Interview with John Duel,
Sylmar Padawans

BIGGEST DADDY: Hello, Mr. Duel, and thank you for sitting down with us today. Some of the "experts" pegged this team for a really bad year, even 100 losses, but there you are in first place for the Wild Card and only 4 behind the Undertakers. What were your expectations and could you have imagined this?

JOHN DUEL: Honestly, I was saying they were right. On paper, I thought I had the worst offense I’d ever put out on the field, but Walker and Pence have been real surprises. I knew I had really strong pitching and I was hoping my pitching would keep me in games, but the pitching has been way stronger than I expected. My team ERA is about a run lower than I expected. The good start out of the gate—the first good start since 2006—encourages me.

BD: You recently reported that you are going for it, but that you realize you'll have to address your weaker areas. What will need to happen exactly?

JD: I hope I have by adding Ibanez and Zeigler. My pen was overused and I need offensive help. Moving forward, I expect some regression on the pitching staff, so I hope the addition of Ibanez will increase my offensive output, which—except for Walker and Pence—was truly pathetic. I hope I’ll average an extra run a game, offensively, and I hope my pitching stays true. To make the Wild Card, I’ll need some lucky breaks. But the randomness of DMB gives everyone a chance. You just never know who the DMB gods will smile upon. I’ve been the team they’ve spit at before—in 2007, when I thought I had the best team I’d even had. I honestly thought I had a chance to win it all that year and ended up with over 90 losses! Mike’s sim of that season showing my team average around 90 wins really showed the variance of any one given season. I the DMB gods want to make up for 2007 by glorifying this squad, I’m quite all right with that.

BD: With the Undertakers in the division, do the other teams even have a prayer for the next decade?

JD: No. Not without the aforementioned randomness of the DMB. So we can hope for that.

BD: Tell us a little bit about the Griffin Division rivalry.

JD: I think the BDBL weekends speak volumes toward our rivalry. We are almost always the only division with 100% attendance at those weekends. I think we all honestly like each other and revel in the rivalry. I know with the races Greg and I went through in 2005 and 2006 have made everyone of our series interesting. Plus Matt, Greg, and I have common rooting interest when any of us are playing Jeff. Jeff is always quick to point out when he’s done you a favor by, say, taking three of four from San Antonio, but deep down I think we’re all thinking, “damn, too bad.” Jeff’s a good guy and we all love him—I mean, really, what’s not to like about Jeff? He’s still the second best looking GM in the BDBL, but we all love rooting against him. He’s like the Dodgers of the BDBL. And the fact that he likes the Dodgers makes it ever easier to root against him.

BD: Would you say that you are a better GM or a better game manager? And why?

JD: Game manager. I’m too lazy of a GM, but I love the chess match involved in a game. If a game is close after six, I’m dangerous.

BD: Now that the SF Giants have won the World Series, would you be willing to take on a losing Giants season in a trade for a Padawans BDBL championship?

JD: Hell, no.

BD: Tell us a bit about how you feel about the 2010 SF World Series team. Do you feel that you would have enjoyed the season more if the Giants had had several years in a row of making the playoffs and coming up short, or was it more gratifying coming off 4 straight losing seasons until 2009?

JD: I’ve been a Giants fan since 1970, so there have been years and years of coming up short, years and years of frustration. I remember going to the ballpark in May, watching the Giants and telling my sister, who was at the game with me, that this team really could do it, if they could just add a bat. They added Burrell and Posey and Ross after that. It was fun to watch the offense evolve. And that pitching staff is a thing of beauty to behold. I mean, seriously, they have three guys would who be a number one starter on most other teams in Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez. Sanchez has the best stuff of those three and if he could put it all together for an entire season, he would really be something. There was a lot of talk in the Bay Area about trading Sanchez for a bat and I was glad Sabean didn’t. And those two rookies, Posey and Bumgarner look quite promising. It was a sweet, sweet season. I watched or listened to probably 100, 120 games and that squad was easily my favorite Giant team of all time. Plus, thankfully, they peaked at the right time. I’m excited to see how they’ll do this year.

BD: Who is your favorite player of all time?

JD: That’s a tough question. I always loved Bobby Bonds. He was pretty darn amazing. I still remember the year he hit 39 home runs and had over 40 stolen bases and missed being the first 40-40 guy, because he hit a home run in a game that got rained out before it became official. He was fun to watch. But I think George Brett is probably the best player—or at least the player I had the most fun watching. He could hit.

BD: How many Giants games to you usually get to in a season, and where do you like to sit?

JD: Maybe 6 at the park. Anywhere where you can see the game and the bay is a great seat. My favorite is the club level facing the right field wall. That’s a unique wall—and it’s where they put up the K’s. The club level also has a big indoor area with lots of food choices and short waits in the bathroom, because not as many people are on that level. So club level is my first choice.

BD: What is the last book you read?

JD: Egads, you really want to get to politics, don’t you? I read “JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters” by James W. Douglass, who is the type of writer Jim Doyle would like since he normally writes religious books with a Catholic bend. I just finished “JFK and the Unspeakable” today and it sickened me. The one aspect I really liked, though, was the following the back channel communications between Kennedy and Kruschev and how they worked together to avert the Cuban missile crisis and, later, get a treaty signed that banned testing of nuclear weapons. Overall, though, the book was sad and disheartening.

BD: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

JD: I’d pay off all my debts and set up annuity to pay me enough a month so that I wouldn’t have to worry about money. I’d pay off my parents’ house and make sure they were okay for the rest of their lives. I’d make sure my sister was okay, too. I’d start my own production company. Once the home front was taken care of, I’d look for causes I like supporting. I’m big on education, so I might fund a scholarship. I also would love to set up a community for writers and artists where they could get a grant to work on a project without worrying about money.

BD: Are there any GM's that you haven't met in person that you'd still like to meet, perhaps at a BDBL weekend?

JD: Yes. Every person in the league that I haven’t yet met, I’d love to meet eventually. Mike Stein immediately comes to mind because I admire his off-topic posts.

BD: Does Glander like to cause argument to have an argument, and get your goat? Or does he really believe everything he says? Do you ever say anything to rile him up?

JD: I used to think there was no way he could possible believe some of the things he says, but, unfortunately, I have come to the sad conclusion that he really does march lock step with the far right. Do I ever say anything to rile him up? Moi? Never. The phrase “march lock step” in the previous sentence, for example, wouldn’t possibly be intended to rile this up. Okay, yes, I admit sometimes I do. It’s just so darn fun—and so darn easy—to do.

BD: Where are you working these days, and how are you feeling about your job and career right now?

JD: I’m looking right now. I was just given until the end of the month, so “job” and “career” are not things I’m anxious to talk about. I do love what I’m doing right now—making corporate videos—but the days of being in that spot are severely limited, so I’m looking for a technical writing job.

BD: What are you top 5 favorite artists of all time?

JD: Although I admire the work of Vincent Van Gogh, I really hope you are talking about recording artists and will answer thusly. My first favorites were John Denver and Olivia Newton-John. Still enjoy listening to both of them on occasion. I’m a huge fan of Jewel. I always liked Billy Joel. That’s four. I guess I’d put Alison Kraus to round out the five. If you want to talk groups, my top five would be Coldplay, the Killers, U2, ELO and the Bee Gees.

BD: Inception, Social Network, True Grit, Toy Story 3, or Black Swan?

JD: I actually thought King’s Speech was the most deserving for winning best picture, but that’s not one of the choices. Of the choices, I’m a big fan of Inception. I really loved it.

BD: Tougher presidential loss: John Kerry or Al Gore?

JD: Come on, Al Gore. He didn’t actually lose, so that was tough. Also to see the Supreme Court overstep their purview was disheartening—and their determination that their decision to hear the case shall not be used as precedence for a future court acting thusly is clear admission that even they knew they had overstepped their authority. I think we all would be in much, much, much better shape if we had never had Bush appointed president by the court. But let’s not talk politics lest we get Mike riled up.

BD: What are your top 5 favorite restaurants of all time?

JD: I used to take journalists to all the best places in Los Angeles, so I’ve eaten as some pretty great places. My favorite was Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian, but dining for two will set you back over $100 there. I also ate at Spago and Vert, two Wolfgang Puck restaurants. The best Mexican restaurant I’ve eaten at was in Chicago. And I ate at a really great restaurant in Florence.

Stepping back from haute cuisine, I like California Pizza Kitchen, Louise’s and the Wood Ranch—the last two being good, old fashioned barbeque places. OH, and if you ever go to Roanoke, Virginia, eat at Hollywood’s.

BD: How would you design a spice rack for a blind person?

JD: I’d go with scratch and sniff? Seriously, no one would want me to design a spice rack, let alone one for a blind person. I can’t hammer nails in straight, so I’m sure my spice rack would lean left.

BD: Thanks a lot for sitting down with us today!

JD: My pleasure.