might be getting ejected from a game, do you start to get a little bit excited that you get to take over?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - (laughs) I don’t know if I’d call it excited. The nice thing, when he is suspended, I know from the get-go that I am the manager. You’re prepared for it, you know what you’re gonna have to do. When he gets ejected you’re not prepared for trying to do this stuff. You’re doing your job, all of a sudden he’s ejected and it kind of catches you a little bit off guard because you’re not prepared to that job that night, versus when he’s suspended, he was suspended for 3 straight games, that was an absolute blast! I knew what I was gonna have to do, I was prepared for it. But sometimes when he’s ejected in the 8th or 9th, maybe you’ve got a tie game and I’m not exactly sure what he’s talked about with the pitching staff or [pitching coach] Mike Butcher and all of a sudden all of these things are thrown at you and you’re scrambling to figure out, ok what are the signs he’s using today with his catchers. And so everything changes in a hurry.

Q: (Angelswin) - When a manager gets ejected, guys are always talking on TV saying, well he’s sitting in his office and he’s managing from his office; is that a reality or are you really handed the keys to the car and you’re on your own?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - I don’t know how it is on other teams. I’ve heard with other teams the guy is maybe managing from back there. Mike doesn’t. I told Mike, “if I’m gonna take this over, I’m taking it over.” He said “yea, I’m out of the game I want you to, you’re running everything.” So that’s the way we do it here. I don’t know exactly the way its run everywhere else.

Q: (Angelswin) - Yea I was curious as to how Mike did it. Talking about being an MLB manager, have you ever been offered any managerial positions in the past? Is it truly the stepping stone, you start as a bench coach, work your way up and hopefully one day become a manager?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - I think that is a stepping stone and it is something that I would like to do and hopefully that is the right situation to do. I am very happy where I am; I’m at home, I’m working in a great environment, I’m working for a great owner, a great manager. The coaching staff is one I enjoy every day. So, I’m in a great spot. If I don’t get that opportunity to manage, I still am really enjoying what I do.

But yes, I would like the opportunity sometime. It’s a challenge for me, I would like to be challenged a little bit more. If I do, great. And if not, it’s something that I’m happy with what I’m doing. You know, those jobs sometimes they come up and they’re right there for you, and sometimes they’re just, guys just never seem to get any offers. I interviewed a while ago with the Seattle Mariners. I needed to start kinda interviewing a couple times. Couple off-seasons there’s a lot of opportunities and some there’s none.

Q: (Angelswin) - In a perfect world, there’s a fantasy type draft, and you have one player to build your team around that’s currently playing, who’s that guy, who’s your first pick?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - (laughs) That’s a good one, that’s always a debate with us. Do you pick a number one pitcher or do you pick a number one player?

Q: (Angelswin) - Well, pick one of each.

A: (Ron Roenicke) - You have your Albert Pujols, you have… pitchers…there’s a lot of different choices there. There’s the Halladay's, the CC Sabbathia's. And in the other league, you got your Peavy’s. So, there’s a lot…that’s always a debate. Do you go for a guy that’s gonna be there every game? And I think you gotta look at personalities too. Are a lot of these guys leaders that you want to build a team around? That’s a good question and one that gets discussed a lot.

Q: (Angelswin) - I’m sure. And it’s one that gets discussed on message boards ad nauseum

A: (Ron Roenicke) - You’re right!

Q: (Angelswin) - You mentioned being at home. You’re from Covina, right?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - Correct, I grew up in West Covina.

Q: (Angelswin) - I read up a little bit on you and I actually think I have a Ron Roenicke Dodger baseball card. So you were drafted 4 times and each time you chose not to go, and then you were finally drafted by the Dodgers. So what was that like, being drafted by essentially a hometown team, if it wasn’t the Angels it was the Dodgers that were your hometown team.

A: (Ron Roenicke) - That’s who I grew up watching. My parents would take my brother and kid sister and I to games. And as soon as my brother was able to drive and we would go to the Dodger games. The other times I was drafted, with the 4 other teams I turned down, I don’t know mentally if I was ready to do that. I was wanting to go to school and my parents wanted me to go to school, also; my brother had signed out of high school.

Also, out of high school I was still wanting to play football. I probably was a better football player at that time. So I was kinda wanting to do that. So the Dodgers drafted me and it looked like I was gonna go in a good spot, and I had been to college for 3 years. I was ready to do it.

Q: (Angelswin) - So when you think back, what were some of your finest memories as a player in the big leagues?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - In the big leagues? Well I have a lot of them, both good and bad. Good was that I got to play for a lot of different teams and play with a lot of great players. The bad was that I probably wasn’t good enough to stay with any one team for a long time. I got to play with Mike Schmidt over in Philadelphia. I got to play with Tony Gwynn in San Diego. I got to play with all the great Dodger teams, go to a world series. So, it was probably the players that I was fortunate enough to play with on all those different teams. The great ones and to learn a lot from them and to learn a lot from the managers, too. Things I liked and things I didn’t like about all the different managers that I played for.

Q: (Angelswin) - Switching gears a little bit to what’s going on right now. Spring Training started and I know it’s early and I know as fans we get really excited when pitchers and catchers report, but then we see some of the other guys like Bobby Abreu out there early. You got your eye on anybody that’s standing out, either on the mound, defensively or hitting the ball?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - We’ve got a lot of really good young arms that I haven’t seen before. So it’s kinda fun to watch that. And it’s fun to have Bobby Abreu on our team because of the way he goes about his business, and because of some of the conversations I’ve already had with him. He puts a lot of effort into what he does, he doesn’t just show up and let his natural ability go with the flow. He’s studying pitchers, he’s studying a lot of different things that makes him the professional player that he is, and I enjoy that. Last year we had Torii Hunter in for the first time and I got to go through a Spring Training with him.

It’s nice to change every year, have these different personalities and get to know everybody and try to figure out the best way to go about, “how do I get this guy to perform to the best of his abilities?” That’s one of the challenges of the mental coach, to try to figure out the personalities and how do I get to him the best way. So it’s fun to have conversations with guys that are obviously great players and they’ve done things a certain way for a long time and when you have a disagreement on how something should be done. How do you go about convincing this great player to maybe try it this way? So it’s a challenge.

Q: (Angelswin) - The thing that gets bandied about when people talk about the Angels, and certainly people who don’t watch the Angels on a daily basis, and you’re probably tired of hearing about it, is the big bat. But I look at this team and I think there’s a lot of potential to do a lot of really good things. How do you feel about this team going into 2009?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - Well, I think we all have a good feeling about it. You know, the big bat is really important to have but you need to do certain things with that big bat. If you have a big bat you have to get a lot of people on base for him. If you don’t get a lot of people on base that big bat doesn’t become a big bat anymore. You need to have certain things to complement that kind of a player. And for us, ok maybe we’ve learned that, say what if we would have re-signed Teixera, we could have figured, well his power numbers are there, the RBIs. If a guy is a professional hitter he is going to have so many opportunities if you have a bunch of guys who get on base. There’s a lot of times when there’s gonna be that runner on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and all you need is a base hit to drive in 2 runs. The 3 run homer is great, but the base hit is gonna happen a lot more often than the 3 run homer. So to have good hitters who are going to hit for good average, or are going to be on base guys, those are very important to line ups. You look at our team, I think a lot of our younger guys are getting better all the time, and they need to get better because we’re counting on them.

We’ve got the great pitching staff, but offensively we’d like to score more runs and take some pressure off of our pitchers. The young guys are getting better, add those veteran players in there, you bring in an Abreu and last year it was Torii Hunter. So you’re getting a lot of pluses from the veterans and with these young guys with hopefully the potential we think they’re going to get to, all of a sudden you’ve got a good offense.

Q: (Angelswin) - As you were talking about good hitting I was thinking about Fox Sports West was recently replaying that 2002 Game 5 ALCS. I was thinking about all those guys and how throughout the season the Angels were not a big homerun hitting team. In the playoffs we got some timely homers, but for the most part they were just a team that hit well from top to bottom. What was it like in 2002, the whole championship run?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - It was definitely a different team than we have now. Offensively we were incredible in 02. We got so many hits, it seemed like we were getting 2-3 hits in every single inning; there were people on base, we were running crazy. I was coaching 3rd at the time. It was an absolute blast to see these guys hitting. And tough outs, nobody was just going up there and making easy outs. Everybody was getting deep in the count, getting big 2 out hits, big 2 strike hits. That’s, I think, what made that season so fun was to watch that offense; especially when we got into the playoffs. Those guys could really hit. And you’re playing against a team that obviously got there with great pitching, because nobody gets there without great pitching. So we were doing that offensively against a bunch of great pitching staffs.

Q: (Angelswin) - That’s for sure. Watching that Game 5 when Kennedy hit that 3rd homerun and broke it open, I think the Angels sent 8 guys to the plate without recording an out.

A: (Ron Roenicke) - That’s incredible. That’s pretty rare in the playoffs to do that.

Q: (Angelswin) - And a lot of them were against a just coming up Johan Santana.

A: (Ron Roenicke) - yea, a pretty good pitcher (laughs).

Q: (Angelswin) - yea, not bad! Just a couple more and we’ll let you go. Both relating to you, Ron Roenicke the person, if you will. One, do you have any rituals or superstitions, and two, what do you do for fun when you’re not thinking baseball, when the season is over and the offseason is here?

A: (Ron Roenicke) - well, I’m not superstitious at all. It’s just something I’m not.

In the off-season I have a lot of hobbies. I love to woodwork. I like playing golf. I like fishing. I like hunting. There’s a lot of things I like to do. I like to cook. There’s a lot of interests I have that keep me pretty busy.

Angelswin - it was an honor to talk to you and good luck this year.

This concludes the interview with Ron Roenicke. For comments or reaction to the interview, check out our message board for the Ron Roenicke interview thread.

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Angelswin.com Interview with Angels' President Dennis Kuhl

Interview conducted by Chuck Richter

I had the chance to chat over the phone with the Angels team president Dennis Kuhl yesterday and we talked about several items that pertain to Angels Baseball, the business side and got to know the man behind the scenes that makes the experience for Angels fans all the more enjoyable.

On behalf of everyone at Angelswin.com, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to conduct this interview with us.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - So, Dennis, let’s start off with a little background on Dennis Kuhl and how you and owner of the Angels Arte Moreno met.

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Arte and I attended the University of Arizona together. We were fraternity brothers in Tucson. Arte and I became friends and ended up in the billboard business together, working together for 30 years. Arte sold the business, I stayed on for a while and Arte was looking for something to do. He was always a tremendous baseball fan. Even in college, we played on pick-up teams, C League teams; anything that had to do with baseball, we both enjoyed it. We’d go to games, we’d go to Anaheim and watch ball games or spring training games at Hi Corbett Field (in Tucson). We always loved it and Arte had the opportunity to buy a team. We had worked together for years and we’d become friends. I was fortunate to have Arte ask me if I would help him come down and run the team. I said absolutely, a dream come true.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - What has it been like working for Arte Moreno over the years?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - One of the things about Arte that I really admire is that he’s a real visionary. He looks out 4-5 years. He has a vision of what he wants things to look like, how he wants the team to look. He's a great visionary. Myself and John Carpino — he's another one of us who worked in the billboard business and we worked together for years. We brought him down to be in charge of marketing. He’s one of the most creative guys I’ve ever known — John and I are the guys that have to put Arte's vision to work on a day-to-day basis. He’s already thinking what do we have to do next. What do we have to do three years from now? How do we want to look? Guys that are successful are good visionaries. Working for Arte for so many years you understand that. You almost know what he’s going to do after working closely with him for so many years.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - What are Dennis Kuhl’s responsibilities as the Angels Team President?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - As team president I oversee everything that doesn't happen between the white lines. That means marketing, community affairs, all of the concessions, all the ticketing, all of the financials, all of the personnel, all of the sponsorships — anything that it takes to run a business. It’s about generating revenue, watching your expenses and trying to bring a profit to the bottom line. I’m very fortunate that Arte lets me in on what’s going on the baseball side. Tony does a great job, we all communicate daily. We all have an open policy here; everybody talks.

When you have 40,000 people come into your home every night, you want to make sure they’re taken care of, they’re fed, they’re parked and they’re having a good time. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re building that same experience. That’s watching your concessions to make sure they’re affordable, that's making sure you have the right merchandise, the right food, affordable pricing, you’re selling tickets, bringing groups in, doing all the stuff in the community that you need to do, doing outreaches, selling your sponsors, all of your signage throughout the stadium, merchandise sales in the team store, all of that on the business.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Wow you have your hands full, huh?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - I do have my hands full. It’s a challenge, but it’s a good challenge. Every day there is another challenge out there to make the Angels experience even better.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - True, like every good job or challenge, it’s good to have surrounded yourself around solid people.

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – That’s right and when you have somebody like Arte, you know his direction, it’s a lot easier because you know what he wants and how he wants to go with it. He’s really a perfectionist, he really is and we always move forward. We know that and we always move forward.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Do you see AM 830 KLAA Angels Radio as a success after a year of being on the airwaves? Anything new in store for AM 830 in 2009 or beyond?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - We see all of that as moving forward, every day getting better and better. That’s a new project that I’m overseeing. It’s been a real interesting experience for me because it’s something that I’ve never done before. But when you put the right people in the right positions. it makes it a lot easier. I feel like we’ve been fortunate. I’m real happy with the talent, like Jeff Biggs, Roger Lodge and Dave Smith — I think they’re good. I think we have a long way to go, but we’re making headway. Our deal with KFWB is something new and exciting because we want to make sure everybody can listen to the station. It’s just another outlet for us. I think everyone wishes they could broadcast their own games.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Yeah, it has been a pleasure working with Paul Sakrison and Julio Morataya at AM 830. By the way, we’re all thankful for your interest in our content that we’ve supplied for the AM 830 Website going on a year now.

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Thank you for the content, it’s great. It just enhances everything. I like the idea. The big thing now for a Website to work is that it needs content — and good content — and that’s what you’ve supplied for us. It helps both of us out.

Julio has been after me for bringing him on. I love Julio Morataya’s ideas; he’s very creative. Radio is about promotion and promoting your radio station. They've taught me a lot. They work with anybody, Paul and “Pollo,” the guys, they share ideas together, the guys come up here and say, “We got this great idea, what do you think?” I say, “Let's go, let’s make it happen.” So, just great guys to work with.

Q: (Angelswin) - A couple Tuesdays ago, we had two of our writers Adam Dodge and Eric Denton on the air live with Jeff Biggs and they had a great time on Angels radio.

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Jeff Biggs is a great guy, isn’t he? I really, really like Jeff. He does a really good job at 830. He has a tough job sometimes at night with some of the testy callers. He had one guy on last night and I said, “Come on, Jeff, get him off the air.” (laughs) Radio has been a real treat.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Can you measure how successful the name change has been in terms of increased revenues?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Well, no you really can’t measure that yet. It’s tough to measure something like that. We just feel it has opened doors for us from the standpoint of it has gotten us larger accounts. We feel that we’ve gotten our name on the map. It is going to take a long time. To me, it’s all about building the brand. We’re more concerned with building the “A,” the color red and “Angels.” That's what we’ve focused on since we’ve got it.

I look at brands out there all the time. The Yankees have one of the greatest brands; they’ve never changed their uniforms, they’re the same all the time. I just think they’ve done a tremendous job with their brand. The Dodgers and Lakers have a great brand; I watched them and see how they’ve branded their name. It just takes a long time. It didn’t happen overnight for the Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers or Lakers. It didn’t happen overnight, it takes a lot of years to build your brand.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - How does Angel merchandise sales rank in relation to the rest of Major League Baseball? What are the annual sales in dollars?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – We’re right up there in the top-10 from what I understand, from the information I’ve received.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - What has been the impact of the recession on advertising, corporate suite renewal and season ticket renewal and how will this affect the Angels 2009 revenues?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – Well, you know, (sigh), we feel very confident that the people have supported us very well here in Orange County and our sales are — we’re going to see a little bit of an effect, but we’re real optimistic that we’re going to do real well this year from that standpoint. To give you an idea about sponsorships, instead of having one or two huge sponsors, we’ve had to work harder at going out and finding four to five more sponsors. It’s just you adapt to the economy and you adapt to what is going on. We will do things, we will really work hard on group sales to fill the stadium, we’ll work hard on anything else we can to get people to come see a game. It is going to affect everybody and I think the biggest thing I hear out there is that people are just being cautious right now. But a baseball game is a fun thing to do, it's a family thing to do and I still think that people love the game so much that they’ll come out. Maybe they won’t come out 10 times a year, but they’ll come out eight times a year.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Especially coming after a 100-win season. You know, spring training comes around and the excitement is in the air, they just can't wait for the season to start and get out to the ballpark.

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - I know, it's just amazing that it renews the passion every year and baseball to me is a year-round sport because you talk about it. There is no other sport like it. My dad and I would sit down and talk — my dad was a St. Louis Cardinals fan and I just love listening to the radio when we go back to Illinois and the passion that the St. Louis Cardinals fans have. And they talk about it all year long. Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, all of those guys.

People, when I'm out speaking, they’ll say, “I just want to let you know I’m a Dodgers fan,” and I say, “That’s great. Look, if you're a baseball fan, that’s what counts.” We want to make sure that the kid that’s 5 years old, he’s going to be 7 years old, then 13 years old, then 18 years — that’s where we’re going to build up that image. You become a fan of the team and you follow that team through good times and bad times. I grew up back east and I followed the Yankees. I still follow the players; I check out the starting lineups, I have a bunch of Baseball Digest books. I like to read these old baseball books to see how this guy turned out or what happened to that guy; he was a can't miss, he was a phenom. This game is so much fun to follow; so much fun. Even during our Angels Tonight program, the people want to talk. Last year, the guys said they did OK when we first introduced it, but now there are callers on hold before Angels Tonight goes on the air. The people want to talk baseball. How’s Kendry doing? How’s Escobar doing? It just amazes me how knowledgeable these people are about this sport. I love it.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Any stadium renovation plans? Any chance of team opting out of lease in 2016?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – We’re always looking at new ideas, new processes. We don’t have anything on the drawing board right now. We spent a lot of money on the scoreboard, new seats. It takes a lot of money to maintain a stadium this size. We do a lot of maintenance work year round. Right now, we’re trying to clean it up for the All-Star Game in 2010 to look sharp. I can't wait. As far as the lease, we haven’t gotten that far. That would be something you’d have to talk to Arte about. Right now, I’m just trying to run the day-to-day business.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - If approached, would Arte consider working on bringing football to the Orange County/L.A. area?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Arte gets approached on a lot of things and I can tell you right now that Arte’s focus is baseball. He’s a fan first and owner second. I've been out with him drinking some beers and we talk baseball for hours. Just look up in the suite and we’ll be talking baseball during the game; sometimes in the wee hours in the morning. It is so much fun to be up there and second guessing Mike Scioscia during every game. It is so much fun.

Q: (Angelswin.com) – Speaking of the games, let’s talk Angels Baseball on the field now. I’m sure you’re pleased with the signing of Bobby Abreu, that it will put to rest the Manny to Anaheim rumors. What does Dennis Kuhl think of the Angels chances in 2009 with the team that’s in Tempe right now?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - Yes, it will. But you know Dave Smith, he’ll still bring Manny up. He won’t let that die. Every morning when I come to work, “What about Manny Ramirez?” — he’s too much. He’s a great guy.

Bobby Abreu makes us better. He’s got a great attitude, he fits into the team really well, great work ethic. I love his plate discipline very much. Getting on base before the big guys, and he can run, fits right into Scioscia's mold. He loves guys that can get on base and run.

As far as 2009, you know everybody keeps saying “we need a bat, we need bat.” I’m telling you, I think it’s time that one of our young guys breaks out and has a big year. I don’t know which one it’s going to be, but it’s time. Look at our lineup, Chuck, it’s a nice start with Figgy, Abreu batting second, Guerrero, Hunter and Morales fifth, some nice sticks in there, Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli. I think Rivera is going to have a huge year for us. I think Howie Kendrick strokes the ball very well. He’s a great kid. He’s a fine ball player. We got two great shortstops in camp, too.

Q: (Angelswin.com) – We’re set to air Angelswin.com’s “Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball” on AM 830 this spring. What has been Dennis Kuhl’s Angels Greatest Moment you’ve witnessed as a fan since you’ve been president of the team?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - My greatest moment is the first time as team president on Opening Day. I was down on the field and I’m saying to myself, “I’m standing here on Opening Day as part of a Major League organization — it doesn’t get any better than this.” Next time it will be when we win the World Series again. That will be my next greatest moment. Last year was great — 100 wins. That was great. We have a strong pitching staff. I can’t wait for opening day, just like the rest of the fans. Same for Arte.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Now that Garret Anderson and Francisco Rodriguez have left via free agency, two of the fans’ favorite players, John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero, are in the final year of their contracts. How important is it to the Angels to sign these two All-Stars to an extension going forward?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - You know, that decision and those decisions are made by Tony Reagins and his staff. They evaluate and make recommendations to Arte. Boy, Guerrero, I feel like he’s been here forever. He’s been here since I got here. Same with Lackey, he’s been here since before I got here. I think they both have enjoyed their stay here and I believe they want to stay on as Angels to finish their careers. Tony, coaches and scouting, they make those determinations.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - One of the most respected men, with more than 30 years in the Angels organization and friend of mine, Tim Mead, must be a pleasure to work with on regular basis. Was Tim a valuable resource to both you and Arte on the history of the franchise because of his tenure in the organization?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – He’s our archive guy. Every time we have a question on a player or anything, we go to Tim and Tim doesn’t even have to look it up. He knows. He has a wealth of knowledge. You’d never meet a nicer guy in your life. Sometimes I tell him “You’re too nice.” (laugh) He’s been unbelievable with handling the alumni, unbelievable with all of the milestones and knowing the players. He’s a great asset. He’s so involved with the community; he’s loved by everybody here. He’s a true Angel.

Q: (Angelswin.com) – Let’s wrap this up with a little bit about Dennis Kuhl the person. What does Dennis Kuhl like to do for fun when he’s not working?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - I love to ski. I still play baseball, hardball, in a senior league every Sunday. I figure if I can still do it, that’s great. My release is whenever I can get out to the mountains, the snow. You’re by yourself and it’s quiet. It energizes me. On Sunday, we play baseball. All of us are Angels fans. We talk Angels baseball all through the game. Sometimes I bring my radio and we’ll listen to the game while we’re playing. It’s loads of fun. You know, play on Sunday and get out of bed on Wednesday.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - What are your favorite sports teams not named the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - My No. 1 team I follow besides the Angels is the University of Arizona basketball and football teams.

Q: (Angelswin.com) - Favorite beer?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) - I can’t tell you that because I have too many beer sponsors. I drink them all. Let’s put it this way: I never had a beer I didn’t like.

Q: (Angelswin.com) – Let’s wrap this up. Last question: What would you like to say to the daily readers and contributors of Angelswin.com, who will be reading this interview?

A: (Dennis Kuhl) – We’re all looking forward to a great season. We love our fans; fans are number one. I wish I could go around and thank them all for their support. It’s really great when I can go out to the ballpark and see smiling faces, kids smiling. We’re fan strong, that’s what we are. Everywhere we go in Orange County or Los Angeles, people love the Angels and that makes me feel good.

This concludes our interview with Dennis Kuhl, to which now after our chat is known by me as Dennis "Cool".

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Angels in the Outfield

By Eric Terrazas - Angelswin.com Columnist

As they gear up for the 2009 season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfield will sport a mostly familiar look. Two major changes, however, took place during the offseason.

One of those changes was the departure of longtime left fielder Garret Anderson. After 14 plus seasons, the Angels bid adieu to Anderson, who holds club records in several categories, including hits (2,368), RBI (1,292) and games played (2,013).

The other significant change was the recent signing of veteran Bobby Abreu, who comes from the New York Yankees. The left-handed hitting Abreu, who batted .296 and collected 20 home runs and 100 RBI last year, should bolster the Angels lineup. Abreu, who stole 22 bases in 2008, will give the Angels some speed on the base paths, as well.

Abreu, who has played mostly right field in his 13-year big league career, is expected to play left field for the Angels. That might bring about an adjustment period for Abreu, who has played only 16 games in left. The last time Abreu played left field was in 1997 when he was a member of the Houston Astros. Abreu, a 2005 Gold Glove winner, made just two errors and recorded 10 assists last year.

Patrolling center field will be Torii Hunter, who will begin his second season with the Halos. Hunter did not miss a beat defensively in 2008, committing no errors and winning his eighth career Gold Glove.

Hunter, however, experienced an offensive dip last year. After batting .287 with 28 homers and a career-high 107 RBI with Minnesota in 2007, Hunter fell to .278, 21 HR and 78 RBI.

Another player looking to rebound offensively is right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, who batted .303 and collected 27 homers and 91 RBI last season. While those numbers would be good for most players, it represented somewhat of an off-season for the eight-time All-Star. For the first time since the 2003 season, Vlad missed out on both an All-Star selection and the 100-RBI mark.

An offensive recharge from both Hunter and Guerrero would make the Angels lineup that much more fearsome.

Juan Rivera also returns to the fold. Rivera, who recently signed a three-year, $12.75 million contract, will probably see time at both left and right field. He also figures to receive his share of DH at-bats. The Angels would love to see Rivera regain his 2006 form, when he contributed a .310 batting average, 23 homers and 85 RBI. Rivera, who missed most of the 2007 season with a broken leg, batted .246 and delivered 12 home runs and 45 RBI last year.

Gary Matthews Jr. and Reggie Willits are the two other returners. Matthews’ availability for the 2009 opener is in limbo after he underwent surgery in October to repair the patella tendon in his left knee. Matthews, who is entering the third year of a five-year, $50 million deal, batted .242 and recorded eight home runs and 46 RBI in 2008. He saw action at all three outfield positions last year, contributing six assists, but making eight errors. The Halos are hoping a healthier Matthews can make a difference.

Willits will also look to earn playing time. After enjoying a solid 2007 season (.293 batting average, 74 runs and 27 stolen bases), Willits got caught in a numbers game last year. In 82 games, he batted .194 in just 108 at-bats and finished with seven RBI and two stolen bases. Like Matthews, Willits saw time at all three outfield positions.

With Abreu adding to a talented cast, the Angels’ outfield figures to be one of baseball’s best. If this group of Angels stays healthy, they should cause plenty of problems for opponents.

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Have Bat, Will Travel . . .

By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com Columnist

Let’s face it, as an Angels fan, this hasn’t been the most exciting offseason of the 21st century for our team. But, all of that could change if the rumor mill is true.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Angels are expected to sign Bobby Abreu to a one-year contract "by the start of spring training Saturday." The newspaper reports that Abreu is scheduled to undergo a physical exam Wednesday and the Angels are expected to waive Nick Green to make room on the 40-man roster. A native of Venezuela, Bobby Abreu carries a potent left-hand stick—something that the Angels definitely need.

Ideally, a #2 hitter should have a blend of speed and power with a high OB%. This gives the leadoff hitter time to try and swipe a base or get knocked into scoring position for the heart of the order. Typically, left-handers make the ideal #2 hitter because they get a bit of an advantage to pull the ball when the leadoff hitter is on-base. We haven’t had a hitter like that in many years, and, the offense has suffered as a result.

Abreu fits our need for a #2 hitter perfectly and makes our lineup much stronger. He provides a great blend of speed and power (stealing over 20 bases for the past 10 years in addition to hitting 15 or more HRs for the past 11 years) who would fit into “Angels=style” baseball. He could rotate between both LF and RF and take a share in the DH spots.

With Abreu in our lineup, we finally have that offensive bridge between Figgins and Vlad that would make the top of our order click as a unit. The heart of the order becomes much more settled with Hunter, Morales and Napoli. And the bottom of the order settles down with Rivera, Wood and Kendrick.

According to the Angels’ front office, they want to “let the kids play.” Odds are that means we will be breaking in 2 players (my bet is that both Morales and Wood earn starting jobs during Spring Training) into the lineup. The best way to do that is to take the pressure off of the younger hitters by having productive and established hitters to shoulder a good portion of the load. By signing Abreu, we would be giving our kids every chance to succeed rather than throwing them into a sink-or-swim environment (as we have often done to rookies in the past). We could afford to give Wood and Morales a guaranteed half a season each to develop rather than having to make constant lineup changes if they struggle.

Last year, we all saw how our Vlad become much more beastly with the addition of Teixeira. Well, adding Abreu will have a similar (although not quite as dramatic) effect on Vlad as he will have more ABs with men on base and in scoring position. With Abreu behind him, Figgy should return close to his 2007 performance. A resurgent Figgy means that Wood and Kendrick would see better pitches hitting in the bottom of the order. And, Morales is much more likely to succeed when batting between Hunter and Napoli with an improved top and bottom to the order.

In the Scioscia era, we’ve had to cobble together some strange lineups to essentially force square pegs into round holes—especially when it has come to our #2 hitter. But, all of that could change for 2009 with the addition of Abreu added to the top of the order. The stability that he would bring to our lineup would pay dividends far greater than just a 1-year contract. Signing Abreu would make 2009’s lineup much better as well as making our kids better for the future. And that makes signing him a good deal.

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