We were given the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with Buck Martinez (of TBS Hot Corner and MLB Postseason on TBS). The following is a full transcript of the chat which involved several bloggers:

Are the Phillies better off going with a committee approach to the bullpen and simply playing matchups, or for the sake of team morale/stability/etc., must Charlie Manuel anoint a “closer?” Or should they take an Ozzie Guillen 2005 approach, and just throw the starters’ arms off? (The Good Phight)

Martinez: “I think they are better throwing by committee now, and they have included Brad Lidge in that committee. But the danger is if you anoint someone other than Lidge and he fails, then you have created an atmosphere of panic. I think Charlie has done the right thing by going with closer by committee, you can always say he has the hot hand and that’s what I’m doing. I still think that Lidge could come back at some point whether it’s the last week of the season or the playoffs and he could be that hot hand that they go to.”

Martinez: “I think they are capable of beating anyone at anytime. The one thing that Verlander has and we saw him do it before is the ability to ratchet it up at the end. He is a tremendous competitor; he has been down this road before. He still has a tremendous delivery and keeps his velocity until late in the game. I think he’s capable of shutting down anybody including the Yankees. As far as Edwin Jackson he has had kind of a disappointing second half but not because of his pitching but he hasn’t had the run support that he would like. Obviously not the wins he would like and he has some postseason experience. The real wild card in this is Rick Porcello. He has been terrific and it’s really kind of interesting how the contrast of Porcello and Joba Chamberlain and how their respective teams have handled them differently. Chamberlain had a good start last time out but his second half has been rough while Porcello, Jim Leyland handled him very much the way he handled Verlander in 2006, shutting down for 16 days and every time they would get him extra rest they would. He’s got a great curveball, terrific sinker and gets more groundball outs than anybody, should have to go into Yankee Stadium. That being said I know we know how good the Yankees are but I think the front three of the Tigers are well suited to match up against the Yanks.”

Martinez: “Well it depends on if you have four! If you don’t have four good ones then you go to a three man, I think that’s the thing you need to consider. I think they are going to go with their hottest hand and if you don’t have the luxury of having those three off days in a five game series you’re probably going to have to go with four. I think that plays well into the Angels hands and Red Sox as well. Probably the Cardinals are best suited for three, they have a terrific three. And it really depends on your team and your makeup.”

Martinez: “That’s a great question. You can’t generally change the style of your play because you are restricted by your players. I think what managers do in a five game series is what they want to do to is score first, then win first. Then you have an upper hand. In a five game series you have a tendency to be a little more aggressive with your pitching and your offense gambling. If you don’t have the speed to change your game, then you can’t manufacture runs. That plagued the cubs that last two years in the postseason. When you get up against the 1s, 2s and 3s in the postseason if you can’t score runs you can’t change your personality in the postseason.”

Martinez: “I really think that teams play competitive baseball at the end of the season. Just looking at the Wild Cards, they have fared well because they have played well late in the season. When you think about pitchers and you don’t want to be rusty with these bullpens. Most notably, the Red Sox bullpen they have a very powerful bullpen and that serves them well…”

Martinez: “No I don’t think so. The league with the best winning percentage in inter-league play would control home field. That way you would have the overall balance of the league in play. Obviously you have an unbalanced number of games that’s why you take the winning percentage. That way to me would determine the home field advantage. The winner of the All-Star game dictates which set of rules you would use for interleague play. For instance if the National league won the All-Star game then the next year they play the National league rules.”

Martinez: “It’s going to be a challenge for anyone to come in there after Bobby Cox. I think you have to go outside of the organization. Bring in a fresh mind, bring in someone that’s confident in their abilities, I don’t think going old guard, that would be too similar to Bobby Cox. I think you’d be better off trying to change that pattern, no one is going to have the success or tenure of Cox, its going to be a challenge.”

Martinez: “The Pirates are probably the furthest away because they continue to have good players, but they never keep them long enough to enjoy the fruits of their development. If you took a list of the players that have been shipped out of Pittsburgh, over the last couple of years, you’d have a potential All-Star team, and certainly would have a contending ball club. But, I think they are furthest away because of their philosophy of continuing to trade away the players. Just look at Nyjer Morgan, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Nate McClouth, Freddie Sanchez, Jack Wilson – you can go on, and on, and on. If they kept all of those guys together, we wouldn’t be talking about ‘how far away,’ it’s just a matter of ‘when’ they would be in the postseason.

Martinez: “I think Joe’s run in New York when he came in there and they won four World Championships, established his reputation. And if you think about it, that was before they made all of their big signings, and the commitment to those big contracts. I think Joe brought the team together; it was an interesting union of players and managers at the time where Joe, whom had not had a lot of success, came to New York, there were a core of players in place that just were unique. Dare I mention Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte? That core, then complemented by Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill and Scott Brosius, set the benchmark for work ethic, dedication, and determination. I think Joe benefited from that, but also was responsible for some of that.”

Martinez: “I think the Dodgers will carry 12 pitchers because they don’t have dominant starters, they have had to use their bullpen all year long, and they are at the top of innings pitched out of the bullpen. And, the bullpen has faired very well, but you just have to wonder how much they have left going into October. As far as looking at the makeup of their team, I think Joe has a pretty good idea that you are going to have a [Juan Pierre] on the bench. Jim Thome really is an interesting study because he really hasn’t had much success as a pinch hitter. There is the prospect that you might not carry him in the first two rounds, but if you get to the World Series, use him as a DH in that scenario, and obviously he has had time and success there. He has only hit .214 for the Dodgers, and he hasn’t done much, so he will be an interesting study as to who makes the team. You would think [Mark] Loretta, [Juan] Pierre, and of course [Brad] Ausmus in the backup role would be there, and they would have to carry an additional outfielder too. This is a team that is challenged because their starters haven’t had a lot of success pitching late into the games, and I would imaging that Randy Wolf is probably going to get the Opening [Postseason] Day nod with a lot of question marks behind him.”

Martinez: “Obviously they are complaining that Andy isn’t there anymore, I mean when Andy was dispatched to Pittsburgh, he was scuffling and having problems offensively. I think that getting out of the limelight of Los Angeles – so many of those kids grew up together — Russell Martin, Matt Kemp and Andy LaRoche, that there was a lot of pressure on them and they all survived that in Los Angeles. Casey Blake came in to LA at a time where he was an established veteran. He is really the guy that turned around the professional approach of the Dodgers, and it is like comparing apples to oranges. Casey Blake’s career has been different; I don’t know if Adam LaRoche will be a better offensive player, once he gets established, but I think when they brought Casey Blake into LA that it was perfect timing. He was the one that began the turnaround, and changed the attitude in the clubhouse even before Manny Ramirez got there.”

Martinez: “Well, I think the one thing that Joe Torre had on his mind first and foremost was winning. At the time he felt like he was going to put his best lineup on the field. This is a challenge managers have in the postseason: What is your best lineup? And what is your best team? Obviously, pitching and defense are so important in the postseason, the best team, in my estimation, would have James Loney at first base. Now, it is up to Joe Torre to look at the individual matchups and see how he holds his own. Against left-handers, he didn’t do bad, it was just a matter of whether or not they had the confidence to get him in there. But, he did have more at-bats this year than he has had in the past, and I think that is important, but I expect him to play everyday in the postseason at first base.”

Martinez: “I don’t read blogs because I don’t have time, I don’t think managers have time either. I think you might get a few players reading blogs, but it is not that I don’t respect them, I just don’t have the time to sit there and go over blogs.”

Martinez: “He has to be included in your playoff rotation. He has the ability to be a shutdown pitcher in the postseason, but he has battled hamstring problems in the second half, he has battled command problems; in his most recent start he walked five, but what they need to do is just figure out how they are going to sort out this rotation. As I said, Randy Wolf is probably the guy Joe [Torre] thinks has been the most consistent for them. You would likely get him off and running and give him that first start in the postseason. Question marks abound in their rotation. Which Hiroki Kuroda are you going to get? Can [Clayton] Kershaw come back after being on the shelf with a non-pitching shoulder injury, and who are you going to lean on: [Vicente] Padilla or [Jon] Garland? Padilla has certainly been terrific, but is he going to revert back to what he was with the Texas Rangers, or be that second-half pitcher he was with the Dodgers? A lot of question marks for Joe Torre.”

Martinez: “The greatest influence on me as a player was probably Charlie Lau. Charlie Lau was our hitting coach in Kansas City, but he was also my catching instructor. He taught me how to call games, handle pitches and get through that. Certainly, if anybody knows my batting average they could question what he did for my hitting, ‘cause he didn’t do much, but as for calling a game he was terrific and really allowed me to play a long time in the majors because that was my strength.”

Martinez: “No question about it, number 24, Willie Mays. He was the best player I saw. He was exciting, he could do everything on the field; I still believe he was the best player to ever play the game. Growing up in Northern California, I remember my first game at Seal Stadium, 1958 in July, I saw the Cardinals play the Giants in my first Major League game – Willie Mays has always been my idol, and favorite player.”

Martinez: “1976 after the playoffs I was shot in the eye in a hunting accident. That was after the Royals lost to the Yankees in the ALCS in the bottom of the ninth in Game Five. I was shot in a hunting accident and had a BB in my eye, and had surgery for a detached retina. There were a lot of doubts as to whether I would ever play again. That was probably the biggest challenge, I would go on an play another 10 years in the majors and it was something we got over, but certainly there was a lot of doubt there for quite a long time.”

Martinez: “I was told I should leave the game on three separate occasions [laughs]. I was actually let go three different times, but the biggest regret I have now is I wish I had my experience now, as a 20 year old, when I came on the scene in 1969. I came up to the Kansas City Royals in ’69 and I wish I knew what I know now then, because I would have approached everything a little bit differently but I don’t have any regrets at all. I was fortunate to play for 17 years, got to manage in the Major Leagues, got to put my son in the game in Spring Training, and I got a chance to represent my country, Team USA, in 2006 in the World Baseball classic, so I have been a pretty fortunate man.”

Martinez: “They can absolutely be competitive. It has nothing to do with anything but developing people in your farm system, getting the right people in place, and spending your dollars wisely. I think any excuse that suggests that you can’t compete with the Yankees and the Red Sox you don’t have to look any further than the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. Yeah, it might take you a little magic, and once every three or four years, and you might not be able to do it as consistently as the Yankees and the Red Sox, but you have to get back to your roots. And the roots for the Blue Jays has always been farm development, instruction, fundamentals, speed and defense. They got away from that, and thought that they could hit their way – you can not out slug the Red Sox and the Yankees, you have to out pitch them and you have to out defend them. Of course they can compete in the American League East.”

I recently had the opportunity to interview both Jason Bay and his sister, Lauren Bay Regula (who starred on the Canadian women’s softball team for years), for a feature I wrote for the current issue of Canadian Business. Now that the article’s been published at last, the rights revert to me, so I thought I’d reproduce the conversations I had with them in full. These interviews both took place in March. We’ll start with Lauren.

LAUREN BAY REGULA

RotoRob: Tell me about having Jason as an older brother; what was he like when you were growing up?

Lauren Bay Regula: (Laughing heartily) “I think it was just like any younger sister having an older brother. Nothing sticks out too much in the sense of it was just a regular childhood. I mean both of us loved to be outside and kind of play sports. I was obviously a little bit less developed being three years younger, so he would have to put up with me when we would go play tennis and things like that. But, he always won, so that was good for him.”

RR: I figured with the two of you both being world class athletes, you must have had some competition.

LBR: “I think we’re both competitive, but more just of whatever we were doing. My dad would take us both out and we’d all play catch. I clearly understood that I probably wasn’t ever going to catch up to him, although I think in my mind I thought I was able to,” she said laughing. “Because I always wanted to go outside and play with him because I thought I could. We always just went out and we played randomly enough, we’d give anything a shot. We had a basketball hoop in our driveway. So whether it was just shooting some hoops in the driveway or going out and playing tennis…when we were younger we used to go, there was a tennis court not very far away, we’d go almost every summer day and play. And to tell you the truth, there wasn’t really that much of a competitiveness just because I always expected him to be better and I think he just kind of took it easy on me as his little sister.”

RR: Were you two close when you were growing up?

LBR: “Yes, we were. I thoroughly enjoyed always trying to hang out and do whatever he was doing, and for the most part he was a pretty good big brother. He let me tag along, now that I’m older, more than I assume he would have being a guy growing up with a sister three years younger just following him all over.

‘What are you guys doing today? You going to play hockey? What are you guys doing today? You going to play tennis? What are you guys doing today?’” she said in mocking tone of an annoying kid sister, almost mimicking the ‘Hey Spike’ bit from Looney Tunes.

“But it was good, though, because he had his friends, which were like older brothers to me and he’d have the same friends in elementary school through high school, so I knew them well. But I also had my own friends and being a boy-girl I think that helped, I had my friends, I did my thing, he had his friends, he did his thing. But when it came to sports, I think I always wanted to tag along.”

RR: How often do you two speak now?

LBR: Pretty often, she said. She was about to head down to Florida to hang out with him (he was down there training for the WBC).

“Not everyday, but I definitely know what’s going on his life, and he knows what’s going on in mine.”

RR: Your dad was a Red Sox fan when you two were growing up, wasn’t he?

LBR: “Yeah, isn’t that crazy? It’s ridiculous. It’s bizarre. I think our family liked the Red Sox due to my dad. Growing up, my dad loved the Red Sox, he loved Carl Yazstremski, he loved No. 8. My brother, therefore, loved the Red Sox, loved Carl Yazstrmeski, loved the No. 8. I, therefore, loved the Red Sox, loved Carl Yazstrmeski, loved No. 8.”

She said they were Mariner fans just because that was the closest thing.

“When my parents took us to a game and Nolan Ryan was pitching against the Mariners we thought that was the coolest thing ever. I think we took the Red Sox growing up just because of my dad.”

RR: What was your dad’s reaction when Jason got dealt to Boston?

LBR: “From what I understand, he was pretty emotional about it. I knew he was super excited. The Red Sox was kind of the icing on the cake; I think my dad was just excited that the team he was going to was in a serious position to make it (to the) postseason. I was in Japan when I heard the news and I’m just trying to find any computer possible and Googling his name to see what was going on, so I was kind of out of the loop.”

RR: How did Jason react to that pressure?

LBR: “Clearly, he reacted pretty well. But the one thing about Jason, and I’ve said this a million times, is he really is like a chameleon. He’s very good at adapting to his surroundings. He loves Pittsburgh from what I know, from everything he’s ever spoken to me about, he loved it. Pittsburgh is similar to where we grew up; it’s just a blue collar town, industrial town. So I think he found a home there while he was there and he loved the people, but I think when he got traded, literally, if he goes to a big market, he’ll adapt to that.

“Like anything that kind of comes his way, he’s one of those even-keeled people – I wish I could be more this way (laugh) – just whatever’s at him that day, he just takes in. He never gets too high, he never gets too low. He’s just very ‘okay, well, I’m playing in Boston, tonight. Alright.’

“Trust me, I wish I had it. He’s more of the take everything in stride, I’m more of the high strung, ‘what’s going on? What’s going on?’ He has that laid back ability. I know my husband, when he first met Jason, like my husband thought he was laid back until he met Jason. And then he’s like ‘oh, okay. Now I know what laid back really is.’”

She said she called when she heard about the trade.

“I was very impressed; he was very, you know ‘like, yup, this is cool, this is great.’”

She thought he’d be over the moon, but he was totally mellow about it all.

“I think the pressure of just going over in the first place is probably the hardest thing he was going to ever have to deal with, just because of who he was replacing,” she said, referring to Manny Ramirez.

“But, you know, and this is just from a sister’s point of view, even when he came to Pittsburgh, although they weren’t a winning team on their way to the playoffs or anything, he was still replacing Brian Giles, who was their kind of poster boy, that’s who their whole city and fans embraced. So as soon as I found out he got traded, I was like ‘okay, he got traded for Giles before, so he’s been in this situation where he’s taken (the place of) a very well known person in the organization.”

She said that this allowed her to rest assured: “okay, he’ll be fine; he’s done it before.”

Even though the Pirates weren’t going anywhere, Giles “was their bright spot.

“When he got traded there was an uproar. ‘Who’s this guy coming in? Why’d you get rid of Giles?’ He did get booed on his first at bat as a Pirate because no one knew who he was, they just know that he came in and replaced their favourite player.”

She said that if you look back at the articles, it said “Bay replaces jeers with cheers” because he had a good game.

“He was kind of getting a tough time for first game.” But he was 2-for-3 with a double, run, RBI and walk and they were cheering after that.

“By the end of the game, they were actually cheering for him.”

RR: How about that standing ovation he received before his first at bat at Fenway?

LBR: “That was pretty cool. And I give the fans in Boston a lot of credit for that.”

RR: We know about Manny being Manny, that’s legendary; so who is Jason being Jason?

LBR: “I think you saw it. He just goes out and plays. He plays every day. Coming from Manny, he’s the polar opposite, he’s not going to do anything crazy, but he’ll just play the game right.

“Every time I talk to my husband about him, I’m like ‘he’s the type of player who could have been playing back in the day with the old school players that just show up, put on their cleats, lace up and say ‘okay, let’s go.’ But that’s him.”

RR: So are you saying we’re not going to be seeing Jason growing dreads and high-fiving fans after making a catch against the wall?

LBR: “I think it’s pretty safe to say that that’s going not going to happen. If it did, I’d be a little worried.”

RR: So what else do I need to know about Jason?

LBR: “He’s very candid and he’s an honest person. So if you’re wondering how he really feels about something, the answer that he gives (is really how he feels).”

JASON BAY

RotoRob: Who was your idol growing up?

Jason Bay: “My idol growing up was an outfielder on the Cincinnati Reds, Eric Davis. Just a five-tool guy, at the time when he was healthy, one of the best players in the league and just someone that was I guess easy, fun to watch. Like I said, the speed, the power of those guys, even now, now, then, whenever, it’s hard to find a guy that did the things that he could do.”

RR: What do you think is the biggest challenge you faced in your life?

JB: “Probably coming from Trail, B.C., everybody’s got to come from somewhere, people make a big deal out of this and that, but the exposure that you get in a small town and even just playing in Northern Idado as I did, stuff like that, to get to where I’m at it took a lot of things to kind of go in my favour and do the right things at the right time, so I think the lack of exposure as opposed to a lot of other people who are in big markets and have people watching them all the time, guys like me, it’s almost like a one-shot deal and I’ve played against a lot of guys that for whatever reason, just didn’t get it done at the right time and you kind of miss your window.”

RR: Did you ever feel like you wanted to quit the game?

JB: “Ya, I did actually. I was in A Ball with the Expos, and I had just got down a level because I was struggling, I got to the lower level and I was there for about a week and I was struggling really bad again. And I called home and I was talking to my dad and I said ‘you know I think I might just quit.’ Because I figured at some point they were probably – I was a 22nd round senior draft pick, I didn’t have a lot of leverage, so I didn’t have a lot of numerous chances that other guys they invest a lot of money into get — I thought they’d probably just ship me home soon, so I thought I’d take the honourable route and go out on my own. And my dad said ‘hey, it’s your decision, but you’re there. You might as well try to see it through.’ And sure enough, the next couple of days, I had a hit one day, and the next day and the next, and ending up winning the batting title in that league that year, so…Yeah, there’s doubts, but at the same time that was probably one of the best learning experiences of my life. Everything up to that point had been pretty easy for me, or gone pretty well, I should say. You know I hadn’t really had a (problem), through high school and college, I had always done well. The first time I actually struggled, I think it was a good thing, a good learning experience.”

RR: What drives you?

JB: “Just personal pride, honestly. I know a lot of people have said ‘what do you play for?’ And you say ‘what drives me?’ And what drives me is the fact that I want people to go out and say ‘he was a good teammate, he played the game right and I loved having him on the team.’ I tend to shy away from the limelight, I’m not trying to do a lot of things, I just basically (am trying to be) a good person within the game. Show up. I’ve been referred to as I said almost like a lunchpail approach to the game. You know, I show up, I take it serious, I do my job and I go home. And I’d like to think that’s the way it should be played.”

RR: Do you consider yourself a leader? I’ve heard some players refer to you that way, but I’ve also read some scouts who said that you weren’t. Who’s right?

JB: “I think it depends on what your definition of what a leader is. I mean, if you’re looking for a guy to stand up and wave a white towel and cheer rah rah and pat everybody on the back, that’s not me. And that doesn’t mean I’m not a leader, that’s just not my personality. I’m more of a lead by example kind of guy and that probably isn’t the type of style that when I was in Pittsburgh, probably wasn’t the type of leadership that they needed. And I think that there were numerous times where people wanted that guy who stands up and do all that, and like I said, I can’t do it, because it’s not me. But then you go to a different situation and you play your game and certain guys look up and certain guys respect that. I’m definitely not a vocal, hold a team (meeting kind of guy), I take a lot of pride in getting out there almost every single day and playing the game right, and I like to think that people appreciate that.”

RR: What makes you nervous?

JB: “Believe it or not after all these years, just playing baseball still makes me nervous, and I think that once it doesn’t, it might be time to stop playing.”

RR: Really?

JB: “Yes, I still, before every game — regardless if it’s game No. 78 of the regular season or Game Seven of the World Series — I still have that little butterfly feeling in my stomach that just becomes accustomed to competing and I like to think that if and when I lose that little edge, then it might be time to go.”

RR: Well, that’s just the anticipation of the game, right?

JB: “Yes, exactly, and I guess that’s kind of the passion, that’s why you do it – the unknown. Like I said, if and when that goes away, I’ll probably walk away.”

RR: You mentioned being drafted in the 22nd round, of course that was by the Expos in 2000, but you were traded as a Minor Leaguer and never actually came to the majors on a Canadian team. Did that disappoint you?

JB: “Not really. I would like to think that everyone in the perfect world would know I would say ‘yes, it was devastating,’ but to be honest with you, at that point, it didn’t matter if it was a Japanese team. I was just looking for a chance. It was a nice coincidence that it was the Expos that gave me that chance and it would have been nice, but rather than worry about where I was going to play and for who, I was just hoping to get to where I got.”

RR: I know that you did tell The Fan 590 in June 2008 that you’d welcome the opportunity to play in Toronto, a team that apparently made some inquiries about you at the trade deadline. Do you still feel that way?

JB: “I think they made a bigger deal out of that then it really was. They just asked if Toronto would be a place I’d be interested in and I said ‘yes, I would’ as I would a dozen other places in Major League Baseball. And they just kind of ran with the one story that I’d play in Toronto.”

RR: Well, you are a Canadian star and all…

JB: “Exactly. But no, I understand. I would definitely enjoy playing here and I liked coming up here when I was with Boston, and not getting to do it very much I enjoy playing in Canada and obviously I am Canadian, so there’s that pride there too. So it would definitely be on the list.”

RR: I know you’re going to be a free agent after the 2009 season. Have the BoSox approached you about an extension as part of the trade at all?

JB: “Nothing yet. There’s still some time in Spring Training and then we got a full year, so we’ll see what happens, but right now it’s out of my hands.”

RR: I’ve heard you describe yourself in an interview as a small-town guy, but Boston is anything but a small town, especially when it comes to the BoSox. How are you dealing with that?

JB: “Well, it was a little bit of a culture shock, especially coming from Pittsburgh overnight. There wasn’t really a lot of prep time, it was ‘here’s a plane ticket,’ and boom, all of a sudden you’re immersed in a completely different culture. And it took some getting used to, but like anything, you kind of find your way to deal with it. And then once you do it enough, regardless if there are two reporters or 200, it just becomes normal, as simple as that might sound, it becomes a job, and you adjust accordingly.”

RR: I was speaking to Lauren a couple of weeks ago, and she reminded me that when you first started with the Pirates, you got booed your first game and then you turned it into cheers. And you got a standing ovation before your first at bat with Boston. What was going through your head at that point?

JB: “At that time I came into an interesting situation with the whole Manny thing and I didn’t know if that’s just how they welcomed everyone. I knew Boston was a crazy place to play with the fan support and everything and I didn’t know if that was just a ‘hey welcome the new guy’ and the guys assured me later on down the line that it normally isn’t like that. So I had some time to kind of reflect on that and it was pretty neat. And I said the whole time I went into this situation with so many unknowns, but once the game started, you know that baseball is kind of the one thing you know, you go out and do that and then that’s when you feel normal. But to have that little fan support behind you before I even stepped in the box one time, every little bit helps.”

RR: You turned 30 in September. How’d that go down for you?

JB: “It’s just another number right now. Nothing exciting, but I had a baby four days before that. That was pretty much my excitement for my 30th birthday.”

RR: How long do you think you’ll play? Any idea?

JB: “I have no idea. I mean, as long as I’m being productive, I definitely think I’d play as long as I can. But the moment that I might turn into a bench or a role play type guy, I don’t know if I would do that to be away from my family.”

RR: We all know about Manny being Manny, so tell me who is Jason being Jason?

JB: “Jason being Jason is extremely boring. There’s really nothing. I’m very quiet, I like to do crosswords and (am) just introverted I guess you could say. That’s the polar opposite I guess you could say. So the only thing you’ll read about me is you probably won’t read anything.”

First it was Brooks Robinson, then Jay “Mr. Olympia” Cutler, and then Brad Ziegler from the A’s Triple-A team. Now, I got a chance to sit down with an up-and-coming NBA star from the Indiana Pacers, Danny Granger.

I pulled Danny aside while at his second annual basketball camp for kids aged seven to 17 and talked with him about a variety of topics, including his performance last season, what to expect for next season, and whatever else I could think of while I had him in front of me.

Let me just say that Danny was one of the best people I have got a chance to talk to so far. Not only did he take time to talk to anyone that happened to call his name out at the camp, but he was there every day to give the kids one-on-one instruction, do media interviews, sign autographs for the kids and their families. He even went out and made time to visit people in a nearby hospital. If I wasn’t already a Granger fan before this (which I was since he went to UNM and I had a class with him), I certainly would be now. With players such as Allen Iverson seeming to take over the NBA with their thug mentality and seeming to need street credit, it was really good to sit down and have an intelligent conversation with a player for once.

With the NBA already pricing the average fan out of the game, and the never-ending circus that seems to follow some players around, I think it is safe to say that Danny Granger is a role model for kids to look up to.

Below is a complete transcript of the interview.

RotoRob.com: You played the two, three and four last year. Where do you think you can be most effective as an NBA player?

Danny Granger: You know what, I really felt comfortable playing either position really, with some teams playing more small ball. I really felt I was most effective at the two because I am quick enough to guard them and I was also bigger than them on the other end.

RR: What was your favourite position to play?

DG:The three.

RR: With Jim O’Brien taking over as head coach in Indy, how do you expect your role to change next season?

DG: I think it will increase. Last year I had a pretty good year and he is expecting me to have a breakout year this season. I think he will help me out to the best of his ability. We have a great coaching staff, and he will be looking for me to score and defend.

RR: The big trade with Golden State didn’t work out that well for the team last season as the Pacers missed the playoffs, but you personally benefited from it by becoming a starter and getting a larger role in the offense. Do you have mixed emotions about how that played out? Discuss.

DG: A little bit, you know

]]>